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CHAPTER
II
On
the twenty-ninth of May Napoleon left Dresden, where he had spent
three
weeks surrounded by a court that included princes, dukes, kings,
and
even an emperor. Before leaving, Napoleon showed favor to the
emperor,
kings, and princes who had deserved it, reprimanded the kings
and
princes with whom he was dissatisfied, presented pearls and
diamonds
of
his own--that is, which he had taken from other kings--to the
Empress
of
Austria, and having, as his historian tells us, tenderly embraced
the
Empress
Marie Louise--who regarded him as her husband, though he had
left
another wife in Paris--left her grieved by the parting which she
seemed
hardly able to bear. Though the diplomatists still firmly
believed
in the possibility of peace and worked zealously to that end,
and
though the Emperor Napoleon himself wrote a letter to Alexander,
calling
him Monsieur mon frere, and sincerely assured him that he did
not
want war and would always love and honor him--yet he set off to
join
his
army, and at every station gave fresh orders to accelerate the
movement
of his troops from west to east. He went in a traveling coach
with
six horses, surrounded by pages, aides-de-camp, and an escort,
along
the road to Posen, Thorn, Danzig, and Konigsberg. At each of
these
towns
thousands of people met him with excitement and enthusiasm.
The
army was moving from west to east, and relays of six horses
carried
him
in the same direction. On the tenth of June, * coming up with the
army,
he spent the night in apartments prepared for him on the estate
of
a
Polish count in the Vilkavisski forest.
*
Old style.
Next
day, overtaking the army, he went in a carriage to the Niemen,
and,
changing
into a Polish uniform, he drove to the riverbank in order to
select
a place for the crossing.
Seeing,
on the other side, some Cossacks (les Cosaques) and the wide-
spreading
steppes in the midst of which lay the holy city of Moscow
(Moscou,
la ville sainte), the capital of a realm such as the Scythia
into
which Alexander the Great had marched--Napoleon unexpectedly, and
contrary
alike to strategic and diplomatic considerations, ordered an
advance,
and the next day his army began to cross the Niemen.
Early
in the morning of the twelfth of June he came out of his tent,
which
was pitched that day on the steep left bank of the Niemen, and
looked
through a spyglass at the streams of his troops pouring out of
the
Vilkavisski forest and flowing over the three bridges thrown
across
the
river. The troops, knowing of the Emperor's presence, were on the
lookout
for him, and when they caught sight of a figure in an overcoat
and
a cocked hat standing apart from his suite in front of his tent
on
the
hill, they threw up their caps and shouted: "Vive l'Empereur!"
and
one
after another poured in a ceaseless stream out of the vast forest
that
had concealed them and, separating, flowed on and on by the three
bridges
to the other side.
"Now
we'll go into action. Oh, when he takes it in hand himself,
things
get
hot... by heaven!... There he is!... Vive l'Empereur! So these
are
the
steppes of Asia! It's a nasty country all the same. Au revoir,
Beauche;
I'll keep the best palace in Moscow for you! Au revoir. Good
luck!...
Did you see the Emperor? Vive l'Empereur!... preur!--If they
make
me Governor of India, Gerard, I'll make you Minister of Kashmir--
that's
settled. Vive l'Empereur! Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah! The Cossacks--
those
rascals--see how they run! Vive l'Empereur! There he is, do you
see
him? I've seen him twice, as I see you now. The little corporal...
I
saw
him give the cross to one of the veterans.... Vive l'Empereur!"
came
the
voices of men, old and young, of most diverse characters and
social
positions.
On the faces of all was one common expression of joy at the
commencement
of the long-expected campaign and of rapture and devotion
to
the man in the gray coat who was standing on the hill.
On
the thirteenth of June a rather small, thoroughbred Arab horse
was
brought
to Napoleon. He mounted it and rode at a gallop to one of the
bridges
over the Niemen, deafened continually by incessant and rapturous
acclamations
which he evidently endured only because it was impossible
to
forbid the soldiers to express their love of him by such
shouting,
but
the shouting which accompanied him everywhere disturbed him and
distracted
him from the military cares that had occupied him from the
time
he joined the army. He rode across one of the swaying pontoon
bridges
to the farther side, turned sharply to the left, and galloped in
the
direction of Kovno, preceded by enraptured, mounted chasseurs of
the
Guard
who, breathless with delight, galloped ahead to clear a path for
him
through the troops. On reaching the broad river Viliya, he
stopped
near
a regiment of Polish uhlans stationed by the river.
"Vivat!"
shouted the Poles, ecstatically, breaking their ranks and
pressing
against one another to see him.
Napoleon
looked up and down the river, dismounted, and sat down on a log
that
lay on the bank. At a mute sign from him, a telescope was handed
him
which he rested on the back of a happy page who had run up to
him,
and
he gazed at the opposite bank. Then he became absorbed in a map
laid
out
on the logs. Without lifting his head he said something, and two
of
his
aides-de-camp galloped off to the Polish uhlans.
"What?
What did he say?" was heard in the ranks of the Polish uhlans
when
one of the aides-de-camp rode up to them.
The
order was to find a ford and to cross the river. The colonel of
the
Polish
uhlans, a handsome old man, flushed and, fumbling in his speech
from
excitement, asked the aide-de-camp whether he would be permitted
to
swim
the river with his uhlans instead of seeking a ford. In evident
fear
of refusal, like a boy asking for permission to get on a horse,
he
begged
to be allowed to swim across the river before the Emperor's eyes.
The
aide-de-camp replied that probably the Emperor would not be
displeased
at this excess of zeal.
As
soon as the aide-de-camp had said this, the old mustached
officer,
with
happy face and sparkling eyes, raised his saber, shouted "Vivat!"
and,
commanding the uhlans to follow him, spurred his horse and
galloped
into
the river. He gave an angry thrust to his horse, which had grown
restive
under him, and plunged into the water, heading for the deepest
part
where the current was swift. Hundreds of uhlans galloped in after
him.
It was cold and uncanny in the rapid current in the middle of the
stream,
and the uhlans caught hold of one another as they fell off their
horses.
Some of the horses were drowned and some of the men; the others
tried
to swim on, some in the saddle and some clinging to their horses'
manes.
They tried to make their way forward to the opposite bank and,
though
there was a ford one third of a mile away, were proud that they
were
swimming and drowning in this river under the eyes of the man who
sat
on the log and was not even looking at what they were doing. When
the
aide-de-camp, having returned and choosing an opportune moment,
ventured
to draw the Emperor's attention to the devotion of the Poles to
his
person, the little man in the gray overcoat got up and, having
summoned
Berthier, began pacing up and down the bank with him, giving
him
instructions and occasionally glancing disapprovingly at the
drowning
uhlans who distracted his attention.
For
him it was no new conviction that his presence in any part of the
world,
from Africa to the steppes of Muscovy alike, was enough to
dumfound
people and impel them to insane self-oblivion. He called for
his
horse and rode to his quarters.
Some
forty uhlans were drowned in the river, though boats were sent to
their
assistance. The majority struggled back to the bank from which
they
had started. The colonel and some of his men got across and with
difficulty
clambered out on the further bank. And as soon as they had
got
out, in their soaked and streaming clothes, they shouted "Vivat!"
and
looked ecstatically at the spot where Napoleon had been but where
he
no
longer was and at that moment considered themselves happy.
That
evening, between issuing one order that the forged Russian paper
money
prepared for use in Russia should be delivered as quickly as
possible
and another that a Saxon should be shot, on whom a letter
containing
information about the orders to the French army had been
found,
Napoleon also gave instructions that the Polish colonel who had
needlessly
plunged into the river should be enrolled in the Legion
d'honneur
of which Napoleon was himself the head.
Quos
vult perdere dementat. *
*
Those whom (God) wishes to destroy he drives mad.
CHAPTER
III
The
Emperor of Russia had, meanwhile, been in Vilna for more than a
month,
reviewing troops and holding maneuvers. Nothing was ready for the
war
that everyone expected and to prepare for which the Emperor had
come
from
Petersburg. There was no general plan of action. The vacillation
between
the various plans that were proposed had even increased after
the
Emperor had been at headquarters for a month. Each of the three
armies
had its own commander-in-chief, but there was no supreme
commander
of all the forces, and the Emperor did not assume that
responsibility
himself.
The
longer the Emperor remained in Vilna the less did
everybody--tired
of
waiting--prepare for the war. All the efforts of those who
surrounded
the
sovereign seemed directed merely to making him spend his time
pleasantly
and forget that war was impending.
In
June, after many balls and fetes given by the Polish magnates, by
the
courtiers,
and by the Emperor himself, it occurred to one of the Polish
aides-de-camp
in attendance that a dinner and ball should be given for
the
Emperor by his aides-de-camp. This idea was eagerly received. The
Emperor
gave his consent. The aides-de-camp collected money by
subscription.
The lady who was thought to be most pleasing to the
Emperor
was invited to act as hostess. Count Bennigsen, being a
landowner
in the Vilna province, offered his country house for the fete,
and
the thirteenth of June was fixed for a ball, dinner, regatta, and
fireworks
at Zakret, Count Bennigsen's country seat.
The
very day that Napoleon issued the order to cross the Niemen, and
his
vanguard,
driving off the Cossacks, crossed the Russian frontier,
Alexander
spent the evening at the entertainment given by his aides-de-
camp
at Bennigsen's country house.
It
was a gay and brilliant fete. Connoisseurs of such matters
declared
that
rarely had so many beautiful women been assembled in one place.
Countess
Bezukhova was present among other Russian ladies who had
followed
the sovereign from Petersburg to Vilna and eclipsed the refined
Polish
ladies by her massive, so-called Russian type of beauty. The
Emperor
noticed her and honored her with a dance.
Boris
Drubetskoy, having left his wife in Moscow and being for the
present
en garcon (as he phrased it), was also there and, though not an
aide-de-camp,
had subscribed a large sum toward the expenses. Boris was
now
a rich man who had risen to high honors and no longer sought
patronage
but stood on an equal footing with the highest of those of his
own
age. He was meeting Helene in Vilna after not having seen her for
a
long
time and did not recall the past, but as Helene was enjoying the
favors
of a very important personage and Boris had only recently
married,
they met as good friends of long standing.
At
midnight dancing was still going on. Helene, not having a
suitable
partner,
herself offered to dance the mazurka with Boris. They were the
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