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

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THE SUN:REViEW-.

XLIX.)
'cii-orinsletnlia'l •if --tki,'Caotpaigit iat Ititssia-:
• eitb..llNhe'd Plans of thcliatt'le'S of SicscO* and Milo-
jaroslaviti. Intcr: ersed with raitlifirl I)escriitions
of
'those affectihg and hueeestiei geihis of whiCh ttme
teas an E,ye.-ivititess, By EuNINT: 'taptain
of
lbeTtoril deograihical ithgin'ecrs, tsA)thcer of the Otd-
nance of Prince Engene, &c. &c. Translated frail tire
Trench. syn. pp. 403. }'hated for LEIGH) Strand.
price res. ctl.
We return psi tlt pleasure to a departnient which
is not only new to this 'Publication, but to the
Wily, Press of England, and which has met with
-so much encouragement from the Public, that the
presstire of Parliamentary business caused us to
relinqnish it for- a short periOd with considerable
reluctance, in order to give place to discussions,
some of which we could have wished we had been
spared the mortification of recording.
Though the dreadful Campaign of ISI2, which
turned the tide of his fortune, if it did not strike
the death blow to the might of BUONAPARTE, is
not only *essentially, but in detached parts, well
known to the Public ; yet a connected narrative
of its meniorable incidents cannot, fail to be in-
teresting to every tritish Reader. Such narra-
tive, too, it may readily he- imagined, would be
rendered more acceptable, if from the pen of a
Frenchtn'an At'llo would deliver the honest truth,
and whose being an eye-witness of the matters he
relates, though it might narrow the scope.of his
descriptions, won,ld compensate for that circum-
scription by stamping a greater degree of accuracy
and credit on the events which he does record.
Of this kind is the Work before us. Captain LA-
BAUMa, a fellow-sufferer with the hundreds of
thousands who perished in this unparalleled ex-
pedition, still speaks of the Fiend, under whose
command they marched, with a degree of candour
which, little allied to justice, is yet not reprebenw
sible in a Soldier, who had shared in the pre-
ceding victories of that Scourge of Mankind:—
Towards EUGENE BEAUHARNOIS, his more itu-
itediate Snperiot, his language and sentiments
have only the fault of being too adulatory arid flat-
'Of his brother-soldiers he boasts as of
men invinCible: under any less terrible circum•
stances than those which vanquished human na-
ture on the frozen plains of Muscovy, This
Nitriter, therefore, cannot be suspected of colour-
ing too highly the disasters which annihilated the
greatest erml that ever the world saw assembled
for the purposes of ambition and conquest. If he
errs at all, it is upon the other side ;—it is in
maguifyng the resistance offered by his -coon ades,
and diminishing their losses in battle ; it is in
Praising the manceuvres- and actions of the Inva,
tiers---but when be comes to the misery and de-,
spair which succeeded—when he arrives at that
indescribable climax of wretchedness, whew i the
fury of man and the vengeance of-Clod terminated
the accursed career of these destroyers, his pen
fails to do justice to the scene ; awl notwith-
standing the horrifying distinctness of his relA-
Con, which is- enough to freeze the blOod of time
Reader, he leaves, as every Author must do who
attemirts the theme; an unspeakable mass of still
-deeper tragedy to.the imagination.
This Volume, is divided into two parts ; the
first of Which contains the account of the progress
of the enemy to Moscow, and the demolition of
that Capital--eihe second, the retreat from Mos-
cow to the close of the campaign.
Iti the first part, we do .not find-so much of no-
velty or interest as might have been
.expected from
the opportunities of the Writer:. Floatiiig on the
tide of victory,. he seems to have sailed gaily on
with thesrest ; and it is not till misfortunes bring
linn to more Consideration- and reflexion that his
notes become valuable, and his narrative irresisti-
bly attaches our, minds and hearts. Premising that
the military part of the work refers more closely
to the achievements of the corps to which Mr.
LAEAUME belonged than to the general operations

tering.

of the Army (except when there occurs a concert
of-the whole), we -shall probeed to draw a few
,Extracts from his production, whicli, will enable
our Readers to judge (or themselves upon the style
and manner ju which he has executed it..
The-battle of Borodino was particularly bloody,
where a Russian Redoubt on the right stopped the
advance of the French. The corneal here was
long sustained, furious, uncertain-, and desperate.
At length the enemy carried the place, which is
thus described :
" The interior of the Redonbt presented a hor-L,
rid picture to our sight. The deail were heaped
on one another., from among which the cries of
the wounded )vere feebly heard * * *
AU the litissia.o soldier‘ in the Redoubt preferred
'perishing' rather than yield : it is mild have been
the same with the General that commanded them
-if his valour • had not saved him his life. This re-
spectable soldier had promised to die or conquer
at his post, and. he would have kept his word ;
for being the only. one surviving of the troop lit
commanded, he ,enciehvoured to precipitate him-
self on our sivords, where he would have iuevi-
tahly have met, his death, had not the honour of
Such a prisonei• arrested the cruelty of the sol-

Duvirtg this meMorable day, Nv e are informed that
Ey remained constintly in the rear.of the
r13:1 directed some,grand maneettvres, &c.
which, however, did .not serve to purchase. a.vie7
tory, foi• both Armies encamped or the corse-
-00% tired livid of battle, from which, however, the