While the French, Croat, Swiss, and Portuguese regiments worked unceasingly at improving their position, the Bavarians alone took no steps to escape from sickness and want. In vain did General Wrede try to stimulate their energy by pointing out the activity with which the French soldiers were constructing huts, harvesting, threshing, grinding, and baking; the poor Bavarians, wholly demoralized since they had ceased to receive rations, admired the intelligent work of our troops without trying to imitate them. Thus they died like flies, and not one would have survived if Marshal Saint-Cyr, giving up his habitual indolence for a moment, had not bidden the colonels of the other divisions to supply the Bavarians every day with bread, while the light cavalry fetched cattle for them. Yet these Germans, so slack when it was necessary to work, were brave enough before the enemy, but as soon as the danger was over they relapsed into utter apathy. Home-sickness took possession of them; they crawled to Polotsk, and making for the hospitals, which the care of their chiefs had established, they asked for 'the room where people die,' lay down on the straw, and never got up again. In this way a great number perished, and things came to such a point that General Wrede was obliged to place in his baggage wagon the colours of several battalions which had no longer men enough to guard them. Yet we were in September, and so far the weather was very mild; the other troops were in good condition and lived merrily while awaiting future events. The troopers of my regiment were especially noticed for their good health, which I attributed in the first place to the quantity of bread and meat which I gave them, and still more to the plentiful supply of spirits which I was able to obtain by an arrangement with the Jesuits of Polotsk. Those kind fathers, all French, had a large farm at Luchonski with a distillery of corn brandy, but on the approach of war the workmen had all fled to the monastery, taking their stills and apparatus, so that the manufacture had stopped, and the brethren had lost part of their income. Meanwhile the assemblage of the army about the town had made alcohol so scarce and so dear that the canteen-men made several days' journey to Wilna to fetch it. It occurred to me then to make a treaty with the Jesuits, under which I was to protect their distillers, and make my soldiers provide the necessary corn, on condition that my regiment should have every day a share of the resulting brandy. My proposal was accepted; the monks derived great profit from the sale of their spirit in the camp, and I was able to serve it out three times a day to my men, who since they crossed the Niemen had drunk nothing but water.

I know that these details seem at first sight superfluous, but I recall them with pleasure, because the care which I took of my men saved the lives of many of them, and kept the effective strength of the 23rd Chasseurs far above that of any other cavalry regiment in the army corps. This gained me a testimony of the Emperor's satisfaction, of which I will speak later on. I took two other precautions which saved the life of many of my troopers: the first was compelling them all to provide themselves with sheepskin-overcoats, such as were to be found in plenty in the deserted villages. Soldiers are big children, and one has to take care of them in spite of themselves. My men declared at first that these greatcoats were useless and overweighted their horses; but by the time that October began they were very glad to put them under their cloaks, and when the great cold came on they thanked me for compelling them to keep them. My second precaution was to send to the rear of the army all troopers who had lost their horses by the enemy's fire, or by breaking down. There was a general order that all such men were to be sent to Lepel, in Lithuania, where they were to receive horses that were expected from Warsaw. I was preparing to obey this order, when I heard that the depot at Lepel was choked with dismounted troopers in great want, and having nothing to do, since no remounts had arrived. I therefore took it upon myself to send all my dismounted men direct to Warsaw under the command of Captain Poitevin, who had been wounded. I knew quite well that I was contravening the regulations, but in an immense army transported to such a distance, and placed in such unusual circumstances, it was physically impossible that the administrative staff could attend to the requirements of the troops. It was therefore necessary for a regimental commander often to act on his own responsibility; so General Castex, who could not give me an official authorisation, promised to wink at what was going on, and I continued as far as possible to act on this principle, until the troopers whom I sent to Warsaw gradually amounted to 250. After the campaign I picked them up on the Vistula, all newly clothed, well equipped, and with excellent horses, and they formed a capital reinforcement for the regiment. The dismounted men from other regiments who were collected at Lepel to the number of more than 9,000, overtaken by the retreat of the troops on the way from Moscow, were nearly all taken prisoners or died of cold on the road; yet it would have been easy to have sent them during the summer and autumn to Warsaw, where there were in the depot plenty of horses only wanting riders.

I had a good month's rest at Luchonski, which helped forward the cure of the wound that I had received in July at Jakabowo. In that camp we were well off from a material point of view, but very uneasy about what was going on in the direction of Moscow, and we very seldom got news from France. At length I received a letter from my dear Angelique, in which she announced that she had given birth to a boy. Great as was my joy it was mingled with sadness, for I was far from my family, and though I did not foresee all the dangers to which I was shortly to be exposed, I could not hide from myself that there were great obstacles in the way of our meeting again.

Towards the middle of September Marshal Saint-Cyr sent me on a very delicate errand. Its end was twofold: first to find out what the enemy was doing in the neighbourhood of Nevel, and then to return by the shores of lake Ozerichtchi and speak with Count Lubenski, the greatest noble of the country, and one of the few Poles who were ready to do anything to shake off the Russian yoke.

The Emperor, who, while hesitating to proclaim the restoration of the old Poland, had wished to organize the parts already occupied into departments, had met with much opposition from the nobles to whom he had proposed to entrust the administration of them. However, after the assurances which he had received as to the patriotism of Count Lubenski, he had appointed him prefect of Witebsk. As he lived on an estate lying outside of the districts occupied by the French, it was difficult to get the announcement of his nomination to him, and Napoleon had therefore given orders that a body of light cavalry should be sent his way. The duty of carrying out this task having fallen to me, I picked 300 of the bravest and best-mounted men of my regiment, and, after duly victualling them, departed on September 14 from the camp at Luchonski, leaving there Castex's brigade and the rest of our squadrons. I took Lorenz with me to act as interpreter.

Partisan warfare is dangerous and very laborious. Avoiding high roads; hiding by day in the forest without daring to light a fire; getting food and forage in some hamlet, and going some leagues away to consume it, so as to get the better of the enemy's spies; marching all night, and sometimes towards a point other than that which we were really making for; being for ever on the alert—such was the life which I led from the moment when I was launched with only 300 men into a vast and unknown region, ever getting further from the French and nearer to the Russians, with a chance of meeting strong bodies of them. My position was difficult; but I trusted to my luck and the courage of my troopers, and advanced steadily, keeping always two or three leagues to one side of the road from Polotsk to Nevel by Tomchino.

I need not relate in detail the incidents of no great interest which befel us; it will suffice to say that, thanks to the good counsel given us by the peasants, who were opposed to the Russians, we went all round the town of Nevel, avoiding the enemy's outposts, and after marching eight days, or rather eight nights, reached Lake Ozerichtchi, on the shores of which stood the handsome château belonging to Count Lubenski. I shall never forget our arrival at that ancient and immense mansion. A lovely autumn evening was lighted up by the moon. The count's family were assembled to celebrate his birthday and rejoice over Napoleon's success at the Moskwa, when the servants ran in announcing that the house was surrounded by soldiers, who had set outposts and sentinels, and were already entering the courtyards. They thought it was the Russian police come to arrest their master. He, being a man of courage, was calmly awaiting his removal to the prisons of St. Petersburg, when one of his sons, having opened a window through curiosity, remarked: 'Those troopers are talking French.' At these words Count Lubenski with his family and servants rushed out of the house. He assembled them under a large portico, and as I mounted the steps came towards me with open arms, exclaiming in tragic tones: 'Welcome, generous Gaul, bringing liberty to my country, so long oppressed! Come, warrior of the great Napoleon. Poland's liberator, let me press thee to my heart!' Not only did the count embrace me; he insisted on the countess, his sons, and daughters doing the same. Then the chaplain, the tutors, the governesses kissed my hand, and the servants touched my knee with their lips. Astonished as I was at the various grades of honour which were rendered me, I received them with all the gravity at my command, and imagined the scene at an end, when, at a word from to count, all fell prostrate in prayer.

We entered the château, and handing Count Lubenski his appointment as prefect of Witebsk bearing the seal of the Emperor of the French I asked if he accepted it.

'Yes,' he cried vigorously, 'and I am all ready to follow you. The countess was no less enthusiastic, and it was settled that the count should start with me. I allowed an hour to prepare for the journey, which I need not say that my detachment employed in making a good supper, though in our fear of being surprised they were obliged to eat on horseback. Having taken our leave, we went four leagues further and slept in a forest, where we lay hidden all the next day. On the following night we continued our march; but in order to put the enemy, who might have been surprised at the presence of a French detachment in these regions, off the scent I carefully avoided taking the same road as I had followed when coming, and reached Polotsk in five days by way of Lombrowka, sometimes following paths, sometimes going across country. I was all the more thankful that I had returned by a different road when I learnt from some traders belonging to Nevel that the Russians had sent a regiment of dragoons and 600 Cossacks to look out for me, about the head waters of the Drissa, towards Krasnopoli.

After reporting to Marshal Saint-Cyr, and presenting Count Lubenski to him, I returned to our bivouac at Luchonski, where I found General Castex and the rest of my regiment. My expedition had lasted thirteen days, during which we had incurred much fatigue and some privation, but I brought my people back in good condition. We had not had to fight, for such small bodies of the enemy as we had seen had all taken flight at the sight of us.

During our journey I had been in a position to form an opinion with regard to Count Lubenski. He was a well educated and able man, patriotic above all things, but his judgment was sometimes led astray by his enthusiasm when it was a question of choosing the means to the reconstitution of Poland. If however, all his compatriots had shared his ardour, and taken up arms on the coming of the French, Poland might, perhaps, have recovered her independence in 1812, but they remained, with very few exceptions, utterly apathetic.

After leaving Polotsk the count went to take possession of his prefecture. He did not hold it long, for a month had hardly lapsed, when the French army was passing through the province of Witebsk in its retreat. Thus compelled to resign his prefecture and withdraw from the vengeance of the Russians, Count Lubenski took refuge in Galicia where he had large possessions. He lived there peaceably till 1830, at which time he returned to Russian Poland when it was in arms against the Czar. What befel Count Lubenski during and after this rising I do not know. Several of his compatriots assured me that he retired again to Galicia. He was a great patriot and an excellent man.

A few days after our return to Luchonski I was much surprised at seeing a detachment of thirty troopers of my regiment arrive from France. They came from Mons and had thus crossed Belgium, the Rhine provinces, all Germany, part of Prussia and Poland, and travelled more than 400 leagues under the command of a sergeant; yet not a man had stayed behind, and not a horse was injured. This will serve to show the zealous spirit which animated the 23rd Chasseurs.

About October 12 the 2nd corps, which had been for two months living in abundance and tranquillity at Polotsk and the neighbourhood, had to get ready to take its chance of more fighting. We learnt that Admiral Tchichagoff; commanding the army of Wallachia, having through English mediation, made peace with the Turks, was making for Mohileff with the view of falling on the Emperor's rear, while he was still at Moscow, and still lulling himself with the hope of making a treaty with Alexander. People were astonished that Prince Schwarzenberg, whose duty it was with 30,000 Austrians to watch the army of Wallachia, should have let Tchichagoff pass, but it was no less the fact. Not only had the Austrians omitted to close the way, as they might have done, to the Russians, but they had, instead of following them up, remained quiet in their cantonments in Volhynia. Napoleon had counted too much on the good faith of his father-in-law's ministers and generals, when he entrusted to them the duty of covering the right wing of the Grand Army. In vain does Count de Ségur seek to palliate the offence of the Austrian Government and Prince Schwarzenberg—their treachery was flagrant and history will brand their conduct.

While the Austrians on our right were opening the way to the Russian army coming from Turkey, the Prussians, who had so imprudently been allowed to form our left wing, were also preparing to make terms with the enemy; and that almost openly, without any concealment from Marshal Macdonald, whom the Emperor had put at their head to keep them to their allegiance. As soon as they learnt that the occupation of Moscow had not led to peace, they foresaw the disasters of the French army, and all their hatred towards us awoke. They did not yet rebel openly, but Marshal Macdonald could not get his orders well obeyed, and the Prussians, who were cantoned near Riga, might at any moment join Wittgenstein's troops and overwhelm the French army encamped near Polotsk. It is clear how difficult Marshal Saint-Cyr's situation became, but this did not disturb him, and with his usual coolness he gave, calmly and clearly, his orders for an obstinate defence. The infantry was concentrated in the town and the entrenched camp, while several more bridges were thrown across the Dwina. The sick and the non-combatants were placed in old Polotsk and Ekimania, fortified positions on the left bank. The marshal, not thinking that he had troops enough to dispute the plain with Wittgenstein, who had just been strongly reinforced from St. Petersburg deemed it best to keep only five squadrons, and took one from each regiment of light cavalry, while the remainder crossed the river. On October 16 the enemy's scouts appeared before Polotsk. They must have found its appearance much changed on account both of the huge entrenched camp and of the numerous works with which the plain was covered. The largest and strongest of these was a redoubt called La Bavaroise. All those of Wrede's unfortunate soldiers who had not died of home sickness asked leave to defend this redoubt, and did it very valiantly.

The battle began on the 17th and lasted all day. Marshal Saint-Cyr's position could not be forced, and General Wittgenstein, in his anger attributing this check to the fact that his officers had not sufficiently reconnoitred the strength of our defensive works, thought fit to inspect them himself; and approached them with great boldness. But this devoted action went near to cost him his life, for Major Curély, one of the best officers in the French army, having caught sight of the Russian general, dashed upon him at the head of the squadron of the 20th Chasseurs, sabred part of his escort, and, making up to Wittgenstein, forced him at the sword's point to surrender his own. After this important capture of the enemy's commander-in-chief, Major Curély should have promptly retired and brought his prisoner into the entrenched camp, but he was too impetuous, and seeing that the Russian general's escort was returning to the charge in order to set him free, he thought that French honour was involved in his keeping his prisoner in spite of every effort on the enemy's part. Thus Wittgenstein found himself for some minutes in the middle of a group contending for the possession of his person, but Curély's horse was killed and several of our chasseurs leapt down to pick up their commander. Then Wittgenstein, taking advantage of the confusion, made off at full gallop, ordering his men to follow.

This episode, which was soon known throughout the army, gave rise to a lively controversy. Some declared that Curély's moderation in not striking Wittgenstein should have come to an end at the moment when the Russians, returning to the fight, were on the point of setting their general free, and they maintain that Curély ought then to have run him through. But others held that, having accepted the Russian general's surrender, Curély had no longer the right to kill him. There may be some truth in this last argument, but for it to be perfectly sound General Wittgenstein should, after the example of the knights of old, have constituted himself a prisoner, rescue or no rescue. It seems, however, that he had not entered into any such engagement, or else that he broke it seems that he escaped as soon as he saw a chance. Had he the right to do so? That is a question very difficult to settle. So is also that respecting Curély's alleged right to kill Wittgenstein while they were trying to recapture him. Anyhow, when Curély was afterwards presented to the Emperor, during the passage of the Beresina, where Wittgenstein inflicted such heavy loss on us, Napoleon said to him: 'This disaster would probably not have happened if you had used your right to kill Wittgenstein on the battlefield of Polotsk, when the Russians were trying to tear him from your hands.' In spite of this reproach, whether deserved or not, Curély became a colonel soon afterwards, and general in 1814.

But to return to Polotsk. Repulsed on October 17, the enemy returned to the attack on the 18th, in such strength that, after suffering immense loss, Wittgenstein captured the entrenched camp. But Saint-Cyr, at the head of Legrand's and Maison's divisions, drove him out with the bayonet. Seven times did the Russians return with fury to the charge and seven times did the French and Croats repulse them, remaining in the end masters of all the positions. :Marshal Saint-Cyr was wounded, but continued no less to direct the troops. His efforts were entirely successful, for the Russians left the field and retired into the forest, 50,000 men having been beaten by 15,000. Joy was general in the French camp; but on the l0th we heard that General Steingel, at the head of 14,000 Russians, had crossed the Dwina by Disna, and was marching up the left bank to turn Polotsk and enclose Saint-Cyr's army between his force and that of Wittgenstein. And before long his advanced guard appeared before Natcha, making for Ekimania, where were our cuirassier division and the light cavalry regiments, from which the marshal had kept only a squadron of each at Polotsk.

In a moment we had mounted, and driven back the enemy, who would, however, have had the best of it in the end, as strong reinforcements were arriving, and we had no infantry, had not Marshal Saint-Cyr sent three regiments from those guarding Polotsk. Then Steingel, whom an effort would have brought to the bridges, stopped short, while Wittgenstein, on the other bank, also remained motionless. It seemed as if the two Russian generals, after having formed a well-conceived plan for a combined attack, did not dare to carry it out, but were relying on each other to beat the French. Our position was nevertheless terribly critical; for those on the right bank were being forced back by Wittgenstein's army, threefold theirs in number, upon a town built wholly of wood, and a large stream, and had no way of retreat open, save by the bridges which Steingel, on the left bank, was threatening. Then all the generals urged Saint-Cyr to evacuate Polotsk; but knowing that the Russians only awaited the first sign of a retrograde movement to fall on his weakened army and throw it into disorder, he preferred to wait till night. Taking advantage, therefore, of the unexpected inertness of the enemy, he waited immovably for sunset. The arrival of this was luckily hastened by a thick fog, which hid each of the three armies from the others; and the marshal seized this favourable moment for retreat.

The numerous artillery and some squadrons which had remained on the right bank had silently crossed the bridges, and the infantry was about to slip away, when, at the moment of their departure, Legrand's men, unwilling to leave their huts to the Russians, set them on fire. The other two divisions, thinking that it was an arranged signal, did the like, and in an instant the whole line was in a blaze. The conflagration proclaimed our retreat to the Russian, their batteries opened, and their shells set fire to the suburbs as well as to the town. Their columns advanced upon it headlong, but the French defended the ground foot by foot, being able to see, by the light of the fire, as in broad day. Polotsk was burnt to the ground, both sides lost heavily, but our troops retreated in good order. All the wounded who could be removed were brought away; the rest, and many of the Russians, perished in the flames.

There appeared to be an utter want of agreement between the enemy's commanders, for during all this fighting Steingel remained quiet in his camp, and gave Wittgenstein no more help than Wittgenstein had given him on the previous day. 1Only when Saint-Cyr, after evacuating the place, had burnt the bridges over the Dwina and put himself out of Wittgenstein's reach, did Steingel begin to make arrangements to attack us. But by that time the French troops were concentrated on the left bank, and Saint-Cyr led them against Steingel, beating him off with a loss of more than 2,000 men.

In this hard fighting, during four days and one night, the Russians had six generals and 10,000 men killed and wounded. The loss of the French and their allies did not amount to more than 5,000, the difference being no doubt due to the superiority of our fire, especially in the case of the artillery. But our advantage in the matter of loss was in some measure balanced by the fact that Marshal Saint-Cyr was wounded, and the army thus deprived of a chief in whom it had entire confidence. It became necessary to replace him, and Count von Wrede, on the strength of his rank as general-in-chief of the Bavarians, claimed to take command over the French generals of division. But as they refused to obey a foreigner, Saint-Cyr, though in much pain, agreed to keep the leadership of the two corps a little longer. He ordered a retreat towards Dula, so as to bring himself near to Smoliany, thus protecting the flank of the road from Orcha to Borisoff, by which the Emperor was returning from Moscow. So well was this retreat conducted that Wittgenstein and Steingel, who had repaired the bridges, and were following us up with 50,000 men, did not dare to attack us, though we had not more than 12,000. As for Wrede, his pride was wounded, and he could not bring himself to obey. He marched, therefore, as he pleased with the 1,000 Bavarians whom he had left, and a brigade of French cavalry, which he had brought away by telling General Corbineau, what was not the fact, that he had been ordered to do so. His presumption was soon punished; being attacked and beaten by a Russian division, he retired, without orders, to Wilna, whence he reached the Niemen. Corbineau's brigade refused to follow him, and rejoined the French army, to which you will see when I come to speak of the passage of the Beresina, its return was of great service.

Meanwhile, by the Emperor's orders, Marshal Victor, at the head of the 9th army corps, 25,000 strong, half of which belonged to the Confederation of the Rhine, was hurrying up from Smolensk to join Saint-Cyr, and throw Wittgenstein back across the Dwina. This plan would have taken effect promptly if Saint-Cyr had had the chief command, but Victor was the senior, and Saint-Cyr, not wishing to serve under him, declared, the day after their meeting, which took place on October 31 before Smoliany, that he could campaign no longer, and, handing over the command of the 2nd corps to General Legrand, departed for France. The troops regretted him, for, though they did not like him personally, they did justice to his courage and his wonderful military talent. All that Saint-Cyr needed to be a consummate commander was a smaller share of egotism and the knowledge how to attach men and officers to him by attending to their wants. But no man is faultless.

Hardly had Marshal Victor taken command of the united 2nd and 9th corps when fortune offered him the chance of winning a brilliant victory. Wittgenstein, ignorant of the junction which had taken place, and trusting to his own superior strength, attacked our outposts imprudently, leaving difficult defiles in his rear. It only wanted a simultaneous effort of the two corps to destroy him, for our troops were now as numerous as his; their spirit was excellent, and they were keen to fight. But Victor, no doubt distrusting himself on ground which he had not seen before, took advantage of the night to retire, reached Sienno, and cantonned the two corps in the neighbourhood. The Russians also went away leaving only a few Cossacks to watch us. This state of things, which lasted for the first fortnight of November, was very favourable to our troops, for the district offered plenty of resources, and they lived in comfort.

The 23rd Chasseurs, posted at Zapole, was covering one flank of the united corps, when Marshal Victor, hearing that a large force of the enemy was at Vonisokoi-Ghorodie, ordered General Castex to reconnoitre this point with one of his regiments. It was the turn for mine to march. We started at nightfall, and reached Ghorodie without hindrance. The village stood in a bottom, on a large drained marsh. Everything was quiet, and the peasants whom I questioned through Lorenz had not seen a Russian soldier for a month. I therefore prepared to go back to Zapole; but our return was not as calm as our outward march had been. There was no fog, but the night was very dark, and I was afraid of the regiment going astray among the numerous dykes in the marsh. I therefore took for guide one of the inhabitants of Ghorodie, who appeared less stupid than the others. My column had proceeded in good order for half an hour, when I suddenly perceived bivouac fires upon the hills surrounding the marsh. I halted my men, and sent out two intelligent sergeants to reconnoitre, bidding them try to avoid being seen. They soon came back, saying that a strong body was blocking our way, while another was in position in our rear. I turned round, and when I saw thousands of fires between me and Ghorodie it seemed clear that I had inadvertently got into the middle of an army corps, which was preparing to bivouac on the spot. The fires kept increasing in number; the plain and the hills were soon covered with them, and presented the appearance of a camp of 50,000 men, in the midst of which was I with less than 700 troopers. The odds were great, but how were we to avoid the danger which threatened? The only way was to gallop forward in silence along the main dyke upon which we were, to surprise the enemy by a sudden charge, and cut our way through, sword in hand. Once out of the light of the camp-fires, the darkness would save us from pursuit. Having decided on this course, I sent officers all along the column to let the troops know, being certain that all would approve my plan and follow me resolutely. I must admit that I was not without anxiety, for the enemy's infantry might stand to their arms at the first challenge of a sentry, and kill many of my people while my regiment was passing in front of it. In the middle of my anxiety, the peasant who was guiding us burst into shouts of laughter, and Lorenz did the same. In vain did I question the latter, he could not stop laughing; and not knowing enough French to explain the unusual circumstances he showed me his cloak, on which had just settled one of the will-o'-the-wisps which we had taken for bivouac fires. The phenomenon was produced by the marsh emanations, which a slight frost following on a day of hot autumn sunshine had condensed. In a little time the whole regiment was covered with these fires, as large as eggs, at which the soldiers were much diverted. Thus relieved from one of the greatest frights that I had ever had I returned to Zapole.