The Private Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, Complete

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The Emperor awaited daylight in a poor hut, and in the morning said to
Prince Berthier, "Well, Berthier, how can we get out of this?" He was
seated in his room, great tears flowing down his cheeks, which were paler
than usual; and the prince was seated near him.

They exchanged few words, and the Emperor appeared overcome by his grief.
I leave to the imagination what was passing in his soul. At last the
King of Naples opened his heart to his brother-in-law, and entreated him,
in the name of the army, to think of his own safety, so imminent had the
peril become. Some brave Poles had offered themselves as escort for the
Emperor; he could cross the Beresina higher up, and reach Wilna in five
days. The Emperor silently shook his head in token of refusal, which the
king understood, and the matter was no longer considered.

Amid overwhelming disasters, the few blessings which reach us are doubly
felt. I observed this many times in the case of his Majesty and his
unfortunate army. On the banks of the Beresina, just as the first
supports of the bridge had been thrown across, Marshal Ney and the King
of Naples rushed at a gallop to the Emperor, calling to him that the
enemy had abandoned his threatening position; and I saw the Emperor,
beside himself with joy, not being able to believe his ears, go himself
at a run to throw a searching glance in the direction they said Admiral
Tschitzakoff had taken. This news was indeed true; and the Emperor,
overjoyed and out of breath from his race, exclaimed, "I have deceived
the admiral." This retrograde movement of the enemy was hard to
understand, when the opportunity to overwhelm us was within his reach;
and I doubt whether the Emperor, in spite of his apparent satisfaction,
was very sure of the happy consequences which this retreat of the enemy
might bring to us.

Before the bridge was finished, about four hundred men were carried part
of the way across the river on two miserable rafts, which could hardly
sustain themselves against the current; and we saw them from the bank
rudely shaken by the great blocks of ice which encumbered the river.
These blocks came to the very edge of the raft, where, finding an
obstacle, they remained stationary for some time, then were suddenly
ingulfed under these frail planks with a terrible shock, though the
soldiers stopped the largest with their bayonets, and turned their course
aside from the rafts.

The impatience of the army was at its height. The first who reached the
opposite bank were the brave Jacqueminot, aide-de-camp of Marshal
Oudinot, and Count Predzieczki, a brave Lithuanian, of whom the Emperor
was very fond, especially since he had shared our sufferings with such
fidelity and devotion. Both crossed the river on horseback, and the army
uttered shouts of admiration as they saw that the chiefs were the first
to set the example of intrepidity. They braved enough dangers to make
the strongest brain reel. The current forced their horses to swim
diagonally across, which doubled the length of the passage; and as they
swam, blocks of ice struck against their flanks and sides, making
terrible gashes.

At one o'clock General Legrand and his division were crossing the bridge
constructed for the infantry, while the Emperor sat on the opposite bank,
and some of the cannon becoming entangled had for an instant delayed the
march. The Emperor rushed on the bridge, put his hand to the work, and
assisted in separating the pieces. The enthusiasm of the soldiers was at
its height; and it was amid cries of "Vive l'Empereur" that the infantry
set foot on the opposite bank.

A short time after, the Emperor, learning that General Partonneaux had
laid down his arms, was deeply affected by this news, and gave vent to
reproaches which were somewhat unjust to the general. Later, when he had
received more correct information, he understood perfectly the part which
necessity and despair had played in this surrender.

It is a fact that the brave general did not come to this decision till he
had done all that a brave man could under the circumstances; for it is
permitted a man to recoil when there is nothing left but to let himself
be killed to no purpose.

When the artillery and baggage-wagons passed, the bridge was so
overloaded that it fell in; and instantly a retrograde movement took
place, which crowded together all the multitude of stragglers who were
advancing, like a flock being herded, in the rear of the artillery.
Another bridge had been constructed, as if the sad thought had occurred
that the first might give way. But the second was narrow and without a
railing; nevertheless, it at first seemed a very valuable makeshift in
such a calamity. But how disasters follow each other! The stragglers
rushed there in crowds. The artillery, the baggage-wagons, in a word,
all the army material, had been in the front on the first bridge when,
it was broken; and when, from the sudden panic which seized on those in
the rear of this multitude, the dreadful catastrophe was learned, the
last there found themselves first in gaining the other bridge. It was
urgent the artillery should pass first, consequently it rushed
impetuously towards the only road to safety which remained. No pen can
describe the scene of horror which now ensued; for it was literally over
a road of trampled human bodies that conveyances of all sorts reached the
bridge. On this occasion could be seen how much brutality, and even
cold-blooded ferocity, can be produced in the human mind by the instinct
of self-preservation. There were some stragglers most frantic of all,
who wounded, and even killed, with their bayonets, the unfortunate horses
which obeyed the lash of their guides; and several caissons were left on
the road in consequence of this slaughter.

As I have said, the bridge had no railing; and crowds of those who forced
their way across fell into the river and were ingulfed beneath the ice.
Others in their fall tried to stop themselves by grasping the planks of
the bridge, and remained suspended over the abyss until their hands,
crushed by the wheels of the vehicles, lost their grasp, and they went to
join their comrades as the' waves closed over them. Entire caissons,
with drivers and horse were precipitated into the water.

Poor women were seen holding their children out of the water in the
effort to delay for a few instants their death, and death in such a
frightful form, a truly admirable maternal incident, which the genius of
the painter has divined in painting scenes from the Deluge, and which we
saw in all its heartrending and frightful reality! The Emperor wished to
retrace his steps, believing that his presence might restore order; but
he was dissuaded from this project so earnestly, that he withstood the
promptings of his heart and remained, though certainly it was not his
elevated rank which kept him on the bank. All the suffering he endured
could be seen when he inquired every instant where the crossing was, if
they could still hear cannon rolling over the bridge, if the cries had
not ceased somewhat in that direction. "The reckless creatures! Why
could they not wait a little?" said he.

There were fine examples of devotion under these distressing
circumstances. A young artilleryman threw himself into the water to save
a poor mother with two children, who was attempting to gain the other
shore in a little canoe. The load was too heavy; an enormous block of
ice floated against and sunk the little boat. The cannoneer seized one
of the children, and, swimming vigorously, bore it to the bank; but the
mother and the other child perished. This kind young man adopted the
orphan as his son. I do not know if he had the happiness of regaining
France.

Officers harnessed themselves to sleds to carry some of their companions
who were rendered helpless by their wounds. They wrapped these
unfortunates as warmly as possible, cheered them from time to time with a
glass of brandy when they could procure it, and lavished on them most
touching attentions.

There were many who behaved in this manner, many of whose names we are
ignorant; and how few returned to enjoy in their own country the
remembrance of the most admirable deeds of their lives.

The bridge was burned at eight o'clock in the morning.

On the 29th the. Emperor quitted the banks of the Beresina, and we slept
at Kamen, where his Majesty occupied a poor wooden building which the icy
air penetrated from all sides through the windows; nearly all the glass
of which being broken, we closed the openings as well as we could with
bundles of hay. A short distance from us, in a large lot, were penned up
the wretched Russian prisoners whom the army drove before it. I had much
difficulty in comprehending this delusion of victory which our poor
soldiers still kept up by dragging after them this wretched luxury of
prisoners, who could only be an added burden, as they required their
constant surveillance.

When the conquerors are dying of famine, what becomes of the conquered?
These poor Russians, exhausted by marches and famine, nearly all perished
this night. In the morning they were found huddled pell-mell against
each other, striving thus to obtain a little warmth. The weakest had
succumbed; and their stiffened bodies were propped the whole night
against the living without their even being aware of it. Some in their
hunger ate their dead companions. The hardihood with which the Russians
endure pain has often been remarked. I can cite one instance which
surpasses belief. One of these fellows, after being separated from his
corps, had been struck by a cannonball which had cut off both his legs
and killed his horse. A French officer on a reconnoitering tour on the
bank of the river where this Russian had fallen, perceived at some
distance an object which appeared to be a dead horse, and yet he could
see that it moved.

He approached, and saw the bust of a man whose extremities were concealed
in the stomach of the horse.

This poor creature had been there four days, inclosing himself in his
horse as a shelter against the cold, and feeding upon infected morsels
torn from this horrible retreat.

On the 3d of December we arrived at Malodeczno. During the whole day the
Emperor appeared thoughtful and anxious. He had frequent confidential
conversations with the grand equerry, M. de Caulaincourt, and I suspected
some extraordinary measure. I was not deceived in my conjectures. At
two leagues from Smorghoni, the Duke of Vicenza summoned me, and told me
to go on in front and give orders to have the six best horses harnessed
to my carriage, which was the lightest of all, and keep them in constant
readiness. I reached Smorghoni before the Emperor, who did not arrive
till the following night. The cold was excessive; and the Emperor
alighted in a poor house on a square, where he established his
headquarters. He took a light repast, wrote with his own hand the
twenty-ninth bulletin of the army, and ordered all the marshals to be
summoned.

Nothing had yet transpired as to the Emperor's plans, but in great and
desperate measures there is always something unusual which does not
escape the most clear-sighted. The Emperor was never so amiable nor so
communicative, and one felt that he was endeavoring to prepare his most
devoted friends for some overwhelming news. He talked for some time on
indifferent subjects, then spoke of the great deeds performed during the
campaign, referring with pleasure to the retreat of General Ney whom they
had at last found.

Marshal Davoust appeared abstracted; and the Emperor said to him, "At
least say something, Marshal." There had been for some time a little
coolness between him and the Emperor, and his Majesty reproached him with
the rarity of his visits, but he could not dissipate the cloud which
darkened every brow; for the Emperor's secret had not been as well kept
as he had hoped. After supper the Emperor ordered Prince Eugene to read
the twenty-ninth bulletin, and spoke freely of his plan, saying that his
departure was essential in order to send help to the army. He gave his
orders to the marshals, all of whom appeared sad and discouraged. It was
ten o'clock when the Emperor, saying it was time to take some repose,
embraced all the marshals and retired. He felt the need of withdrawing;
for he had been oppressed by the constraint of this interview, as could
easily be seen by the extreme agitation his countenance manifested at its
close. About half an hour after, the Emperor called me into his room and
said, "Constant, I am about to leave; I thought I should be able to take
you with me, but I have taken into consideration the fact that several
carriages would attract attention; it is essential that I experience no
delay, and I have given orders that you are to set out immediately upon
the return of my horses, and you will consequently follow me at a short
distance." I was suffering greatly from my old malady; hence the Emperor
would not allow me to go with him on the boot as I requested, in order
that he should receive his customary attentions from me. He said, "No,
Constant, you will follow me in a carriage, and I hope that you will be
able to arrive not more than a day behind me." He departed with the Duke
of Vicenza, and Roustan on the box; my carriage was unharnessed, and I
remained to my great regret. The Emperor left in the night.

By daybreak the army had learned the news, and the impression it made
cannot be depicted. Discouragement was at its height; and many soldiers
cursed the Emperor, and reproached him for abandoning them. There was
universal indignation. The Prince of Neuchatel was very uneasy, and
asked news of every one, though he would naturally have been the first to
receive any information. He feared lest Napoleon, who had a feeble
escort, should be made prisoner by the Cossacks, who, if they had learned
his departure, would make the greatest efforts to carry him off.

This night, the 6th, the cold increased greatly; and its severity may be
imagined, as birds were found on the ground frozen stiff with the cold.
Soldiers who had seated themselves with their head in their hands, and
bodies bent forward in order to thus feel less the emptiness of their
stomachs, were found dead in this position. As we breathed, the vapor
from our lips froze on our eyebrows, little white icicles formed on the
mustaches and beards of the soldiers; and in order to melt them they
warmed their chins by the bivouac fire, and as may be imagined a large
number did not do this with impunity. Artillerymen held their hands to
the horses' nostrils to get a little warmth from the strong breathing of
these animals. Their flesh was the usual food of the soldiers. Large
slices of this meat were thrown on the coals; and when frozen by the
cold, it was carried without spoiling, like salted bacon, the powder from
the cartridge-boxes taking the place of salt.

This same night we had with us a young Parisian belonging to a very
wealthy family, who had endeavored to obtain employment in the Emperor's
household. He was very young, and had been received among the boys of
the apartments, and the poor child was taking his first journey. He was
seized with the fever as we left Moscow, and was so ill this evening that
we could not remove him from the wagon belonging to the wardrobe service
in which he had been made as comfortable as possible. He died there in
the night, much to be regretted by all who knew him. Poor Lapouriel was
a youth of charming character, fine education, the hope of his family,
and an only son. The ground was so hard that we could not dig a grave,
and experienced the chagrin of leaving his remains unburied.

I set out next day armed with an order from the Prince de Neuchatel that
all on the road should furnish me horses in preference to all others.
At the first post after leaving Smorghoni, whence the Emperor had set out
with the Duke of Vicenza, this order was of invaluable aid to me, for
there were horses for only one carriage. I found myself a rival to M.
the Count Daru, who arrived at the same time. It is useless to say that
without the Emperor's orders to rejoin him as quickly as possible I would
not have exercised my right to take precedence over the intendant general
of the army; but impelled by my duty I showed the order of the Prince de
Neuchatel to M. the Count Daru, and the latter, after examining it, said
to me, "You are right, M. Constant; take the horses, but I beg you send
them back as quickly as possible." How crowded with disasters was this
retreat.

After much suffering and privation we arrived at Wilna, where it was
necessary to pass a long, narrow bridge before entering the town. The
artillery and wagons occupied the whole bridge so entirely that no other
carriage could pass; and it was useless to say "His Majesty's service,"
as we received only maledictions. Seeing the impossibility of advancing,
I alighted from my carriage, and found there the Prince of Aremberg,
ordnance officer of the Emperor, in a pitiable condition, his face, nose,
ears, and feet having been frozen. He was seated behind my carriage. I
was cut to the heart, and said to the prince that if he had informed me
of his condition I would have given him my place. He could hardly answer
me. I helped him for some time; but seeing how necessary it was that we
should both advance, I undertook to carry him. He was delicate, slender,
and about medium height. I took him in my arms; and with this burden,
elbowing, pushing, hurting some, being hurt by others, I at last reached
the headquarters of the King of Naples, and deposited the prince there,
recommending that he should receive every attention which his condition
required. After this I resumed my carriage.

Everything had failed us. Long before reaching Wilna, the horses being
dead, we had received orders to burn our carriages with all the contents.
I lost heavily in this journey, as I had purchased several valuable
articles which were burned with my baggage of which I always had a large
quantity on our journeys. A large part of the Emperor's baggage was lost
in the same manner.

A very handsome carriage of Prince Berthier, which had just arrived and
had not been used, was also burned. At these fires, four grenadiers were
stationed, who with fixed bayonet prevented any one from taking from the
fire what had been ordered to be sacrificed.

The next day the carriages which had been spared were visited in order to
be assured that nothing had been kept back. I was allowed to keep only
two shirts. We slept at Wilna; but the next day very early the alarm was
given that the Russians were at the gates of the town. Men rushed in,
beside themselves with terror, crying, "We are lost!" The King of Naples
was quickly aroused; sprang from his bed; and the order was instantly
given that the Emperor's service should leave at once. The confusion
made by all this can be imagined. There was no time for any
arrangements; we were obliged to start without delay. The Prince of
Aremberg was put into one of the king's carriages with what could be
secured for the most pressing needs; and we had hardly left the town
before we heard shouts behind us, and the thunder of cannon accompanied
by rapid firing. We had to climb a mountain of ice. The horses were
fatigued, and we made no progress. The wagon with the treasure-chest of
the army was abandoned; and a part of the money was pillaged by men who
had not gone a hundred steps before they were obliged to throw it away in
order to save their lives.




CHAPTER VIII.

During the whole Russian campaign, the Emperor was nearly always badly
lodged. It was necessary, however, to accommodate himself to
circumstances; though this was a somewhat difficult task to those who
were accustomed to lodge in palaces. The Emperor accepted the situation
bravely, and all his followers consequently did the same. In consequence
of the system of incendiarism adopted as the policy of Russia, the
wealthy part of the population withdrew into the country, abandoning to
the enemy their houses already ruined. In truth, on the whole road
leading to Moscow, with the exception of a few unimportant towns, the
dwellings were very wretched; and after long and fatiguing marches, we
were very happy if we found even a hut at the place the Emperor indicated
as headquarters. The owners of these miserable hovels on quitting them
left there sometimes two or three seats and wooden beds, in which were an
abundant supply of vermin that no invasion could drive out. The least
filthy place was chosen, which was usually the most airy; and we knew
when the cold came, icy breezes would not fail us. When the location had
been chosen, and we decided to halt there, a carpet was spread on the
ground, the Emperor's iron bedstead set up, and a dressing-case
containing everything necessary in a bedroom placed open on a small
table. This case also contained a breakfast service for several persons,
which luxury was displayed when the Emperor entertained his marshals. It
was necessary, at all events, to bring ourselves down to the habits of
the humblest citizens of the province. If the house had two rooms, one
served as sleeping and dining room, the other for his Majesty's cabinet.
The box of books, geographical maps, the portfolio, and a table covered
with green cloth, were the entire furniture. This was also the council
chamber; and from these beggarly huts were sent forth those prompt and
trenchant decisions which changed the order of battle and often the
fortunes of the day, and those strong and energetic proclamations which
so quickly reanimated the discouraged army. When our residence was
composed of three rooms,--an extremely rare occurrence, then the third
room, or closet, was occupied by the Prince de Neuchatel, who always
slept as near by as possible. We often found in these wretched dwellings
old decayed furniture of singular shapes, and little images in wood or
plaster of male or female saints which the proprietors had left.
Frequently, however, we found poor people in these dwellings, who, having
nothing to save from conquest, had remained. These good people seemed
much ashamed to entertain so badly the Emperor of the French, gave us
what they had, and were not, on that account, less badly esteemed by us.
More of the poor than rich received the Emperor into their houses; and
the Kremlin was the last of the foreign palaces in which the Emperor
slept during the Russian campaign.

When there were no houses to be found, we erected the Emperor's tent,
and, in order to divide it into three apartments curtains were hung; in
one of these apartments the Emperor slept, the next was the Emperor's
cabinet, and the third was occupied by his aides-de-camp and officers of
the service; this latter room being ordinarily used as the Emperor's
dining-room, his meals being prepared outside. I alone slept in his
room. Roustan, who accompanied his Majesty on horseback, slept in the
entrance room of the tent, in order that the sleep which was so necessary
to him should not be disturbed. The secretaries slept either in the
cabinet or the entrance room. The higher officers and those of the
service ate where and when they could, and, like the simple soldiers,
made no scruple of eating without tables.

Prince Berthier's tent was near that of the Emperor, and the prince
always breakfasted and dined with him. They were like two inseparable
friends. This attachment was very touching, and points of difference
rarely arose between them. Nevertheless, there was, I think, a little
coolness between him and the Emperor at the time his Majesty left the
army of Moscow. The old marshal wished to accompany him; but the Emperor
refused, and thereupon ensued an animated but fruitless discussion.

The meals were served on the campaign by M. Colin, controller of the
kitchen service, and Roustan, or a bedroom servant.

During this campaign more than any other the Emperor rose often in the
night, put on his dressing-gown, and worked in his cabinet: frequently he
had insomnia, which he could not overcome; and when the bed at last
became unbearable, he sprang from it suddenly, took a book and read,
walking back and forth, and when his head was somewhat relieved lay down
again. It was very rarely he slept the whole of two nights in
succession; but often he remained thus in the cabinet till the hour for
his toilet, when he returned to his room and I dressed him. The Emperor
took great care of his hands; but on this campaign he many times
neglected this species of coquetry, and during the excessive heat did not
wear gloves, as they inconvenienced him so greatly. He endured the cold
heroically, though it was easy to see he suffered much from it
physically.

At Witepsk the Emperor, finding the space in front of the house in which
he had his quarters too small to hold a review of the troops, had several
small buildings torn down in order to enlarge it. There was a small
dilapidated chapel which it was also necessary to destroy in order to
accomplish this, and it had been already partly torn down, when the
inhabitants assembled in large numbers, and loudly expressed their
disapprobation of this measure. But the Emperor having given his consent
to their removing the sacred objects contained in the chapel, they were
pacified; and, armed with this authority, several among them entered the
sacred place, and emerged bearing with great solemnity wooden images of
immense height, which they deposited in the other churches.