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

610 LIFE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.
greater than he had apprehended. Almost all the It is probable that, but for the relief afforded by
German troops of his army were now withdrawn this halt, and the protection of the citadel and defrom it. The Saxons and the troops of Baden he fences of Erfurt, Napoleon, in his retreat from
had dismissed with a good grace; other contingents, Leipsic, must have lost all that remained to him of
which saw their sovereigns on the point of being an army. He had received news, however, of a
freed from Napoleon's supremacy, withdrew of character to preclude his longer stay in this place
themselves, and in most cases joined the 1llies. A of refuge. The Bavarian army, so lately his allies,
great many of those Frenchmen who arrived at Er- with a strong auxiliary force of Austrians, amountfurt were in a miserable condition, and without arms. ing in all to fifty thousand, under Wrede, were
Their wretched appearance extorted from Bonaparte hurrying from the banks of the Inn, and had reached
the peevish observation, "They are a set of scoun- Wurtzburg on the Maine, with the purpose of
drels, who are goingto the devil!-In this way I throwing themselves in hostile fashion between the
shall lose 80,000 men before I can getto the Rhine." army of Napoleon and the frontier of France. In
The spirit of defection extended even to those addition to this unpleasing intelligence, he learned
who were nearest to the emperor. Murat, discoi- that the Austrians and Prussians were pressing forraged and rendered impatient by the incessant mis- ward, as far as Weimar and Laugenlsalza, so that
fortunes of his brother-in-law, took leave, under he was once more in danger of being completely
pretence, it was said, of bringing forces up from surrounded. Urged by these circumstances, Napothe French frontier, but in reality to return to his leon left Erfurt on the 25th of October, amid iweaown dominions, without filuther allying his fortunes tiler as tempestuous as his fortunes
to those of Napoleon. Bonaparte, as if' influenced An unfortunate determination of the allied counby some secret presentiment that they should never cils directed Marshal Blucher to move in pursuit of
again meet, embraced his old companion in arms Napoleon by Giessen and Wietzlar, and commandrepeatedly ere they parted. ed him to leave the direct road to the banks of tile
The Poles who remained in Napoleon's army Rhine, by Fulda and Gelnhaissen, open for the
showed a very generous spirit. He found himself march of an Austrian columnn, expected to advance
obliged to appeal to their own honour, whether they from Schmalkald. Tile most active and energetic
chose to remain in his service, or to desert him at of thie pursuers was thus turned aside from Napothis crisis. A part had served so long under his leon's direct path of retreat, and the Austrians, to
banners, that they had become soldiers of fortune, whom it was yielded, did not come tup in tirme to
to whom the French camp served for a native overtake the retreating enemy. The French were
country. But many others were men who had still foillowed, however, by the arrixal of Cossacks
assumed arms in the Russian campaign, with the under their adventurous leaders, Platoff, Czerlniintention of freeing Poland from the foreign yoke cheff, Orloffi-Dennizotf, and Kowaiski, who conunder which it had so long groaned. The manner tinned their harassing and destructive operations on
in which Napoleon had *disappointed their hopes their flanks aind their rear.
could not be forgotten by them; but they had too In the nieanwhile General Wrede, notwithstandmuch generosity to revenge, at this crisis, the in- ing the inft rioritv of his forces to those of Bon; -
justice with which they had been treated, and agreed parte, perse ered in his purpose of barring tlhe
unanimously that they would not quit Napoleon's return of Napoleon into France, and took tip a
service until they had escorted him safely beyond position at Hanau for that purpose, where he was
the Rhine, reserving their right then to leame his joined by the chiefs of the Cossacks already menstandard, of which a great many accordingly avail- tioned, who lhad pushed on before the advance of the
ed themselves. French armny, in hopes that they might afford Wrede
Napoleon passed nearly two days at Erfiurt, dur- their assistance. If Bliucher and his troops had been
ing which the reorganization of his troops advanced now in the rear of Napoleon, his hour had in all
rapidly, as the magazines and stores of the place probability arrived. But Wrede's force, of whom
were sufficient to recruit them in every department. ile had been uliable to bring tip above 45;000 men,
T'leir reassembled force amounted to about eighty was inferior to the attempt, almost always a dangethousand men. This, together with the troops left rouls one, of intercepting the retreat of a bold and
to their fate in the garrison towns in Gernlany, was desperate enemy upon the only road which can lead
all that remained of two hundred and eighty thou- him to safety. It was upon a point, also, where the
sand, with which Napoleon had begun the canlpaign. Bavarians had no particular advantage of position,
Thile garrisons amounted to about eighty thousand, which might have presented natural obstacles to the
so that the loss of the French rose to one hundred progress of the enemy.
and twenty thousand men. These garrisons, so im- Upon the 30th, the Bavarians had occupied the
prudently left behind, were of course abandoned to large wood of Lamboi, and were disposed in line
their fate, or to the discretion of the enemy; Napo- on the right bank of a small river called the Kintzig,
leon consoling himself with the boast, "that, if they near a village named Neuhoff, where there is a
could form a junction in the valley of the Elbe, bridge. Tile French threw a body of light troops
eighty thousand Frenchmen might break through all into the wood, which was disputed from tree to tree,
obstacles." Instructions were sent to the various the close fire of the sharp-shooters on both sides
commanders, to evacuate the places they held, and resembling that of a general chasse, such as is pracform such ajunction; but it is believed that none of tised on the Continent. Tile combat was sustained
them reached the generals to whom they were ad- for several hours without decided success, until
dressed. Bonaparte commanded an attack in force on the loft