ness with a melancholy cadence no words can convey. Far away in the
distance the moving lights marked where fatigue parties went in search
of their comrades. The Emperor himself did not leave the saddle till
nigh morning; he went, followed by an ambulance, hither and thither over
the plain, recalling the names of the several regiments, enumerating
their deeds of prowess, and even asking for many of the soldiers by
name. He ordered large fires to be lighted throughout the field, and
where medical assistance could not be procured, the officers of the
staff might be seen covering the wounded with greatcoats and cloaks, and
rendering them such aid as lay in their power.

Dreadful as the picture was,--fearful reverse to the gorgeous splendor
of the vast army the morning sun had shone upon, and in the pride of
strength and spirit,--yet even here was there much to make one feel that
war is not bereft of its humanizing influences. How many a soldier did I
see that night, blackened with powder, his clothes torn and ragged with
shot, sitting beside a wounded comrade--now wetting his lips with a
cool draught, now cheering his heart with words of comfort! Many, though
wounded, were tending others less able to assist themselves. Acts of
kindness and self-devotion--not less in number than those of heroism and
courage--were met with at every step; while among the sufferers there
lived a spirit of enthusiasm that seemed to lighten the worst pang of
their agony. Many would cry out, as I passed, to know the fate of the
day, and what became of this regiment or of that battalion. Others could
but articulate a faint "Vive l'Empereur!" which in the intervals of pain
they kept repeating, as though it were a charm against suffering; while
one question met me every instant,--"What says the Petit Caporal? Is he
content with us?" None were insensible to the glorious issue of
that day; nor amid all the agony of death, dealt out in every shape of
horror and misery, did I hear one word of anger or rebuke to him for
whose ambition they had shed their heart's blood.

[Illustration: 050]

Having secured a fresh horse, I rode forward in the direction of
Austerlitz, where our cavalry, met by the chevaliers of the Russian
Imperial Guard, sustained the greatest check and the most considerable
loss of the day. The old dragoon who accompanied me warned me I should
find few, if any, of our comrades living there.

"_Ventrebleu!_ lieutenant, you can't expect