, 1813. "Ribes," says he--Ribes was one of Napoleon's
physicians--"was right when he said that in the midst of the army, and
especially of the Imperial guard, I could not lose my life. Indeed, I owe
my life to the soldiers. Some of them flew to my rescue when the Cossacks
surrounded me and would have killed or taken me prisoner. Others hastened
to lift me and help me on when I sank in the snow from physical exhaustion.
Others, again, seeing me suffer from hunger, gave me such provisions as
they had; while as soon as I joined their bivouac they would all make room
and cover me with straw or with their own clothes."
At Larrey's name, all the soldiers would rise and cheer with a friendly
respect.
"Any one else in my place," writes Larrey further, "would have perished on
the bridge of the Beresina, crossing it as I was doing, for the third time
and at the most dangerous moment. But no sooner did they recognize me than
they grasped me with a vigorous hold, and sent me along from hand to hand,
like a bundle of clothes, to the end of the bridge."
WILNA
The threatening barrier had been surmounted, and on went the march to
Wilna, without any possibility of a day's rest, because the miserable
remainder of the French army was still followed by light Russian troops.
During the first days after the crossing of the Beresina the supply of food
had improved, it was better indeed than at any time during the retreat.
They passed through villages which had not suffered from the war, in which
the barns were well filled with grain and with feed for the horses, and
there lived rich Jews who could sell whatever the soldiers needed.
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