eneral Anthouard ran to his artillerymen, and general
Girardin to the 106th regiment, which he halted, rallied, and led back
against the Russian right wing, whose position he carried, as well as
two pieces of cannon and the victory; on his side, general Pire
encountered and turned the left of the enemy. Fortune having again
changed sides, the Russians withdrew into their forests.

Meanwhile, they persevered on the left in defending a thick wood, the
advanced position of which broke our line. The 92d regiment,
intimidated by the heavy fire which issued from it, and bewildered by a
shower of balls, remained immoveable, neither daring to advance nor
retreat, restrained by two opposite fears--the dread of danger and the
dread of shame--and escaping neither; but general Belliard hastened to
reanimate them by his words, and general Roussel by his example; and the
wood was carried.

By this success, a strong column which had advanced on our right, in
order to turn it, was itself turned; Murat perceived this, and instantly
drawing his sword, exclaimed, "Let the bravest follow me!" But this
territory is intersected with ravines which protected the retreat of the
Russians, who all plunged into a forest of two leagues in depth, which
was the last natural curtain which concealed Witepsk from our view.

After so warm a contest, the king of Naples and the viceroy were
hesitating about committing themselves to so covered a country, when the
emperor came up: both hastened to his presence, in order to show him
what had been done, and what still remained to be done. Napoleon
immediately ascended the highest rising ground, which was nearest to the
enemy. From thence his genius, soaring over every obstacle, soon
penetrated the mystery of the forests, and the depths of the mountains
before him; he gave his orders without hesitation; and the same woods
which had arrested the audacity of the two princes, were traversed from
end to end. In short, that very evening, Witepsk might have discerned
from the summit of her double eminence our light troops emerging into
the plain by which she is surrounded.

Here, every thing contributed to stop the emperor; the night, the
multitude of hostile fires which covered the plain, an unknown country,
which it was necessary to reconnoitre, in order to direct his divisions
across it, and especially the time requisite to enable the crowd of
soldiers to disengage themselves from the long and narrow defile thr