very important
to capture the redoubt. He put new life into us, and on we ran. I was
the first to reach the ravine. Ah! Mon Dieu! How the colonels are
falling, and the lieutenants, and the soldiers! But never mind! There'll
be all the more shoes for those who haven't any, and epaulets for the
ambitious fellows who know how to read.

At last the cry of "Victory!" rang all along the line; but--would you
believe it?--there were twenty-five thousand Frenchmen lying on the
ground! A trifle, eh? Well, such a thing had never been seen before. It
was a regular harvest field after the reaping; only instead of stalks of
grain there were bodies of men. That sobered the rest of us. But the
Emperor soon came along, and when we formed a circle around him, he
praised us and cheered us up (he could be very amiable when he liked),
and made us feel quite contented, even although we were as hungry as
wolves. Then he distributed crosses of honor among us, saluted the dead,
and said, "On to Moscow!"

"All right! To Moscow!" replied the army.

And then what did the Russians do but burn their city! It made a
six-mile bonfire which blazed for two days. The buildings fell like
slates, and there was a rain of melted iron and lead which was simply
horrible! Indeed, that fire was the lightning from the dark cloud of our
misfortunes. The Emperor said: "There's enough of this. If we stay here,
none of my soldiers will ever get out." But we waited a little to cool
off and to refresh our carcasses; because we were really played out. We
carried away a golden cross that was on the Kremlin, and every soldier
had a small fortune.

On our way back, winter came upon us, a month earlier than usual,--a
thing that those stupid scientific men have never properly
explained,--and the cold caught us. Then there was no more army; do you
understand? No army, no generals, no sergeants even! After that it was
a reign of misery and hunger--a reign where we were all equal. We
thought of nothing except of seeing France again. Nobody stooped to pick
up his gun, or his money, if he happened to drop them; and every one
went straight on, arms at will, caring nothing for glory. The weather
was so bad that Napoleon could no longer see his star--the sky was
hidden. Poor man! It made him sick at heart to see his eagles flying
away from victory. It was a crushing blow to him.

Well, then came the Beresina. And now, my friends, I may say to you, on
my honor and by everything