flagration; and Smolensko was soon a heap of ruins. The Russians, laying waste the country, retreated towards Moscow, and the command of their army was transferred to Prince Kutosoff, a hoary and experienced general, whose arrival was hailed with delight. He announced that no more retrograde movements should be made, encouraged the troops by his presence, and exhorted them to defend Moscow to the last. This place was the ancient and venerable capital of their Empire; and its vast suburbs, its magnificent buildings, its towers, its domes, its spires, and its terraces, rendered Moscow one of the most interesting places in Europe, and the pride of the Russian Empire.
Both leaders exercised their utmost ingenuity, and made their dispositions with military skill. Along the Russian lines priests bore the sacred relics that had been saved at Smolensko, and inspired the soldiers with religious enthusiasm; and while their breasts were yet glowing with excitement, Prince Kutosoff implored them, in lofty and inspiriting words, 'to think of their wives, their children, and their Emperor, and to write their faith and fealty on the field of their country with the life's blood of the invader and his legions.'
On the morning of the 7th of September, Napoleon, who, aware of his veteran antagonist's genius, had become more cautious in his operations, issued from his tent, and addressed his officers and soldiers in befitting terms. The hostile armies then met at Borodino, and the contest was maintained for hours with desperate valor. At one time the victor of Austerlitz had the mortification to see the choicest of his troops driven from the field. Bayonets and sabres flashed, and artillery thundered till night arrived, when both parties laid claim to the victory. But the Russian general decided on leaving Moscow to its fate; the inhabitants precipitately abandoned their houses; and the governor formally evacuated the city at the head of forty thousand persons.
Next morning the French, glowing with exultation, presented themselves at the gate, and forced an entrance; but scarcely had they done so, when they became aware that Moscow was in a blaze. The Exchange, an extensive building, containing warehouses stored with valuable merchandise, was first consigned to the flames, and, subsequently, a strong wind prevailing, the whole city was a sheet of fire, and the sky was obscured by volumes of smoke. The pillage soon commenced, and Napoleon's camp in the fields was filled with rich spoil.
But now, deprived of the prospect of wintering at Moscow, the position of the Emperor of the French became perilous in the extreme; for he had penetrated into the heart of a hostile country; the cold season was approching; and the ruined city offered no asylum from the rigor of the climate. He, therefore, humbled his pride so far as to commence negotiations with Alexander; but finding his efforts fruitless, after forty days he abandoned his scheme of conquest, and issued orders for a retreat. But the Russians, believing the conqueror of Europe to be at length in their power, were bent upon revenge; and Kutosoff remarked—'The French have proclaimed the campaign terminated at Moscow, but on our part the warfare is about to begin.'
The retreat of Napoleon was disastrous beyond all precedent. The Russian armies seized every opportunity of attacking his troops; the winter set in with unusual severity and the troops were paralyzed with cold.
