Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-01-16
Napoleon in Russia.

Aubc1ou AAOAbACL 4S P0uoOAS AASO1sAAy
faint with hunger, at the little Polish
village of Skrawedze, and made his
way, accompanied. by his staff, to the
priests house to ask if he had anything
eatable.
The priest understood no French and
could speak nothing but Polish, and
Napoleon was unable to convey to him
his meaning till he reflected that the
Polish ecclesiastic was Catholic and
naturally had learned Latin. "Let's try
him with the Roman Catholic Ian
gusge," said the emperor, and straight
way entered into q conversation with
him in the tongue of the Caesars.
The priest had nothing to give-noth-
ing. The foragers had swept the vii
lsge bare, fact whereat the worthy
ecclesiastic did not murmur, for were
they not attempting the Liberation Of
his country? There's priest" said
the emperor, as with laughhe clapped
the good man on the shoulder, there's
priest who doesn't set his heart on
the things of this world"
Laughter, however, does not fill an
empty stomach, and the emperor, in de-
jected perplexity, was gazing out of the
window into the yard when he espied q
hen, the solitary survivor of the sack
Of Skrawedze.
"Reverendissime, ecce est pulla, he
cried with citation; and summoning his
aides, dashed into the garden in pur.
suit of the chicken, which was speedily
captured and wrung as to its neck.
If you are as good cook as you
are clergyman" said the emperor to
his host, ~ shall have famous bowl
of chicken BROTH" But the priest was
IMMERSED in culinary lore, and every
she in the village had fed. Two aides
de. camp, however, set about the i'm
portant labor, and soon Napoleon had,
with soldiers iron spoon, eaten his
bowl of broth, thickened with broken
biscuit, and half of the fowl. Then
after doze of half an hour he mounted
his horse and prepared to ride forward.
The Poles meanwhile had gathered
outside, and were acclaiming him as
Father" and Savior" but he paid
no attention to their homage, and passed
on. taking with him the priest as
guide. The unfortunate ecclesiastic
had not even had the remainder of the
last inmate of his Len-house wherewith
to stay his stomach, and compelled to
walk rapidly through the mud, was
completely knocked up when at last
they reached the highway near the
frontier.
The emperor babe Berthier send the
priest back with an escort, having first
counted out to him q sum of 20. 900
francs to be distributed among his poor
relatives and pensioners, then shook
hands with him. "Vale, reverendis-
SINE" he said, memento mel ad altare
Del" and rode across the frontier into
Russia.
The French army-the fragments of
it, rather-bleeding, freezing, dying,
was toiling homewards across the snow.
covered plains. Napoleon, foremost,
was hurrying to Paris, followed very
closely by the Cossack scouts, when he
reached q small town on the Polish
frontier and entered its tavern (kafee-
hdus.) There was throng of custom
ers in its principal room as he STROBE
in, and going to the fireplace turned
his back to the grateful warmth.
Nine. Mitzulewicz, the hostess, strove
to push aside this unknown French
officer who so cavalierly hindered her
cooking apparatus. He wore the uni.
form of the Chasseurs of the guard and
over it a cloak of velvet and fur, with
upon his head huge fur cap.
IT'S he! IT'S Napoleonl whis-
Pered tutor who was present to his
charge, young lad, and tho wondering
and awed boy drew near, curious to
see the great emperor and hear what he
was saying to the hostess.
Listen, you pretty little Pole, what
pretty little woman you are!" were
the words that the youth heard. At
that moment an officer of the Polish
Krasinski regiment, the first that had
crossed the Niemen, and which at the
passage had lost two hundred men and
horses, swept away by the current, en-
tered the tavern, and seeing the newly
arrived guest, bowed reverently before
him, haiGng him as "Sire."
How did you recognize me ?" said
the emperor.
"The emperor gave me this at Wag.
RAM" said the officer, touching the
cross of the legion that be wore.