This etext was produced by David Widger
[NOTE: There is a short list of bookmarks, or pointers, at the end of thefile for those who may wish to sample the author's ideas before making anentire meal of them. D.W.]
By CONSTANT
1895
During the second day of the battle of Dresden, at the end of which theEmperor had the attack of fever I mentioned in the preceding chapter, theKing of Naples, or rather Marshal Murat, performed prodigies of valor.Much has been said of this truly extraordinary prince; but only those whosaw him personally could form a correct idea of him, and even they neverknew him perfectly until they had seen him on a field of battle. Therehe seemed like those great actors who produce a complete illusion amidthe fascinations of the stage, but in whom we no longer find the herowhen we encounter them in private life. While at Paris I attended arepresentation of the death of 'Hector' by Luce de Lancival, and I couldnever afterwards hear the verses recited in which the author describesthe effect produced on the Trojan army by the appearance of Achilleswithout thinking of Prince Murat; and it may be said without exaggerationthat his presence produced exactly this effect the moment he showedhimself in front of the Austrian lines. He had an almost giganticfigure, which alone would have sufficed to make him remarkable, and inaddition to this sought every possible means to draw attention tohimself, as if he wished to dazzle those who, might have intended toattack him. His regular and strongly marked features, his handsome blueeyes rolling in their orbits, enormous mustaches, and black hair fallingin long ringlets over the collar of a kurtka with narrow sleeves, struckthe attention at first sight. Add to this the richest and most elegantcostume which one would wear even at the theater,—a Polish coat richlyembroidered, and encircled by a gilded belt from which hung the scabbardof a light sword, with a straight and pointed blade, without edge andwithout guard; large amaranth-colored pantaloons embroidered in gold onthe seams, and nankeen boots; a large hat embroidered in gold with aborder of white feathers, above which floated four large ostrich plumeswith an exquisite heron aigrette in the midst; and finally the king'shorse, always selected from the strongest and handsomest that could befound, was covered with an elegantly embroidered sky-blue cloth whichextended to the ground, and was held in place by a Hungarian or Turkishsaddle of the richest workmanship, together with a bridle and stirrupsnot less magnificent than the rest of the equipment. All these thingscombined made the King of Naples a being apart, an object of terror andadmiration. But what, so to speak, idealized him was his trulychivalrous bravery, often carried to the point of recklessness, as ifdanger had no existence for him. In truth, this extreme courage was byno means displeasing to the Emperor; and though he perhaps did not alwaysapprove of the manner in which it was displayed, his Majesty rarelyfailed to accord it his praise, especially when he thought necessary tocontrast it with the increasing prudence shown by some of his oldcompanions in arms.
On the 28th the Emperor visited the battlefield, which presented afrightful spectacle, and gave orders that everything possible should bedone to alleviate the sufferings of the wounded, and also of theinhabitants and peasants who had been ravaged and pillaged, and theirfields and houses burned, and t