Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1858-06-24
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had tssu flrstinr On the Elster ah the atternoons
al fell warn IS toast, though The frozen breath
~ On nv vbiskers snd on my great coat collar n
.kite pozdsrv rirle. Half Leipsic seemed 70 have
armed out on that Saturday afternoon 70 pass rs
slf holiday ID skating and the men struck QUE
adv. and the ladies came blinking along grace
rllv for many German ladies' skate) Their sll-
lerv isaFhier was very pleasant to heari ana 81
vias merry IS a marriage bell "
Fs.i thrss successive journeys betEeen Lindenau
nd Leipsic had satisfied my skating Pr0penslties
or the time being; and was glad enough % take
81 ny "sledgs shoes, e the tern ans 81
All skates. By the bank stood old Fritz the fish
srmsn, collecting the toll Of one dreysF, com N
value betveen a halfpsnny snd a farthings ezaeted
~ fhe fehernen from an who EkHte on the river I
Flstsr. The tax is not q heavy one; and N con
alteration Of us payment, the nshermen Keep tne
river swept 81 smooth Is s sheet Of glass ell the
Two miles snd half between beipsie and lindenau
81 I'D fritz stood there with his Gin box locking
bonI sftsr the interest Of his craft, his faoe shin
i0o tbfouqh the cold like q rudy winter apple
rse favorite with old Fritz, Who had seen good
deal Of life, and imparted ais feeollecloata IN
stranee rambling way, BY the hour together. | got
;Dtn q corverafion With him; snd this is what he
told me Is near Is I can reoolleet his WORLDS
stVes main Herr yes" he begen, In aCknOWl-
sdgement 81 an observation had made On the
severity Of the season and the hardness Of The
fi,es we've had our trials, as you say, and its
fitte TO do But after al It's very much better than
Whist I and many other men not older than myselt
have aseu here in the old winters. Why, I've seen
the river on which we are standing nov land he
stamped his felt shoes emphaticaily on the leel-
I've seen the Elster overflow its banks, and pour
over the meadows like overflled cistern y was
40 blocked I'D with ice that came floating down the
higher lsnds-and I've seen It overflow when there
-SsDit block Of ice to interfere with its course,
and old Fritz took his pipe with the porcelain bowl
and cherry stick from between his lips, and laid his
hand on my arm impressively g il was blocked up
though. for all that-and with what do you think?
With men and horses rushing headlORg though TO
the bsnk, over yonder-tearing, scrambling, and
crushing each other. There were men hacking ct
their own comrades to loosen the grasp the poor
drowning Wretches laid on them. There was work
can tell you for US fishermen for days afterwards
in clearing the river Of the bodies Of men and
horses-and then Whist q famine there was the next
winter And what misery There's nothing 10
compare % it noW-nothing .1I4 l0A
ssTeu you about il ? Yes, I sill, though can't
explain 70 you how the battle was tought Tor COM
mon soldier is never expected to understand much
Of the movements Of his Oieers-his duty to obey
orders And, besides, was out Of the army already,
ai the time the battle Of Eeipsic vas fought, my
period Of service being over in the year Of the
Russian oamIa ign -e
ssYou see shea It was first rumored that Napoleon
and his army were marching upon Leipsie, there
we're divided opinions about the leader and his men.
Some people remembered the old soldiers who had
won Jena and AusterlitE-fine manly fellows, rather
rough and ready, but civil enough, if you knew how
to treat them-ana these we're almost glad at the
prospect Of seeing the French army again But
others, snd BY far the greatest number. asserted
that the new army Napoleon had raised eiRce the
Russian disasters consisted Of little more than set
Of robbers, who would plumber friend aud foe alike
and the msiority were in the right as We soon
found to our cost.
81 don't kncYg how it was. Isuppose the best men
among the French had all been killed in the long
years Of fighting but no man ever saw such set Of
thorough. paced Bcoundrels as came marching into
Leipsio on the first day of October 1873 The fellows
seemed to know thst theiFmaster was under clOnd,
and that he couldn't do without them, they main
tanned chow Of discipline while duty, but in
their quarters they did just they chose, and theiE
officers knew better than 10 interf,re with them.
'sThieyei Why, no, you couldn't say that they
thieYed exactly, for they carried away everything
openly and in broad daylight; and what they couldn't
use they would break rather than leave it behind
them in such state as 10 be Of any good I've seen
a great fellow Of pioneer, when the drum beat to
muster the men, stay behind to smash child's
cradle to pieces With his axe; and saw another set
IRE to heap of logs, stacked up fuel against the
coming winter. The first intimatiOn We had Of the
rascals' coming was by seeing q number Of poor
peasants come aocking into Leipsic from all the
villages round about driving their sheep and cattle
before them They knew well enough, poor souls,
that if the Frenchmen got to see the beasts, not
horn or a hOof would ramsin. OF course there
wasn't forage or stsbng for all the beasts within
the town, 50 they had to be slaughtered, and you
could buy pounds upon pounds weight Of hrst-rate
beef or mutton for avery few grOsohen-
ssThe French soon began to arrive; and they we're
uuarterad upon the citizens Of Leipsie, who had
heavy time with them, l can assure you. Nothing
was good enough. If brown bread was set before
them they clamored for whites if their hosts RECALLED
them with strong beer they yelled for wine; and at
kheleast contradiction out would come their bayonets
and sWords-snd they knew how to u them, too,
can tell you! So st last the Leipsie people really
Wished the battle to begin if it was only get the
scamps out Of their houses.
aDid Tsse Napoleon himself? Yes, surely
One evening about five O'clock / was walking along
the RossplatE, 10 large open square when britska
dashed past me at rafting speed, and drew up in
front OF The Hotel de Prusse. On the box beside
the driver sat Roustan, the Mameluke, favorite
servant Of the Emperors; but am told he deserted
his master ct last In the carriage rode tall,
soldierly man, with grey hair and melancholy face
1t was POniatOWsky, the Pole. beside him sat
Napoleon.
g Well, Pll describe him nearly IS I can. I saw
him once afterwards and each time got good long
look at him. He was q short man, stout in figure,
but not unWieldly His face Of pale yello wish
color, and had jaded, CsreWOrn look. He sat
leaning back in his carriage, with his head sunk
little forward on his breast ss if the weight he had
on his nina naQ Deeu DehElHE ulul uOHu. AS the
carriage stopped be started up abruptly and signed
hurriedly to have the door opened for him. Then
he got out and walked hastily into the hotel. All
his movements were abrupt and there Wasa restless
unquiet look in his splendid blue eye.
- Was he Like his portraits Well, yes; and yet
not. The features / have seen given accurately
enough but seldom the expression. He was a
handsome man, certainly, and if you had once seen
his face you could never forget it. can't tell you
what It was, but it was something. There was his
brother-in-laW, Murat handsomer man, but one
whose face you forgot in a minutes for ne looked
just what be Was-a staggering husssr officer.
''The King Of Sa1oDy was on NapOleOns side;
90 were the rest of the royal family and the Saxon
army, between twenty and thirty thousand in num-
Der, were to fight for Napoleon. But the people !
were too much embittered by the behaviour Of the
French soldiery, and the Saxon troops, who had /
wives, and sisters and mothers in Leipsc, planned
and carried out deep scheme Of revenge. On the |
second day Of the battle rita critical time they quit
ted their position and marched over to the allies on
whose side they fought afterwards Inever lfliked
their deserving their leader. soldier should
stick to his oolors; but then you see they had wives
and sisters in Leipsic, and it served the French |
right
The battle was a terrible one. Napoleon never /
fought better; and st one time, on The first day, it
was thought that the allied army would have to re-
treat The news Of victory had actually been sent
of to Paris, and from one Of the windows Of the /
Plesselburg, where the royal family had shut them
selves up, q white handkerchief was waved. u was
never found out who waved it but it was long be-
fore the people fOrgave the royalfaGniy for showing
their 10Y that the Germans we're beaten
10 -. hpI haa ~. !