spirit and habit of obedience in it, collectively and
singly, and so thoroughly unprovided were we with every kind of
information, as well as resources, in this deserted and thoroughly
hostile country.

The army of Italy was advancing at some leagues' distance on the left of
the great road, and surprised some of the armed peasantry, who were not
accustomed to fighting; but their master, with a dagger in his hand,
rushed upon our soldiers like a madman: he exclaimed that he had no
longer a religion, empire, or country to defend, and that life was
odious to him; they were willing, however, to leave him that, but as he
attempted to kill the soldiers who surrounded him, pity yielded to
anger, and his wish was gratified.

Near Krymskoie, on the 11th of September, the hostile army again made
its appearance, firmly established in a strong position. It had returned
to its plan of looking more to the ground, in its retreat, than to the
enemy. The duke of Treviso at first satisfied Murat of the impossibility
of attacking it; but the smell of powder soon intoxicated that monarch.
He committed himself, and obliged Dufour, Mortier, and their infantry,
to advance to his support. This consisted of the remains of Friand's
division, and the young guard. There were lost, without the least
utility, 2000 men of that reserve which had been so unseasonably spared
on the day of battle; and Mortier was so enraged, that he wrote to the
emperor, that he would no longer obey Murat's orders. For it was by
letter that the generals of the vanguard communicated with Napoleon. He
had remained for three days at Mojaisk, confined to his apartment, still
consumed by a burning fever, overwhelmed with business, and worn out
with anxiety. A violent cold had deprived him of the use of his voice.
Compelled to dictate to seven persons at once, and unable to make
himself heard, he wrote on different papers the heads of his despatches.
When any difficulty arose, he explained himself by signs.

There was a moment when Bessieres enumerated to him all the generals who
were wounded on the day of the battle. This fatal list affected him so
poignantly, that by a violent effort he recovered his voice, and
interrupted the marshal by the sudden exclamation, "Eight days at
Moscow, and there will be an end of it!"

Meantime, although he had hitherto placed all his futurity in that
capital, a victory so sanguinary and so little decisive lowered his
hopes. His instructio