urvivors of the
expedition dragged themselves homewards through the Polish provinces,
they were met by large bodies of reinforcements pouring in from the
west; these recruits, comparatively fresh, were at first appalled by the
gaunt and famine-stricken aspect of the returning veterans, but soon
perished themselves in nearly equal numbers. It is estimated that
altogether only 60,000 men recrossed the frontier out of a total of
630,000, and in the estimate of 60,000 is included Macdonald's division,
which was exposed to comparatively little hardship. That division with
the Prussian contingent began to fall back on December 19. On the 30th,
however, the Prussians were reduced to neutrality by the convention of
Tauroggen, signed by the Prussian commander, Yorck, with the Russians,
without the sanction of his government. Had Russia been in a condition
to press onwards at once and carry the war into French territory, it is
possible that Europe might have been spared the misery and bloodshed of
the next few years. But, for the moment, her strength and resources were
exhausted, nor was it until months had elapsed that other nations, or
even France herself, became aware of the magnitude of the catastrophe
which had overtaken Napoleon's host. That he was able to rally himself
after it, to carry the French people with him, to enforce a new
conscription, and to assume the aggressive in the campaign of 1813, must
ever remain a supreme proof of his capacity for empire.

[Pageheading: _DISPUTES WITH THE UNITED STATES._]

In the year 1812 war broke out between Great Britain and the United
States. For a time the continental warfare had led to a great increase
in American commerce, which was free from the attacks of privateers and
from the restrictions which the opposing parties placed on one another.
Presently, however, both parties attempted to force the United States
into a virtual alliance with themselves. Orders in council on the one
side and imperial decrees on the other had, as we have seen, declared a
blockade of the ports of the continent of Europe and of Great Britain,
and the United States saw their commerce threatened with disabilities
approximating to those suffered by the belligerent powers. President
Jefferson, who was supported by the republican party, adhered to a
policy of strict neutrality, and prepared to suffer any commercial loss
rather than be drawn into an European war. The only action which he took
was the defen