The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06

diplomats at his court to meet him at Wilma. But now they must go away and not stay and look at the ragged, hollow-eyed ten thousand that he had dragged from the graveyard of the half million. For he dreaded to face the world with the appalling truth, T de- sire that there shall be in vilna< no foreign agent, he notified his comman- der. "The army is not fine to show S ]" Send to Warsaw the ministers of Amer ica, of Prussia and all the other minis ters.'
 But the American minister was not waiting at Wilma. The only cheering re- port that had come to Napoleon fin his Russian exile was of the war against England by the United States. After ward, in addressing the corps 1egislatif. he extolled it as "a glorious contest for the freedom of the sea, and he pre- dicted that if the Americans should w-n. "posterity will say that the old world had lost it's rights and that the new world recovered them" He had com manded Joel Barlow, the new American minister at Paris to attend upon him at Wilma, but that first of American men was exposed to such rigorous weather while hastening to respond that he was even then dying at Cracow.
 Napoleon's Flight
 Napoleon himself was not going to Vil- na. but was about to shake off his night mare army. month had passed since a courier, riding at a furious pace, came to him on the march to Smolensk and brought the report of movement to seize the government at Paris. A dement, ed man. who had broken away from his keepers, had been able to communicates to others his deluson that the Emperor was dead. place himself in command Of 600 of the Guard and cast into prison Savary, the minister of police along with the prefect of police. If crazy man. armed with crazy rumor, could do that, Napoleon naturally wondered what would become of his throne if he were not seated upon it when Paris should hear that the grand army was dead He rode into the little village of Smorgoni. therefore, with determination to free himself from the wreckage and race to his capital ahead of the news of his disaster.
 Closeting himself with his marshals, he whispered his purpose to return to France where he would speedily organ ize and bring back another army to repel the Russians in their inevitable advance through Germany. Then he sat down and wrote the last bulletin of the cam paign, blaming everything on the Rus sian winter and on men whom nature 'O above all the chances of fate and for tune" while he added as if to draw a contrast between himself and the half million who had fallen, ''the health of his majesty has never been better That closing line, however, obviously had the less sinister motive of assuring the rest less revolutionists of France that the eagle was not winged.
 Finally having committed to King Mu- rat the horrid skeleton of the greatest military body of modern times, Napoleon stole away by night in an open sleigh with Duroc and Caulincort, Roustan and a Polish guide It was not glorious, but it was the only thing to do. Someone else could lead the staggering 10000, but he alone, once he was in Paris. could stamp his foot and raise up new legions.
 Crossing the Niemen
 Other attachments came and joined the little column from Moscow, but only to swell it's list of deaths to 10000 in the short distance between Smorgoni and Wilma. The feasting in the latter city proved to be as fatal as the fasting had been on the march from Moscow.
 As the flight to Kovno began there were only 5000 under arms. When Ney, bringing up the rear rode into that town on the Niemen, the gateway which in June had opened so invitingly to the grave, he found 200O soldiers lying drunk In the streets, Wnlie otneTss Hdruiy iess insenslble from privation, crouched about the fires and doggedly refused to take the few steps remaining to complete theil long retreat out of Russia.
 The Cossacks soon sweeping down upor the place, sent panic into the feeble ranks of the little rear guard. But Ney seizing musket. laid low the boldesi and fought on until he had repelled his assailants and until he had only 30 mer in his redoubt The next morning al dawn, he crossed the Niemen, the lasl to quit Russian soil
 The Cossacks xalloped beyond their