Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1841-03-15

or the finest quarter Of the city. Rostopchn's
threat was being realized, yet Napoleon still doubt
ed il; it must he the imprudence OF some soldier
that had caused the conflngration With this be-
lief he issued order after order aud despatched
messengers. Daylight came without the flames
being extinguished for n strange circumstance,
no where had any engines been found. Napoleon
then hastened in person to the of his dsas-
ter. Il was the fault Of Mortier-ihe fault OF the
Young Guard; all arose from the mprudence OF
the soldiers 1t was then that Morer turned the
attention OF Napoleon to II closed house when
was kindlng by itself ms if by magic. Napoleon
sighed and slowly assembled, with dropping head,
the steps leading 10 the krenlln.
He at length reached The desired object OF his
enterprise; in front OF him stood the ancient resi-
dence of the Czars; to his right tue church en-
closing their tonlbs, 10 his LETT the Senutes Pal
ace and in The background the lofty sleepIe ot
Ivan N ekoi, whose gilt cross, beforehand drs-
tined by bin lie substituted for that of the In
valides commanded all tue domes Of Moscow.
lie entered the palace, and neither its nrchitec-
ture, the vast aud splendid apartments which he
went through nor the magnificent view of the Mos
kuwa, with n world of houses, golden dOuies, sill |
yer cupplas, and brouze roofs. could wrest him
from his rerere. 1t was not Moscow that he had
in his grasp, but It's shadow, spectre aud phantom.
! Who was it that had killed it
o. sudden he told that the fire Nyns cX- |
liueuislIed aud lac raised his head again. " was
nIU!ier foe vuuquiscd his inriuue was still tlat
of Cesar. Reports succeeded one another. Ac-
cordlig to item the Kremn arsenal contained
forty thousand English, Austrian, and Ru ssan |
mtskeis, II hundred pieces Of cannon, quantity |
OF lanccs subres, urnours, and trophies captured
from the Turks aud Persians. Al tie German
gate 100000 lbs. of gunp0 WIDER, and larger guam
ty still OF salpetrt, had been found concealed i'll
isolated buildings. The nobility had abandoned
their five hundred palaces, but those palaces were
open and furnished, aud would he occupied by |
| f,p etIn r.ff snfili urp
which hud been deemed empty, would lie open
ed they belonged to the middle classes Of socie
ty, aud they would tame or attract others. Inst
~, we had behind Us 100000 men, and might a.
wait winter. v ith spring war would revive, and
with war victory would return
Napoleon fell thus asleep belwixt contcnding
apprehension and hopes.
AT midnight the cry of" Fire !" was again heard
The wind was from the north. Thu; chance
seconded the flames. The wind drove them in
the direction Of the Kremn which they mp
preached like burning stream. Already did the
sparks fly TO tie palaces rof, and fall amidst
park of artillery stationed under IT'S walls when
the wind shifted TO the east. The flames changed
their directOn-tley extended but removed 10
II distance.
II Suddenly second fire knded in the east, and
advanced like the first, pushed by the wind. No
further doubt could be entertained; it was II new
scheme Of destruction adopted hy the enemy, and
tine evidence Napoleon had so long shrunk from
began To gnaw his heart.
Fresh columns OF smoke and flames soon arose
from various parts. The wind being still uncer.
tain aud constantly shifting from north TO east,
the conflagration ehyeloped the Kremlin from all
sides. AT every moment torrents flowed from
{ those streams of fire. which spread in their turn.
II was no longer fire, but sea of flames IN
c immense tide, ever ascending towards the foot Of
the kremin walls.
$ All night Napoleon beheld with terror the fiery
= tempest; there his might expired, aud his genius
e was conquered The sun rose over the furnace,
and daylight exhibited The nights disasters. The
fire had accomplished its enormous circle, driving
the workinen before it, and drawing nearer md
/ nearer to The Kremlin. Reports then succeeded
s one another, and we began to ascertain who were
: the inceDdiarics.
In the night of tue I4tl,, the very night Of the
occupation, globe Of fire had fallen upon Prince
q Trouletsifs palace, and set fire to it. II no
|. doubt signal, tor at the very moment the Ex-
: change was in flames, and at two or three places
= the con1agration made its appearances, klnded 10y
e the tarred lauces OF the Russian police soldiers
y liowtzers had been concealed in almost all the
stores, and the French soldiers, i'll Lighting them
q to warm themselves had made them explode SO
l. that the howltzers had killed the and set fire
10 the house. All night had been spent by III"
# men in flying from house 10 house, and in seeing
the house they were in, or the one they were en-
= terng, SIP 'ntaneousy nfamed without any visible
: cause Moscow was evidently doomed to com
- plele destruction.
y Napoleon then compelled to acknowledge
that the fires, simultaneously kindGd al a thousand
e places, were the work Of one and the same viii
it not Of one and the same hand. lie wiped his
I forehead, whence copiouO pcrsplratiuu fog ed
% and, u,tcring sigh, exclaimed " Volta done com
~ me lis nous Iont Ia guerre La civilization dt
is SAINT Petersburg nous ,rompes, ct les Nusse'
,e modernes sont ton oars les anciens scytho1!"
n lie Immediately ordered all who should he seiz
'I,.. i'll 4.
shot; the Old Guard occupying the kreulin
lis were TO stand to their arms, and every Thing wa
$. 10 he kept really TO quit city which had beef
sought from So great distance, and on the occn
70 patton OF which so much dependence had beer
Of placed.
ID, An hour after The Emperor was npprized tina
ge his orders had been executed; some twenty in
o, cendares had been shot They had avowed tina
ms they were TO the number of nine hundred, ant
. that, before evacuaiing Moscow, the Governor
as Roslopchin, had concealed them in the cellars, IL
order that they might Set fire 10 all parts of III
ke city. They had faithfully obeyed his commands
he In that hour the flames had made further progress
no the Krelnn looked like an island cast into a Sc
ny OF fire. The atmosphere was loaded with bur
it, ming vapours /; the glass ofthe kremlin's windy:
de which had been closed, cracked and fell to pieces
ii the air was filled with ashes and dust.
nd At that moment the last cry was raised Of 9Th
Ike Kremlin is on fire |" Napoleon grew pale wit
nd anger. Thus, even The ancient Pa'ace, the oh
ill., kremlin, the residence of the Czals was not sa
Id cred to those political illustrates at least he Nh
e had sa: fire TO 81 had been seized. lie was brong
off before the Emperor. II was n soldier of the Rus
o. sian police. Napoleon questioned him, when h
ed repeated what has already been said. Each ha
ng his task allotted him that entrusted Ia him an
err. eigh, OF his comrads was to fire the kremlir
es. Napoleon drove him Out with disgust, and he wa
III. shot in the palace court itself
en-, The Emperor was then earnestly urged TO gu
cs, the palnce where the fire pursued him, bul II
up would resist still the evidence he had before hin
IN clinging his will aud neither refusing nor sui
uniting. lie remained deaf, inert, and in con
len sternation, when all at a vague rumor ofii
,,st kermn being undermined, circulated about hin
the AT Tie same moment were heard The cries oil III
i'm grenadiers calling for him. The news had sprea