The life of Napoleon Buonaparte, emperor of the French. By Sir Walter Scott.

LIFE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 647
exchange of prisoners, which was of course declined were surprised, and lost a detachment in the town
on the part of Koutousofi; aware, that while soldiers of Vereia, on Murat's left flank. Thus the war
were plenty among the Russians, the ranks of continued everywhere, except on the front of the
Napoleon nmust become every day thinner. Lauriston armies, where it had the greatest chance to be fanext introduced the subject of the independent vourable to the French.
bands, and proposed that an end should be put to This bad policy is not to be imputed to Napoleon,
this species of unusual war, in which so many who had refused to authorize the armistice, but to
cruelties were committed. Koutousoff replied, that the vanity of Murat, under whose authority it was
this kind of partisan war did not depend on his still observed. It gave him an opportunity of arnusorders, but arose from the native spirit of the coun- ing himself, by caracoling on the neutral ground
try, which led the Russians to regard the French betwixt the camps, displaying his handsome form,
invasion as an incursion of Tartars. General Lau- gallant horsemanship, and splendid dresses, to the
riston then entered on the real business of his soldiers on both sides; receiving the respectful samission, by asking whether "this war, which had lutes of the Russian patrols, and the applause of the
assumed such an unheard-of character, was to last Cossacks. These last used to crowd around him,
for ever;" declaring, at the same time, his master partly in real admiration of his chivalrous appearance
the Emperor of France's sincere desire, to terminate and'character, which was of a kind to captivate
hostilities between two great and generous nations. these primnitive warriorys, and partly, doubtless, from
The astucious old Russian saw Bonaparte's evi- their natural shrewdness, which saw the utility of
dent necessity in his affected wish for peace, and maintaining his delusion. They called him their
immediately adopted the course most likely to gain Hettman; and he was so intoxicated with their
time, which must at once increase the difficulties of applause, as to have been said to nourish the
the French, and his own power of availing himself of wild idea of becoming in earnest King of the
them. He affected a sincere desire to promote a pa- Cossacks.
cification, but declared he was absolutely prohibited Such delusions could not for ever lull Murat's
either to receive any proposal to that effect himself, vigilance to sleep. The war was all around him,
or to transmit such to the emperor. He therefore and his forces were sinking under a succession of
declined to grant General Lauriston the desired petty hostilities; while the continual rolling of drums,
passport to the presence of Alexander, but he of- and the frequent platoon firing, heard from behind
fered to send General Wolkonsky, an aide-de-camp the Russian encampment, intimated how busily
of the czar, to learn his imperial pleasure. they were engaged in drilling numerous bodies of
The express charge which Lauriston had received fresh recruits. The Russian officers at the outposts
from his master, that peace was to be obtained on began to hold ominous language, and ask the French
any terms not inferring dishonour, did not permit him if they had made a composition with the Northern
to object to this arrangement. He was even encou- Winter, Russia's most fearful ally. "' Stay another
raged to hope it might prove effectual, so much satis- fortnight," they said, " and your nails will drop off,
faction was expressed by General Koutousoff and and your fingers fall from your hands, like boughs
the officers of his military family, all of whom seemed from a blighted tree." The numbers of the Costo deplore the continuance of the war, and went so sacks increased so much, as to resemble one of the
far as to say, that this annunciation of a treaty would ancient Scythian emigrations; and wild and fantastic
be received at St Petersburg with public rejoicings. figures, on unbroken horses, whose manes swept
These accounts being transmitted to Napoleon, lulled the ground, seemed to announce that the inmost
him into a false security. He returned to his origi- recesses of the desert had sent forth their inhabinal opinion, which had been shaken, but not sub- tants. Their grey-bearded chiefs sometimes held
verted; and announced to his generals, with much expostulations with the French officers, in a tone
satisfaction, that they had but to wait a fortnight for very different from that which soothed the ears of
a triumphant pacification. He boasted his own su- Murat. "Had you not," they said, "in France, food
perior knowledge of the Russian character, and de- enough, water enough, air enough, to subsist you
clared, that on the arrival of his overture for peace, while you lived,-earth enough to cover you when
St Petersburg would be full of bonfires. you died; and why come you to enrich our soil with
Napoleon, however, was not so confident of peace your remains, which by right belong to the land
as to approve a singular sort of armistice which where you were born?" Such evil bodements afMurat had entered into with the Russians. It was fected the van of the army, from whence Murat
to be broken off, on an intimation of three hours' transmitted themto the emperor.
space, by either party to the other; and, while in Immured in the recesses of the Kremlin, Napoexistence, it only subsisted along the fronts of the leon persisted in awaiting the answer to the letter
two armies, leaving the Russians at liberty to carry dispatched by Lauriston. It had been sent to St Peon their partisan war on the flanks as much as ever. tersburg on the 6th, and an answer could not he
The French could not obtain a load of filrze, or a expected before the 26th. To have moved before
cart of provisions, without fighting for it, and often that period, might be thought prudent in a military
to disadvantage. A large party of the dragoons of point of view; but, politically considered, it would
the Imperial %Guard were surprised and piked by greatly injure his reputation fom agacity, and destroy
the Cossacks. Two considerable convoys were the impression of his infallibility. Thus. sensible,
surprised and cut off on the road to Mojaisk, the and almost admitting that he was wrong, -ho deteronly communication which the French arnay had mined, nevertheless, to persevere in the course he:
with its magazines and reinforeetexa:ts. The Freach had chosen, in hopes that Fortune, which never