rnor of Moscow, had said to him, "Above all, no pillage; you will
answer for it with your head." The order was strictly enforced up to the
moment the fire began; but when it was evident that the fire would devour
everything, and that it was useless to abandon to the flames what would
be of much value to the soldiers, liberty was given them to draw largely
from this great storehouse of the north.

It was at once sad and amusing to see around poor plank sheds, the only
tents our soldiers had, the most magnificent furniture, silk canopies,
priceless Siberian furs, and cashmere shawls thrown pell-mell with
silver dishes; and then to see the food served on these princely
dishes,--miserable black gruel, and pieces of horseflesh still bleeding.
Good ammunition-bread was worth at this time treble all these riches,
and there came a time when they had not even horseflesh.

On re-entering Moscow the wind bore to us the insufferable odor of
burning houses, warm ashes filled our mouths and eyes, and frequently we
drew back just in time before great pillars which had been burned in two
by the fire, and fell noiselessly on this calcined soil. Moscow was not
so deserted as we had thought. As the first impression conquest produces
is one of fright, all the inhabitants who remained had concealed
themselves in cellars, or in the immense vaults which extend under the
Kremlin; and driven out by the fire like wolves from their lairs, when we
re-entered the city nearly twenty thousand inhabitants were wandering
through the midst of the debris, a dull stupor depicted on faces
blackened with smoke, and pale with hunger; for they could not comprehend
how having gone to sleep under human roofs, they had risen next morning
on a plain. They were in the last extremity of want; a few vegetables
only remained in the gardens, and these were devoured raw, while many of
these unfortunate creatures threw themselves at different times into the
Moskwa, endeavoring to recover some of the grain cast therein by
Rostopchin's orders;

[Count Feodor Rostopchin, born 1765; died 1826. He denied that
Moscow was burnt by his authority. He claimed that it was burnt
partly by the French, and partly by Russians without orders.]

and a large number perished in the water in these fruitless efforts.
Such was the scene of distress through which the Emperor was obliged to
pass in order to reach the Kremlin.

The apartments which he occupied were spacious and wel