The Sun.
London, England, 1814-12-15 00:00:00

riUS`Sia'n's Willitireiv in the 1170 t.,. :f01i,0;,14.
ins a description of the sight when the next morn,
iiig prTtsented :—".ln the space of_ a -stir:are league '
there Was !tut a spot but who:t was covered with
killed oi• aVouncled '5 there Were places where the.
bursting 'Of shells had overturned-neon and horses.
These calatnities, often- j epeateml, had made sitCh
havock., that heaps of_ slain were to be seen all
ovCr the plaid ; and the fete places where there were
none, wore .tover'ed with broken arms of ail kinds,
as .1411tCY, otilskeu, cannon, casques, cuirasses, or
with -grape;sliAt, as numerous as hail-stones after
violent thunder storm. But them Ost horrid spec'
tacit was the interior of the ravines ; almost all
.the wounded had taken refuge in them ; that is to
say, all who could drag themselves there, in order.
to -avoid the shift. It was here that these wretches-,
heapedoneon the otlwr, and bathing in their blood,
invoked death, at every instant uttering the most
• hotrid groans and beseeching us to put an end to
their misery."
From this aggregate of horror we turn to ascene of individual heroism which affords a fine
example of Russian patriotism, and of the infa,
mous conduct of the Enemy. At the village of
ROuta, five or six leagues out of the high road,
French (or. rather Bavarian) detachment put to
flight the popular insurrection raised for the de-
fence of their native place. " The Chief alone
(says our Author) evinced more firmness. He
awaited us on the Square, and, armed with a
poignard, he. Menaced all those who summoned
him to surrender.. flow can I survive the dis-
honotir of nty. Country,' cried he, foaming With
rage. Our Altars are no more ! Our Eni.. •
pire is disgraced ! Take my life, it is odious to
me !' We- wished' to calm him, and endea-
vonred to take his poignard front thin';, .hut _he
became more furious, and struck with it seve-
ral of our soldiers,. who then, giving themselves
up to their vengeance, made him fail by the-hay-
onet ! ! Monza was then. given., up to plunder,
and a scene ahnost..too agonizing for description
ensued, from, which, however, we, pass, 'in order
to dkplay the fury of these hell-hounds on a vaster
thettre, lyy laying before our Readers the details of
the sacking of Moscow:
'‘,"flie most heart-rending scene whieh my inka-„
gikkation could ever have conceived, even at read- •
in g the most :i.ctiiUting. accounts in ancient and
moderti history, now Presented itself before my
eyes ; a great part of the population of 'Moscow,
frightened at our arrival, .hid thentselVes in the"
inter ior of their houses ; they were now leaving
those asylums, , when the tire penetrated them.
- These tremblitig wretcheS, without uttering the
least imprecation, brought out front- theirs hiding-
, places their most precious effects ; others, Of
greater sensibility, entirely gives up to the feel-
ings of nature, saved nothing but their children,
ui.to were clasped in, their arms ; old people,
borne down by grief rather than by age, could
hardly follow their families., and many of them,
lamenting the rain of their country, expired near
the houses in which they were born. The'Btreets,
public places, and Rarticularly the churches, were
filled with these unhappy people, who were lying
on the remains of titeir furniture, suffering even
without a murmur. Neither crying nor quarrel-
ling were heard ; both the. conqueror and. the
conquered Were equally hardened—the one from
excess of fortune, the other front excess of

nnserv.
" The fire, which continued its ravages, had
soon reached the finest parts of the town.. All
those palaces which we had admired for the ele-
gance of their architecture, and the taste of their
furniture, were buried in the flames ; their magni-
ficent fronts, ornamented with bas-relief 4 kfild
statues, losing their supports, fell tvidi a dread-
ful. era-. 11 on the fragments of .their pillars ; the
churches, though covered with iron and lead,. ell
likewise, and with them those beautiful steeples,
which we had seen the night.befOre, resplendent
like gold and silver ; the hospitals too; which 'con-
,tained tunic than 20,00 wounded, soon began to
burn. This occasioned a most
.revolting, and
dreadful scene ; almost all those poor wretches
perished, and a few who still lingered, were seen
crawling, half burnt/ amongst the smoking cin-
ders ; others again, groaning under heaps of dead
bodies, lifted up their heads, with difficulty, en-
deavouring,to catch a glimpse of light..
" But how shall I describe the tumultuous pro-
ceedicip, when permission was granted to
pillage
this immense city Soldiers, sutlers, galley-slaves
and prostitutes,. were running through the streets,.
penetrating into the deserted palaces, taking away
every thing which could gratify their avarice.—
Some were covering themselves with stufl's, work-
ed in gold and silk ; others, without any discri-
mination, placed rich and costly furs Lyon their
shoulders; several others dressed• themselves in
woumea's and ahadren's pelisses, and even the gal-
ley-slaves concealed their rags under splendid
court-dresses ; the rest crowded into the cellars,
awl forcing open the doors, drank the most costly
wines, and carried off immense booty.
This horrible pillage was not confined to the
deserted houses alone, but extended to those winch
were inhabited, thus facilitating to the plunderers -
devastations equally great with those occasioned
by the conflagration., All the asylums were soon
violated by impudent soldiers ; those who had Of-
ficers in their houses, might, perhaps, have flat-
tered themselves to escape the general calamity.
Vain illusion ! the fire progressively increasing,
soon destroyer! all their hopes.- •
" Towards evening, when Napoleon did not
think himself any longer safe in a town, the ruin
of which .seemed unavoidable, he left time Krem-
lin, and established himself, with his suite, in time
castle at Peterskoe.: When I saw him pass by, I
could not behold, without abhorrence,
,the chief
of_ a barbarous expedition, who endetiNonred to
escape the just marks of public, indignation, by
seeking the darkest road ; but in vain•:--from all
sides. the flames seemed to pursue .and, ex -
tenning.over his guilty bead, reminded me of time
torches of the 'Eumenides, Purtiing the criminals
who were destined to the Furies !
The Generals likewise ',received orders to
quit Moscow, Licentiousness then became
boundless ; the soldiers 'being no longer restrain-
ed by time presenCe of their chiefs, committed
every kind of excess. No retrcat was now safe,
no place sufficiently sacred to shield against their
rapacitius searches." .
(la be continued.)