men of the old and young guard were
still there. This was the whole of the grand army, and of that gigantic
body there remained nothing but the head. But at the news of Napoleon's
departure, these veterans, spoiled by the habit of being commanded only
by the conqueror of Europe, being no longer supported by the honour of
serving him, and scorning to act as guards to another, gave way in their
turn, and voluntarily fell into disorder.

Most of the colonels of the army, who had hitherto been such subjects of
admiration, and had marched on, with only four or five officers or
soldiers around their eagle, preserving their place of battle, now
followed no orders but their own; each of them fancied himself entrusted
with his own safety, and looked only to himself for it. Men there were
who marched two hundred leagues without even looking round. It was an
almost general _sauve-qui-peut_.

The Emperor's disappearance and Murat's incapacity were not, however,
the only causes of this dispersion; the principal certainly was the
severity of the winter, which at that moment became extreme. It
aggravated every thing, and seemed to have planted itself completely
between Wilna and the army.

Till we arrived at Malodeczno, and up to the 4th of December, the day
when it set in upon us with such violence, the march, although painful,
had been marked by a smaller number of deaths than before we reached the
Berezina. This respite was partly owing to the vigorous efforts of Ney
and Maison, which had kept the enemy in check, to the then milder
temperature, to the supplies which were obtained from a less ravaged
country, and, finally, to the circumstance that they were the strongest
men who had escaped from the passage of the Berezina.

The partial organization which had been introduced into the disorder was
kept up. The mass of runaways kept on their way, divided into a number
of petty associations of eight or ten men. Many of these bands still
possessed a horse, which carried their provisions, and was himself
finally destined to be converted to that purpose. A covering of rags,
some utensils, a knapsack, and a stick, formed the accoutrements and the
armour of these poor fellows. They no longer possessed either the arms
or the uniform of a soldier, nor the desire of combating any other
enemies than hunger and cold; but they still retained perseverance,
firmness, the habit of danger and suffering, and a spirit always ready,
pliant, and quic