bserved that
when they went to dinner someone stole the sacks of corn that were left
in the stable, got Woirland to unfasten Lisette and leave her near the
door. The thief arrived, slipped into the stable, and was in the act of
carrying off a sack, when the mare seized him by the nape of the neck,
dragged him into the middle of the yard, and trampled on him till she
broke two of his ribs. At the shrieks of the thief people ran up, but
Lisette would not let him go till my servant and I compelled her, for in
her fury she would have flown at anyone else. She had become still more
vicious ever since the Saxon hussar officer, of whom I have told you,
had treacherously laid open her shoulder with a sabre-cut on the
battlefield of Jena.

'Such was the mare which I was riding at Eylau at the moment when the
fragments of Augereau's army corps, shattered by a hail of musketry and
cannon-balls, were trying to rally near the great cemetery. You will
remember how the 14th of the line had remained alone on a hillock,
which it could not quit except by the Emperor's order. The snow had
ceased for the moment; we could see how the intrepid regiment,
surrounded by the enemy, was waving its eagle in the air to show that it
still held its ground and asked for support. The Emperor, touched by the
grand devotion of these brave men, resolved to try to save them, and
ordered Augereau to send an officer to them with orders to leave the
hillock, form a small square, and make their way towards us, while a
brigade of cavalry should march in their direction and assist their
efforts. This was before Murat's great charge. It was almost impossible
to carry out the Emperor's wishes, because a swarm of Cossacks was
between us and the 14th, and it was clear that any officer who was sent
towards the unfortunate regiment would be killed or captured before he
could get to it. But the order was positive, and the marshal had to
comply.

[Illustration: Lisette catches the thief in the stable]

'It was customary in the Imperial army for the aides-de-camp to place
themselves in file a few paces from their general, and for the one who
was in front to go on duty first: then, when he had performed his
mission, to return and place himself last, in order that each might
carry orders in his turn, and dangers might be shared equally. A brave
captain of engineers named Froissard, who, though not an aide-de-camp,
was on the marshal's staff, happened to be nearest to hi