testified to the good disposition of the inhabitants through the whole
extent of the country he had traversed. The dismay caused in the allied
armies by the first attacks of the Emperor made itself felt even to the
frontiers; and on each road the peasants rose, armed themselves, and cut
off the retreat, and killed many, of the enemy. Corps of the Emperor's
adherents were formed in the Vosges, with officers of well-proved bravery
at their head, who were accustomed to this species of warfare. The
garrisons of the cities and fortified places of the east were full of
courage and resolution; and it would have well suited the wishes of the
population of this part of the Empire had France become, according to the
wish expressed by the Emperor, the tomb of the foreign armies. The brave
Wolff, after having given this information to the Emperor, repeated it
before many other persons, myself among the number. He took only a few
hours' repose, and set out again immediately; but the Emperor did not
dismiss him until he had been decorated with the cross of honor, as the
reward of his devotion.

The battle of Craonne commenced, or I should say recommenced,
on the 7th at break of day, the infantry commanded by the Prince of
Moskwa--[Marshall Ney] and the Duke of Belluno, who was wounded on this
day. Generals Grouchy and Nansouty, the first commanding the cavalry of
the army, the second at the head of the cavalry of the guard, also
received severe wounds. The difficulty was not so much to take the
heights, as to hold them when taken. Meanwhile the French artillery,
directed by the modest and skillful General Drouot, forced the enemy's
artillery to yield their ground foot by foot. This was a terribly
bloody struggle; for the sides of the heights were too steep to allow of
attacking the Russians on the flank, and the retreat was consequently
slow and murderous. They fell back at length, however, and abandoned
the field of battle to our troops, who pursued them as far as the inn of
the Guardian Angel, situated on the highroad from Soissons to Laon, when
they wheeled about, and held their position in this spot for several
hours.

The Emperor, who in this battle as in every other of this campaign, had
exposed his person and incurred as many dangers as the most daring
soldiers, now transferred his headquarters to the village of Bray. As
soon as he entered the room which served as his cabinet, he had me
summoned, and I pulled off his boots,