n one day.

"Now, is there any man among you who will stand up here and declare to
me that all that was human? No; it was _written above_; and may the
scurvy seize 'em who deny that he was sent by God himself for the
triumph of France!

"Well, here's the Emperor of Russia, that used to be his friend, he
gets angry because Napoleon didn't marry a Russian; so he joins with the
English, our enemies--to whom our Emperor always wanted to say a couple
of words in their burrows, only he was prevented. Napoleon gets angry
too; an end had to be put to such doings; so he says to us: 'Soldiers!
you have been masters of every capital in Europe, except Moscow, which
is now the ally of England. To conquer England, and India which belongs
to the English, it becomes our peremptory duty to go to Moscow,' Then he
assembled the greatest army that ever trailed its gaiters over the
globe; and so marvellously in hand it was that he reviewed a million of
men in one day. 'Hourra!'[9] cried the Russians. Down came all Russia
and those animals of Cossacks in a flock. 'Twas nation against nation, a
general hurly-burly, and beware who could; 'Asia against Europe,' as the
Red Man had foretold to Napoleon. 'Enough,' cried the Emperor, 'I'll be
ready.'

"So now, sure enough, came all the kings, as the Red Man had said, to
lick Napoleon's hand! Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Poland, Italy,
every one of them were with us, flattering us; ah, it was fine! The
eagles never cawed so loud as at those parades, perched high above the
banners of all Europe. The Poles were bursting with joy, because
Napoleon was going to release them; and that's why France and Poland are
brothers to this day. 'Russia is ours,' cried the army. We plunged into
it well-supplied; we marched and we marched--no Russians. At last we
found the brutes entrenched on the banks of the Moskva. That's where I
won my cross, and I've got the right to say it was a damnable battle.
This was how it came about. The Emperor was anxious. He had seen the Red
Man, who said to him 'My son, you are going too fast for your feet; you
will lack men; friends will betray you.' So the Emperor offered peace.
But before signing, 'Let us drub those Russians!' he said to us. 'Done!'
cried the army. 'Forward, march!' said the sergeants. My clothes were in
rags, my shoes worn out, from trudging along those roads, which are very
uncomfortable ones; but no matter! I said to myself, 'As it's the last
of our ear