The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-08-22
A RUSSIAN "REMINISCENCES,

Paris by the Orleans railway The weather was
ly severe te frozen lay think in the streets the
asphalt the Backwards slippery glass, sedges
secured the Champs Eysees and Bots de bonloBne An
icy wind whlstled round the train Quilted the shell
tor Of the station and regretted az buttoned myself
tho chin and shran my that the carriage
not full instead Of having but one occupant besides
myself
nnosts 10 me sat hale man of about sixty five with
a quick bright eye, intelligent, good hnmorcd counte
nance weather beaten and the red rosette
OF the Legion Of Honor in his button hole During the
first half hour he pored letter. whose contents
Judging from the animated expression of his physiogno
my interested him strongly He seemed scarcely
Of my presence AT last he put up the letter and then
for the first time looked me in the face had been but
few days out Of sick bed, and sensitive to the
cold and doubtless my appearance was chilly and woe
begone enough, for detected slight approach to
smile At the corners of the strangers mouth To one or
two place remarks he replied courteousy but
laconically like who is neither unsociabe nor
conversation but who prefers his own thoughts
to that bald talk with which travellers sometimes weary
each other rather than sit silent So our dialogue soon
dropped. The cold increased my feet were benumbed
and stamped them the floor of the carriage TO revive
the circulation. NV companion observed my proceed
ngs with comical look, he thought me very ten
der traveller.
ssThh carriage must be badly closed remarked ait
For that discomfort have little pity, replied the
Frenchman "a ride on the railway is over and
good fire or brisk walk is quick and easy remedy
Mine Is different For forty years have
known warm feet
.'For forty years. repeated, thinking had misun
derstood him. 8.s
eyes, sir, forty years since the winter of 1sl2the
winter Of the Russian campaign.
ssYou were in that terrible campagnr' inquired in
tone Of interest and curiosity My companion, pre-
viously taciturn, suddenly became communicative.
All through It, 81" he replied s.from the Nemen
to the Kremln, and back again It my first cam
pagn, and near being my last was in Others af-
forwards In Germany in 1873 when the combined Ger
mans and Russians drove us before hc for of the
lsrav had in "
in 1874, when the Emperor made his gallant struggle
against overwhelming forces and at the closing in
Fandes but not all those three campaigns put together
nor, believe, all that this century has witnessed
match the horrors of that dreadful winter in Rus
sia.n
He paused and, leaning back in his corner seemed to
revolve in his mind events of powerful interest long
by. waited while in hopes he would resume his sub
ject Az he did not do 80, asked him to what arm he
belonged when in Russia.
g assistant surgeon in regiment of hussars
he answered, and in my medical capacity had abund
ant opportunity to make acquaintance with the horrors
OF On the It'll of September, for instance, at the
Moskwa-heavens what shambles that was All, it
was fine to see such vaor both sidesfor the Rus
slams fought well -gallantly, sir, where would have
been the glory of beating them But Neyl Ney Oh |
he was splendid that day His whole countenancc
CLEANED, az he again and again led the bloody charge
exposing himself freely any corporal in the ranks
And Eugene the viceroy, with what vgor he hurled his
masses against that terrible redoubt When at last it
was his what sight was there. The ground was not
strewn with dead it was heaped piled with them
They had been shot down by whole ranks and there they
lay, PROSTATE in line they had stood
The surgeon paused thought of Byrons beautiful
lines, beginning Even as they fell, in files they lay "
but said nothing, for l that my companion was
now fairly started and needed no squirting.
Monsieur, : he presently resumed, all those things
have been brought stroHgy to my mind by the letter
saw me just now reading. 1t is from old friend
captain in l8l2-a general now-who went through the
campaign, and whom fortunate to save from
grave in those internal plains where of poor
comrades persisted. will tell you how it happened We
talking of the battle of Borodino Seventy thou
sand men, it is said, killed and wounded in that
murderous fight We surgeons as you may well think
OF rne sunUrers III WIS rough UrdaKIng 1.-THE
hand as then Such frightful wounds ast We're
there, Of every kind aud description shot she'll
and bullet pike and sabre Well sir all the misery and
suffering then saw, all that vast amount of human
agony and bioodshed whose steam ascending Heaven
might well have brought down Gods maledicton on His
creatures who could thus destroy and deace each other
was nothing compared with the horrible misery we wit
messed ON our retreat have read everything that has APP
peared in France concerning that campaign-Segur La
baume, and other writer's Their narratives are shocking
enough, but nothing to the reality. They would have
sickcned their readers had they told all they saw II
anybody who went through the campaign could remem
Der and set down all he Witnessed he would make the
most heartrending book that yet was printed and
would be accused of gross cxaggeraton Exaggeraton
indeed there need to heghen the horrors of the
winter OF 1872 All that frost and famine lead and
Steel could inct then endured all the crimes that
reckless despair and ruthless cruelty could prompt
then perpetrated"
''And how asked ''did you escape when so many,
doubtless as strong and courageous and more Injured to
hardship, iniserably perishedf"
Under Providence, / owed my preservation to the
tusticst and most faithful servant ever master had
Paul had been several years in the hussars was an old
soldier, In fact although still young man and at
time when all discipline and subordination was at an
endwhen soldiers needed not their officers officers avoid
ed their generals and servants and were oil alike
and upon leyel-Pau proved true steel. As if cold
and the Cossacks were not enough hunger added
our sunerings There was longer commissariat or
distribution OF rations ratons forsooth dead horse
was luxury have fight for till death lean
meat though 1t for the poor brntes starved as
their riders What little there to cat in the villages
we passed through fell to the share of the first Corners
Empty lardcrs--oten smoking ruinswere all that re-
manned for those who behind Well sir when
things were at the worst and provener the scarces
Paul always had something for in his haversack
One day 1t would be bit of bread, on the morrow
handful of grain edible roots, now and then
slice of horse beef-and how delicious that seemed
gried over our smoky, scanty fires There was never
enough to satisfy my hunger but there was always
to keep body and soul together Paul.
~ afterwards discovered husanded his stores he
we'll knew that II he gave all at should have
nothing and then must have TASTED for days and per-
haps have fallen from my horse from weakness But
think of the courage and affection Of the poor fellow him
self half starved to carry food about him day after day
and refrain from devourng the share secretly set aside
for me- There were not many men in the army even
of generals rank capable of such devotion TO the dear
est friend they had for extreme misery had induced
ferocious sel6shness, which made more like hyenas
than Christians"