, and some
other officers, from one of whom we had this anecdote, breakfasted with
Count Rostapchin at his villa in the vicinity of the town, which it had
been the delight of his life to cultivate and adorn. After breakfast,
Count Rostapchin assembled his servants and retainers; and after saying
that he hoped his son and latest descendants would always be willing to
make a similar sacrifice for the good of their country, he took a torch,
set fire to the building with his own hands, and waited until it was
consumed. He then rode into the town to superintend the destruction of
some warehouses full of clothes, of a number of carts, and of other
things which might be useful to the enemy. But he did not, as we were
assured by his son, whom we met at Paris, order the destruction of the
town. The French, enraged at the loss of what was most valuable to them,
according to the uniform account of the Russians, set fire in a
deliberate and methodical manner to the different streets. It is but
justice to say, however, that French officers, who had been at Moscow,
denied the truth of the latter part of this statement.

* * *

The Russian troops in the neighbourhood of Paris were under the
immediate command of General Count Miloradovitch, a man of large
property, and unbounded generosity, and an enthusiast in his profession.
He had been in the habit of always making the troops under his command
some kind of present on his birth-day. During the retreat of the French
from Moscow, this day came round when he was not quite prepared for it.
"I have no money here," said he to his soldiers; "but yonder," pointing
to a French column, "is a present worthy of you and of me." This address
was a prelude to one of the most successful attacks, made during the
pursuit, on the French rear-guard.

The other Russian commanders, whom we heard highly spoken of by the
Russian officers whom we met, were, the Marshal commanding, Barclay de
Tolly, in whose countenance we thought we could trace the indications of
his Scotch origin;--he is an old man, and was commonly represented as
"sage, prudent, tres savant dans la guerre."--Wigtenstein, who is much
younger, and is designated as "ardent, impetueux, entreprenant,"
&c.--Benigsen, who is an old man, but very active, and represented to be
as fond of fighting as Blucher himself;--Count Langeron, and Baron
Sacken, the commanders of corps in the Silesian army. The former is a
French emigrant, but has been long