uscovites who had
waited our coming! and who seemed to have been left behind as a savage
and frightful emblem of the national hatred.

It was easy to perceive, however, that there was no unison in this
patriotic fury. Five hundred recruits, who had been forgotten in the
Kremlin, took no part in this scene: at the first summons they
dispersed; and farther on we overtook a convoy of provisions, the escort
of which immediately threw down its arms. Several thousand stragglers
and deserters from the enemy voluntarily remained in the power of our
advance guard. The latter left to the corps which followed the task of
picking them up; these, again, to others, and so on; and thus they
remained at liberty in the midst of us, till the conflagration and
pillage of the city reminding them of their duty, and rallying in them
one general feeling of antipathy, they went and rejoined Kutusoff.

Murat, who had been stopped but a few moments by the Kremlin, dispersed
this despicable crew. Ardent and indefatigable as in Italy and Egypt,
after a march of twenty-seven hundred miles, and sixty battles fought to
reach Moscow, he traversed that proud city without deigning to halt in
it, and pursuing the Russian rear guard, he boldly and without
hesitation took the road for Vladimir and Asia.

Several thousand Cossacks, with four pieces of cannon, were retreating
in that direction: the armistice was at an end; and Murat, tired of this
peace of half a day, immediately ordered it to be broken by a discharge
of carbines. But our cavalry considered the war as finished; Moscow
appeared to them to be the goal of it; and the advanced posts of the two
empires seemed unwilling to renew hostilities. A fresh order arrived,
but the same hesitation prevailed. At length Murat, incensed at this
disobedience, gave his commands in person; and the firing, with which he
seemed to threaten Asia, but which was not destined to cease till we had
retreated to the banks of the Seine, was renewed.

Sec. 5. Napoleon takes up his quarters in the Kremlin; the city discovered
to be on fire.

Napoleon did not enter Moscow till after dark. He stopped in one of the
first houses of the Dorogomilow suburb. There he appointed Marshal
Mortier governor of that capital. "Above all," he said to him, "no
pillage. For this you shall be answerable to me with your life. Defend
Moscow against all, whether friend or foe."

That was a gloomy night: sinister reports rapidly followed e