Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1859-08-04

When we behcld before US FIVE half frozen soldiers
of our own regiment In the confusion of the en-
gaSemcnt they had lost their leader, and were
now seeking for a shelter in the village But eve
~ house was filed to overiowing The place, in
f,ct had alic cady been taken possession OF byiVic-
tors division, which on another sceoaInt may be
called iuriupstc circumit lnce, as his troops had
rcpulscd the Russians, who were pressing from
westerly direction. Going fIom house to house,
and every where denied adm'ttinee. die poor fell
lows, almost ftishns from the celd finally fonnd
an officer who gave them some clue where to fad
L'rusl, whom he ll.d crossing the field with
the rest of US carving the body of Lcsrand. Fol-
lowing his direction, they had succeeded in finding
the hut. which, it often a?pens, wlea every bo-
dy follows the stream had mined entirely u,no-
ticesi Joy beamcd from the eyes of the distressed
men as they entered the warm room, and still
more on seeing their commander and officers.
And we were equally happy to greet some of those
whom we hid believed lost. A substantial rcpast
soon refreshed US wonderfully. The extreme ten
sion of the physical powers now preponderated
even the deepest mental agony Soon we all laid
ourselves down, and sunk in the profoundest slum
bcr
An outrageous rattns at the door, accompanied
BY savage yeils started Larusll and me out of our
sleep. We both sprang quickly from our couches.
and listened sharply before answering the CALLS in
order to ascertain whether they were friends Or
foes We soon tounl that they we're Russians
Larrrsh looked hastily at his watch; it was past six
o'clock Our companions slept soundly all around; ;
the old man alone began to wake up, and demand
cs!: who's thcre!'' Larlsh sprang to his side,
shook him until he was fully aroused, and whisper
cd to him: "Thou art lost man if thou bctraycst
"a by single word, let me manage the business.''
The frightened old man signfed by gestures that
he would obey. Llrush then left thc room, step
ped to the outer door, and called, in the Russian
language; "Who's thcrc!" "Russians. ,fiicnd."
was the answer. owe are pcri>hng We have
been marching all night. Open tie door, quick;
there arc only few of US" 1
h "Itis Gods truth, gentlemen" answered Larush,
if open to you, you inevitably lost the l,sse
is packed full of Frenchmen.'
THE devilitis.' some one exclaimed outside
"How many are there Of thcm?'' "Ovcr sixty, sir
AMI number Of oflicers,'' t
'.rhcn hold thy tongue, on thy life. In half an
hour my men must bs here. j will hasten % mcc;
them Every man which this house contains must
fall into our hands Detan your guests at least that
tine" With these words the horsemen departed.
Larush listened carefully, until the sound of the
hooiswas lostin the distance. He then came back
into the and wakenu us all the rest cxcaimine:
The enemy is at our heels. We must away in /
stantly into the village and wakc every one not
already stirring. In half an hour the Cossacks will
be upon us"
These words operated like magic upon the trow
81 group Before three minutes had elapsed, all
were ready TO resume our wanderings. The land
lord was obliged to produce all he had of vetuals
a I'd spirits, which was distributed and taken along
Ol arriving ut the first cottages of tie village. we
f,and the doors open, and the houses empty The
troops had already dccampcd.
at seems We are the only ones that have stall
hind, and the enemy is close upon our heels
s'id Larush to me. I'VE must quicken our steps, |
so as to reach the woods yondcr there we will find
sufficient shelter, even when day brcaks.''
The previous nights rest had SO inrigoratcd our
strength, that found ourselves adequate to un-
dergo fresh fatisues. The insuilerable cold, how
ever, seized upon those whose garments were not
sufficiently thick with an unrcmi:ting rover, cspe-
cially when the other side of the village we as
ccndcd an activity in the open field. Wesoon camc
upon the track of the army for the foot often struck
;ainst dead bodies, which, frozen into stonc lay in
the midLlc of the road. Larlsl, who WAS well ac !
q tainted with the surrounding country, divcrged
from the main road, so that we might rcacl, |
SmorSoni by nearer and safer path. AT the same
time, the forest screened us from the sight of the
purs ling enemy. The cold urged us to our utmost !
speed, so that when the dark red disc of the sun
rose above the horizon, darting its earliest beams
through the green frs, we had left that nights
resting place considerable distance behind u.s.
Late at night We arrived at The town Of Smorsoni !
TIE towh was full of soldiers, but by happy coin
C lencc Larush found Marshal Ney, who procured /
shelter for US. and Immediately after sent for him
personally In the space OF an hour he returned.
Without uttcring word. he sat down, and leaned
his head in his hand. Every one Of us was silent:
no one vcnturcd to ask him the cause. Thus passed
another night, until the dawn awakened us TO new
d myers and troubles. When we were ready to dc.
part, Lar,sh stepped in among us and said:
Snow can tell you what it was that almost
c cr'sh"d me to the earth yesterday. The Emperor
hls abandoned the army. And he is in the right
c ,ntinued Larush. yesterday / was as much
shocked as you are now, because know that moth
ing but IA mistaken confidence in his mighty &c
MUS kept body and soul together in the existing
fragments OF the army. But il must needs be.
We can save nothing but our own lives. The
Emperor has greater problems to solve Here
everything is lost. Paris is now the stage of ac-
ton for him; he WIS compelled to make haste, in
order to save all there. We are left to shift for
ourselves, and viii be compelled to do so.''
This was news to us, indeed; we all looked upon
Larush. petriied with establishment. not ono of us
u;terins single rord in reply. .F fs4
"Durac. Caulincourt, and Count Labon, have
accompanied him." continued I.arusln, .'and the
King of Naples commands the army. And now
M,rshal Ney is to proceed to wilma, there to re-
o-sanizc the army; General Rapp is to second him
in his labors. and there we must strike a blow and
stop the enemy. There we will find reinforce
m nts, provisions and anmunitons of all sorts, and
6 into winter quarfers.''
Having finished, Larush started, the rest of Us
E.fl - Il