thquakings, I'll go into it, tooth and nail!' We were drawn up
in line before the great ravine--front seats, as 'twere. Signal given;
and seven hundred pieces of artillery began a conversation that would
bring the blood from your ears. Then--must do justice to one's
enemies--the Russians let themselves be killed like Frenchmen; they
wouldn't give way; we couldn't advance. 'Forward!' some one cried, 'here
comes the Emperor!' True enough; he passed at a gallop, waving his hand
to let us know we must take the redoubt. He inspired us; on we ran; I
was the first in the ravine. Ha! my God! how the lieutenants fell, and
the colonels, and the soldiers! No matter! all the more shoes for those
that had none, and epaulets for the clever ones who knew how to read.
'Victory!' cried the whole line; 'Victory!'--and, would you believe it?
a thing never seen before, there lay twenty-five thousand Frenchmen on
the ground. 'Twas like mowing down a wheat-field; only in place of the
ears of wheat put the heads of men! We were sobered by this time--those
who were left alive. The MAN rode up; we made the circle round him. Ha!
he knew how to cajole his children; he could be amiable when he liked,
and feed 'em with words when their stomachs were ravenous with the
hunger of wolves. Flatterer! he distributed the crosses himself, he
uncovered to the dead, and then he cried to us, 'On! to Moscow!' 'To
Moscow!' answered the army.

"We took Moscow. Would you believe it? the Russians burned their own
city! 'Twas a haystack six miles square, and it blazed for two days. The
buildings crashed like slates, and showers of melted iron and lead
rained down upon us, which was naturally horrible. I may say to you
plainly, it was like a flash of lightning on our disasters. The Emperor
said, 'We have done enough; my soldiers shall rest here.' So we rested
awhile, just to get the breath into our bodies and the flesh on our
bones, for we were really tired. We took possession of the golden cross
that was on the Kremlin; and every soldier brought away with him a small
fortune. But out there the winter sets in a month earlier--a thing those
fools of science didn't properly explain. So, coming back, the cold
nipped us. No longer an army--do you hear me?--no longer any generals,
no longer any sergeants even. 'Twas the reign of wretchedness and
hunger--a reign of equality at last. No one thought of anything but to
see France once more; no one stooped to pick up his gun o