Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-06-14
A MAN WHO SAW NAPOLEON.
A Human Omelet Enjoyed by the Con-
querOr.

A Human Omelet Enjoyed by the Con-
querOr.
Maj. Gen. Yakovitch, Of the Russian
army, is one of the few men now living
who saw the great Napoleon on a battle
field. The old General saw the French
Emperor at Borodino. At that battle
YakOyitch, then mere boy, served with
a battery in the grand redOubt which was
the centre of the Russian line. He gives
vivid description of the battle. When
morning broke sea of gray mist shut out
the field from view. The voices OF the
enemy were heard, the neighing of their
horses and the rumble of artillery wheels.
Then came the thunder Oicann0n, making
the very earth tremble. Three times all
the Russian gunners were killed, and
three times new men took their places.
Bullets flew thick as hail and men dropped
dead or mangled every moment.
At last strange sound was heard I'm
the distance, like rain pattering on with
cred leaves. 1t grew louder and louder,
until it filed the air like the roar of a
stormy sea. All at once great wave of
bright swords and helmets and horses
heads came surging up over the breast
works. 1t was the Imperial Guard. Be
fore the shock of that mighty wave the
Russian centre crumbled away, a shat
tered wreck. When Yakovitch came to
his senses and opened his eyes he saw
around him the cOrpses Of his father and
his comrades. Suddenly the tramping of
hoofs called his attention to a group Of
gaily dressed officers and NapOleOn's staff
came riding over the field. The young
Russian peered anXiously into their faces.
In his graphic language:
'.There were the hard faces of Rapp and
Daru and brOad-chested Sebastian and
Nansouty, with the sabre scar across his
cheek. and the low, broad forehead and
bulldog Jaw of grim old Ney, the bravest
of them all. There, too, was Murat, with
his white plumes and his braided jacket,
his long, dark curls hanging down his
neck, and his riding whip in his hand,
Just like circus rider. And then the
group parted suddenly, and there was the
man himself in the midst of them, with
his face hard and immOvable as marble
amid all that blood and agony, and FAR
away kind of look In those cold gray eyes
Of his, as if he saw Moscow somewhere up
in the sky, and could see nothing be-
tween. A glorious victory! cried Mu-
rat, waving his hand. What stir there'll
be among the good folks in Paris when the
bulletin arrivesi We've lost half our
army III uOiuS ~, tuVuEh3 SlV"lCu wy +.
Hadn't we better fall back little and
wait for reinforcementsT Then NapO-
leon turned his head slowly, just as a
statue might do, and looked him full in
the face. Thou advising a retreat,
Michel? That is something new, indeed
Mono falling back now; ! must date my
bulletin from Moscow. AS for the army,
you can't make an Omelet without
breaking a few eggs" YakOvitch says
that when he heard that he knew God had
forsaken Napoleon, for no man save one
doomed to destruction could have spoken
so lightly of the slaughter Of thousands of
brave men. In three months from that
day the French Emperor was flying for
his life across the border, with the Cos
sacks at his heels like hungry wolves.