The Retreat From Moscow

The rctreat of the Frcncu arniy trom Moscow to Pohuid, through u thousand [ miles of snow and wilderuess, of battle and blood, stands out in the world's ' tory ;is the sublime of horrible, of passion and devotion. Not the slaughter of the innocents, nor the raassaoro of St. liartholomew's, nor plague, earthquake, nor aught save the great flood itself, so ovcrwhelms the mind with the burden of grief, terror and desolation. The Ie gends of that awful path carao down f'rom mouth to mouth by the ti resides of Europe ; and the direful tale will still be told, when Xerxes and Alexander, and Attila and Oharlemagne shall have sunk out of the earth's rememberance. As if rebuking the sagest calculations of philosophy, snow feil twenty days earlier than had been known for many years - feil in vast quantities, and Was attended with most inclement gales and bitting frost. ïhe French, burned with the sun in the summer months. had thrown their spare elothing away, and now their shoes were worn nut with toilsorae marches, their provisions were exhausted, naught save their horses, jadod and lean, remained for them to eat. - The Rnssians, on the other hand, wel! ciad, inured to the terrible climate, flush in all provisions and munitions of war, returned upon their path Uko vultures, and lined the passes in front and rear, and on every side. Such was even the beginning of their reiioat over a rout on wbich the advanee liad not even the bones and husks of human sustenance. There was no manifest design on the part of tho Iiussiaus to give general battle, but rather to harrass thom'to deatl). The name of Napoleon Jjoecred over and protected the soleinn host. 30,000 men under the dauntless Noy, the palladium of Bonaparte, and nest to him, the hero of héroes, fonned the rear guard of thia dread retreat, Thcre was a battle every day, in front and rear, The uusleep.ng eyo of the Emperor covcred every point of strategy. He could nat bo bafih;d ; he could uut be kept back. Calculation, based upon the supposed position of the other divis ions of the grand army, still saved him, at the last moment, from dcstruction, and still the straggling army made its way, famishing, ircezing, parisliing. - But one in fouiteen had been able to endure - their bodies strewed the wilderness. And squadron after squadron had been seut back to recruit the toiling fighting Ney. At one time tbefe, carnea ruof that the rear guard wera beiog overpowered : In a mouient, immortal honor to hia geuerous memory ! Napoleou reversed his march with but 9,000 guards to trace the wilderness, agaiust ten times his odds, aud to save his tïiend or peris-h with him. ■' Thero are $200,000,000 in gold in the vaults of the Tuilleries," said he, " aud I would give it all to know the safety of Marshal Ney." And agajo the iicry valor of ilu chcury shout "Live the Kmperor !" slung back the bitter and remorseleis air as Napoleon, hiiaself on foot hke the rest, with ü beecheu sUff in bis band, back to almost inevitable destruclion, trudged tlirough the bloody suow. Whata wreek was here of all tliat glorious host i Jíapoleon crossed the Dia-pier with 6,000 guarde, out of 35.050 ; Engcne viih 1,800 out of 42,000; apd Pavoust, stripped oven to tlie shirt, led 4,000 equahd atj.d djing fóljowera- tbc reiiiains, from cold, familie aud the sword, of vcr 70,000 mei). ]iut 12,000 of the Grand Army rtmained ! and not a single cannon. Ytt ia Uie wake of these, thure cane a halínaked, CaraishJDg, murderous throng of 80,000 wretcbes, without discipliqend without ■ reuioi te. Nu niau has ilurcJ - and few have live.i to teil of all the hor rors of that inoviug pündemoiiiura. I was forbiddea to speak of it. The more cuduring strippud off thy clülhing from the faiut heartcd, aod the strong dashcd out the brains of the weak for no inore ! induoement than the hoof of a dead barse. ! There "-ere moanïng r-uffere;-' wno criavycd with desprration tlie fragments of old shoes, or elutched Rome flcshless bone lika a uiisrr, who feared assassination l for lus gold, yen, the meagro by t!u mearre was devourod - cannibal fiendtf, who fa i n would Pee the firesides of France and the briglit oyes of thoir loved ones, concealed under thoir shrtmken arms the warm and wasted flesh of the new fallen eorpse. üod forbid that suoli anothor tragedy should blacken the annals of the world. Bui above in interest, nnd beyond all these, stands the sublime devotiou of Marshal Ney. Like a star that keeps its orbit, and we know not why, save for the deep iutegrity of its nature, ho could not fjttit his post. With a meagre band of 7U0 men, and a musket iu his hand, he held the bridge Kenow, until the last of the grand armv had goue over in safetv, and the last grenadier fc-11 a eorpse at his feet. ScoTiiing to fly or even to turn hia face from the eucniy, he retreated backward over the bridge, while the bullcts whiitled all arouud búñ, - and firing the ast shot into tlio llussian raiiksj he threw tho empty pieee into the rrver! On the uight of the 12 tb. of Deoember, as üeueral Dumas was seated in consultatioti with a physieian on the Germán sido of the river, a gaunt, hairy, spectral-looking man. in a Uttered ir.ilitary cloak, entered the apartuieut, and said, with a scpulohural voiee, " At last I iim here !" "And who are yÖU?" said Dumas, rising hastily, and with s'.]s;)icion. " Do you not know me, General V" "Ño F' Polding his rags upnn his martial breast, the apparition answeredj " I arn tho rear guard of the grand army - and my naina is - Marshal iN'ev ; I havu fired the last shot, and the last nusket sleeps iu Uie .":iud of the river " Well niight tho youth, nnd blood, and cbivalry of Fr anee, of all that fought in Egypt, Syria, or Italy, bow their conauotiug oyes, as Napoleon bunself unbonnettcd bis royal head, and hailed hiin as the " Bravest of the brave."