A
regiment of the French guards marched to the promenade before the
city--now, alas! an offensive sewer,--and, agreeably to command,
expressed their exultation in the acquisition of these new laurels by a
loud _Vive l'empereur!_ Of the citizens, but a very small portion took
part in their joy; for what else could they have expected from such a
victory than inevitable death by famine? The more intelligent shook
their heads; and in truth there were but too many reasons to suspect the
truth of the account. If you asked the wounded, who in troops either
hobbled or were carried in at the gates, the answer, was, _Les Cossaques
ont encore la meme position_--(The Cossacks are still in the same
position). None of them had heard any thing about captured cannon, but
they well knew that they had themselves lost five pieces that morning. I
was unable to comprehend how the French commander-in-chief, possessing
in so eminent a degree the quality of a correct military _coup d'oeil_,
could so early announce that he had won the battle, when such numerous
armies of the allies had but just arrived upon the field, and had not
yet fired a single shot. Country-people, who had fled from the
neighbourhood of Grimma, declared that a fresh army of Russians, under
general Bennigsen, was in full march towards that place. In truth, only
a small part of the allied forces had yet been engaged.
Pages:
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53