hey repeated on all sides, "we
shall now see France again, embrace our children, our parents, and our
friends!" The Emperor and Marshal Augereau alone did not share the
general light-heartedness. The Duke of Castiglione had just arrived at
headquarters, after having in some measure avenged on the army of
Bohemia, Vandamme's defeat. He, like the Emperor, had dark presentiments
as to the consequences of this retrograde movement, and knew that
desertions on the way would add to the number of the enemy, and were so
much the more dangerous since these deserters had so recently been our
allies and knew our positions. His Majesty yielded with a full
conviction of the evil which would result; and I heard him at the end of
a conversation with the marshal which had lasted more than an hour, utter
these words, "They would have it so."

The Emperor on his march to Duben was at the head of a force which might
be estimated at one hundred and twenty-five thousand men. He had taken
this direction with the hope of finding Blucher again on the Mulda; but
the Prussian general had recrossed the river, which contributed much to
give credit to a rumor which had been circulated for some time. It was
said that in a council of the allied sovereigns held recently at Prague,
and at which Moreau and the Prince Royal of Sweden were present, it had
been agreed that as far as possible they should avoid engaging in a
battle whenever the Emperor commanded his army in person, and that
operations should be directed only against smaller bodies commanded by
his lieutenants. It is impossible, certainly, to render more striking
homage to the superiority of the Emperor's genius; but it was at the same
time stopping him in his glorious career, and paralyzing his usually
all-powerful action.

However that may be, the evil genius of France having obtained the
ascendency over the good genius of the Emperor, we took the road to
Leipzig, and reached it early on the morning of the 15th of October. At
that very moment the King of Naples was in the midst of an engagement
with the Prince von Schwarzenberg; and his Majesty, on hearing the sound
of cannon, crossed the town, and visited the plain where the engagement
was taking place. On his return he received the royal family of Saxony,
who had come to join him. During his short stay at Leipzig, the Emperor
performed an act of clemency which must undoubtedly be considered most
meritorious if we take into consideration t