ing, and its
coolness calmed us.

I remember how, as we returned to Leipzig, Zimmer talked of nothing but
vengeance.

"The whole country is against us!" cried he; "the citizens look black
at us, the women turn their backs, the peasants try to drown us, and
the innkeepers refuse us credit, as if we had not conquered them three
or four times; and all this comes of our extraordinary goodness; we
should have declared that we were their masters! We have granted to
the Germans kings and princes; we have even made dukes, counts and
barons with the names of their villages; we have loaded them with
honors, and see their gratitude!

"Instead of having ordered us to respect the people, we should be given
full power over them; then the thieves would change faces and treat us
well, as they did in 1806. Force is everything. In the first place,
conscripts are made by force, for if they were not forced to come, they
would all stay at home. Of the conscripts soldiers are made by
force--by discipline being taught them; with soldiers battles are
gained by force, and then people are forced to give you everything:
they prepare triumphal arches for you and call you heroes because they
are afraid of you; that is how it is!

"But the Emperor is too good. If he were not so good I would not have
been in danger of drowning to-day;--the sight of my uniform would have
made that peasant tremble at the idea of telling me a lie."

So spoke Zimmer, and all this yet remains in my memory. It happened
August 12, 1813.

Returning to Leipzig, we saw joy painted on the countenances of the
inhabitants. It did not display itself openly; but the citizens,
meeting, would shake hands with an air of huge satisfaction, and the
general rejoicing glistened even in the eyes of servants and the
poorest workmen.

Zimmer said: "These Germans seem to be merry about something, they all
look so good-natured."

"Yes," I replied; "their good humor comes from the fine weather and
good harvest."

It was true the weather was very fine, but when we reached the
barracks, we found some of our officers at the gate, talking eagerly
together, while those who were going by came up to listen, and then we
learned the cause of so much joy. The conference at Prague was broken
off, and Austria, too, was about to declare war against us, which gave
us two hundred thousand more men to take care of. I have learned since
that we then stood three hundred thousand men against