n old long-bearded Russian, seated on an
eminence overlooking Smoleusko, thus, in tears, addressed his little
grandson, whom he held upon his knees: "Formerly, my child, the
Russians went to gain victories at the extremity of Europe; now,
strangers come to attack them in their own homes." The grief of this
old man was not vain, and we shall soon see how dearly his tears
have been purchased.

CHAPTER 20.

Departure for Sweden.--Passage through Finland.

The emperor quitted Petersburg, and I learned that he was gone to
Abo, where he was to meet General Bernadotte, Prince Royal of
Sweden. This news left no farther doubt about the determination of
that prince to take part in the present war, and nothing could be
more important at that moment for the salvation of Russia, and
consequently for that of Europe We shall see the influence of it
developed in the sequel of this narrative. The news of the entrance
of the French into Smolensko arrived during the conferences of the
prince of Sweden with the emperor of Russia; and it was there that
Alexander contracted the engagement with himself and the Prince
Royal, his ally, never to sign a treaty of peace. "Should Petersburg
be taken," said he, "I will retire into Siberia. I will there resume
our ancient customs, and like our long-bearded ancestors, we will
return anew to conquer the Empire." "This resolution will liberate
Europe," exclaimed the Prince Royal, and his prediction begins to be
accomplishing.

I saw the Emperor Alexander a second time upon his return from Abo,
and the conversation I had the honor of holding with him, satisfied
me to that degree of the firmness of his determination, that in
spite of the capture of Moscow, and all the reports which followed
it, I firmly believed that he would never yield. He was so good as
to tell me, that after the capture of Smolensko, Marshal Berthier
had written to the Russian commander in chief respecting some
military matters, and terminated his letter by saying that the
Emperor Napoleon always preserved the tenderest friendship for the
Emperor Alexander, a stale mystification which the emperor of Russia
received as it deserved. Napoleon had given him some lessons in
politics, and lessons in war, abandoning himself in the first to the
quackery of vice, and in the second to the pleasure of exhibiting a
disdainful carelessness. He was deceived in the Emperor Alexander;
he had mistaken the nobleness of his character for d