[208] "Napoleon marched on foot at the head of his guard, and often talked of Ney; he called to mind his coup-d'œil so accurate and true, his courage proof against every thing, in short all the qualities which made him so brilliant on the field of battle. 'He is lost. Well! I have three hundred millions in the Tuileries; I would give them all if he were restored to me.'"—Rapp, p. 242.
[209] "When Napoleon heard that Ney had just reappeared, he leaped and shouted for joy, and exclaimed, 'I have then saved my eagles! I would have given three hundred millions from my treasury sooner than have lost such a man.'"—Ségur, tom. ii., p. 268; Jomini, tom. iv., p. 190.
[210] Jomini, tom. iv., p. 189; Ségur, tom. ii., pp. 245-266.
[211] Ségur, tom. ii., p. 279.
[212] "Napoleon's confidence increased with his peril; in his eyes, and in the midst of these deserts of mud and ice, that handful of men was always the grand army! and himself the conqueror of Europe! and there was no infatuation in this firmness: we were certain of it, when, in this very town, we saw him burning with his own hands every thing belonging to him which might serve as trophies to the enemy, in the event of his fall. There also were unfortunately consumed all the papers which he had collected in order to write the history of his life; for such was his intention when he set out for that fatal war. He had then determined to halt as a threatening conqueror on the borders of the Dwina and the Boristhenes, to which he now returned as a disarmed fugitive. At that time he regarded the ennui of six winter months, which he would have been detained on these rivers as his greatest enemy; and to overcome it, this second Cæsar intended there to have dictated his Commentaries."—Ségur, tom. ii., p. 235.
[213] Ségur, tom. ii., p. 278.
[214] Ségur, tom. ii., p. 282.
[215] Ségur, tom. ii., p. 283.
[216] "The Emperor came out from his barrack, cast his eyes on the other side of the river. 'I have outwitted the admiral' (he could not pronounce the name Tchitchagoff;) 'he believes me to be at the point where I ordered the false attack; he is running to Borizoff.' His eyes sparkled with joy and impatience; he urged the erection of the bridges, and mounted twenty pieces of cannon in battery. These were commanded by a brave officer with a wooden leg, called Brechtel; a ball carried it off during the action, and knocked him down. 'Look,' he said, to one of his gunners, 'for another leg in waggon, No. 5.' He fitted it on, and continued his firing."—Rapp, p. 246.
[217] "Ney took me apart: he said to me in German, 'Our situation is unparalleled; if Napoleon extricates himself to-day, he must have the devil in him.' We were very uneasy, and there was sufficient cause. Murat came to us, and was not less solicitous. 'I have proposed to Napoleon,' he observed to us, 'to save himself, and cross the river at a few leagues distance from hence. I have some Poles who would answer for his safety, and would conduct him to Wilna, but he rejects the proposal, and will not even hear it mentioned. As for me, I do not think we can escape.' We were all three of the same opinion."—Rapp, p. 245.