disaster; he fancied that he had
completely prevented it by the instructions he had sent to Victor from
Moscow, on the 6th of October. These instructions "anticipated a warm
attack from Wittgenstein or Tchitchakof; they recommended Victor to keep
within reach of Polotsk and of Minsk; to have a prudent, discreet, and
intelligent officer about Schwartzenberg; to keep up a regular
correspondence with Minsk, and to send other agents in different
directions."

But Wittgenstein having made his attack before Tchitchakof, the nearer
and more pressing danger had attracted every one's attention; the wise
instructions of the 6th of October had not been repeated by Napoleon,
and they appeared to have been entirely forgotten by his lieutenant.
Finally, when the Emperor learned at Dombrowna the loss of Minsk, he had
no idea that Borizof was in such imminent danger, as when he passed the
next day through Orcha, he had the whole of his bridge-equipage burnt.

His correspondence also of the 20th of November with Victor proved his
security; it supposed that Oudinot would have nearly arrived on the 25th
at Borizof, while that place had been taken possession of by Tchitchakof
on the 21st.

It was on the day immediately subsequent to that fatal catastrophe, at
the distance of three marches from Borizof, and upon the high road, that
an officer arrived and announced to Napoleon this fresh disaster. The
Emperor, striking the ground with his stick, and darting a furious look
to heaven, pronounced these words, "It is then written above that we
shall now commit nothing but faults!"

Meanwhile Marshal Oudinot, who was already marching towards Minsk,
totally ignorant of what had happened, halted on the 21st between Bobr
and Kroupki, when in the middle of the night General Brownikowski
arrived to announce to him his own defeat, as well as that of General
Dombrowski; that Borizof was taken, and that the Russians were following
hard at his heels.

On the 22d the marshal marched to meet them, and rallied the remains of
Dombrowski's force.

On the 23d, at three leagues on the other side of Borizof, he came in
contact with the Russian vanguard, which he overthrew, taking from it
nine hundred men and fifteen hundred carriages, and drove back by the
united force of his artillery, infantry, and cavalry, as far as the
Berezina; but the remains of Lambert's force, on repassing Borizof and
that river, destroyed the bridge.

Napoleon was then at Toloc