, spreading rapidly, by nightfall the whole
city was in flames. On the following day the Kremlin itself became so
uninhabitable from the heat, that the Emperor was forced to withdraw
from it, and could not return till the 20th, when heavy rain
extinguished the flames, which had already consumed nine-tenths of the
city. Of 48,000 houses only 700 escaped; of 1600 churches 800 were
destroyed and 700 damaged; of 24,000 wounded French and Russians in the
hospitals more than 20,000 perished in the flames. In the meantime
Kutusow had tardily adopted the advice he had before rejected, had moved
round with his army and taken up his position on the Oka river, near
Kulouga, where he menaced the French line of communication. Already the
Cossack cavalry were hovering round Moscow, intercepting convoys and
cutting up small detachments, while the horses of the French cavalry
were so worn out by fatigue and famine that in several affairs with the
Russian cavalry the latter gained decisive advantages.

"You are right again, comrade," the old sergeant said to Julian, who had
been promoted to the rank of sergeant after the battle of Borodino, as
they stood together on the night of the 15th gazing at the terrible
spectacle of the city enveloped in flames. "_Peste!_ these Russians are
terrible fellows. Who could have thought of such a thing? It is a bad
look-out for us."

"A terrible look-out, there is no denying it," Julian agreed. "It is
impossible for the army to stay here without food, without forage,
without shelter, with our communications threatened, and the Russian
army on our flank. I see nothing for it but to retreat, and the sooner
we are out of it the better. Were I the Emperor I would issue orders for
the march to begin at daylight. In another month winter will be on us,
and none can say what disasters may befall the army."

Had the order been given that day the French army might have made its
way back to the frontier, with heavy loss doubtless, but without
disaster. But Napoleon could not bring himself to believe that the
Russians would refuse to enter into negotiations. He tried through
various sources to send proposals to Alexander, and even opened secret
negotiations with Kutusow, and had arranged for a private meeting with
him, when the matter was stopped by Sir Robert Wilson, who had received
specific instructions from the Emperor Alexander to interpose in his
name to prevent any negotiations whatever being carried on.