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 whole Russian campaign, the Emperor was nearly always badlylodged. It was necessary, however, to accommodate himself tocircumstances; though this was a somewhat difficult task to those whowere accustomed to lodge in palaces. The Emperor accepted the situationbravely, and all his followers consequently did the same. In consequenceof the system of incendiarism adopted as the policy of Russia, thewealthy part of the population withdrew into the country, abandoning tothe enemy their houses already ruined. In truth, on the whole roadleading to Moscow, with the exception of a few unimportant towns, thedwellings were very wretched; and after long and fatiguing marches, wewere very happy if we found even a hut at the place the Emperor indicatedas headquarters. The owners of these miserable hovels on quitting themleft there sometimes two or three seats and wooden beds, in which were anabundant supply of vermin that no invasion could drive out. The leastfilthy place was chosen, which was usually the most airy; and we knewwhen the cold came, icy breezes would not fail us. When the location hadbeen chosen, and we decided to halt there, a carpet was spread on theground, the Emperor's iron bedstead set up, and a dressing-casecontaining everything necessary in a bedroom placed open on a smalltable. This case also contained a breakfast service for several persons,which luxury was displayed when the Emperor entertained his marshals. Itwas necessary, at all events, to bring ourselves down to the habits ofthe humblest citizens of the province. If the house had two rooms, oneserved as sleeping and dining room, the other for his Majesty's cabinet.The box of books, geographical maps, the portfolio, and a table coveredwith green cloth, were the entire furniture. This was also the councilchamber; and from these beggarly huts were sent forth those prompt andtrenchant decisions which changed the order of battle and often thefortunes of the day, and those strong and energetic proclamations whichso quickly reanimated the discouraged army. When our residence wascomposed of three rooms,—an extremely rare occurrence, then the thirdroom, or closet, was occupied by the Prince de Neuchatel, who alwaysslept as near by as possible. We often found in these wretched dwellingsold decayed furniture of singular shapes, and little images in wood orplaster of male or female saints which the proprietors had left.Frequently, however, we found poor people in these dwellings, who, havingnothing to save from conquest, had remained. These good people seemedmuch ashamed to entertain so badly the Emperor of the French, gave uswhat they had, and were not, on that account, less badly esteemed by us.More of the poor than rich received the Emperor into their houses; andthe Kremlin was the last of the foreign palaces in which the Emperorslept during the Russian campaign.
When there were no houses to be found, we erected the Emperor's tent,and, in order to divide it into three apartments curtains were hung; inone of these apartments the Emperor slept, the next was the Emperor'scabinet, and the third was occupied by his aides-de-camp and officers ofthe service; this latter room being ordinarily used as the Emperor'sdining-roo