T HE RO THE DYING SOLDIER. away in a single campaign, mown down by thousands in the battle field, freezing by thousands and thousands in the bitter cold of a northern winter, starving by thousands along the road-side, and perishing by thousands in the rivers they had to cross, till but a mere handful of famished stragglers remain to tell the tale, is most painfully sublime. To accompany our engraving of the "Dying Soldier," we copy a few passages from Alison's History of Europe, and have no doubt the reader, after perusing them, will turn to the engraving and dwell upon it with renewed interest. "The day after the battle of Borodino, the Russians retired by the great road toward Moscow. The magnitude of his loss, rendered Kutusoff unwilling to risk the remainder of the army in another general action with the French, who were constantly receiving reinforcements; but no signs of confusion marked his route; and the subsequent retreat was conducted with such perfect order, that when the French troops reached the point where the roads to Moscow and Kaluga separate, they were for some time uncertain, as they had previously been at Witepsk, which of the two the Russians had followed. Kutusoff reached a position half a league in front of Moscow, on the 13th of September, and held a council of war to deliberate the question of abandoning the town to its fate. Kutusoff and Barclay eventually insisted on a retreat, assigning as a reason, that it was indispensable to preserve the army entire until the new levies could be incorporated into its ranks, and averring that the abandonment of the metropolis, "would lead the enemy into a snare, where his destruction would be inevitable." These prophetic words determined the council, and orders were given for the troops to retire in the direction of Kolomna. On the morning of the 14th, therefore, the army continued its retreat, and in silent despondency defiled through the streets of the sacred city. "Nothing could exceed the consternation of the inhabitants of Moscow, when they found themselves deserted by their defenders. They had been led to believe, from the government reports, that the French were entirely defeated at Borodino, and that Napoleon's advance to Moscow was impossible; they, therefore, had not thought of preparations for quitting the city. Nevertheless, when their departure thus became unavoidable, they made exertions equal to the emergency, and in a short time, no less than three hundred thousand people left their homes. "At eleven o'clock, on the 14th, the advanced guard of the French army, from an eminence on their route, descried the minarets of the metropolis; the domes of more than two hundred churches, and the roofs of a thousand palaces glittered in the rays of the sun, and the leading squadrons, struck by the magnificence of the spectacle, halted to exclaim, 'Moscow! Moscow!' and the cry, repeated from rank to rank, reached the emperor's guard. The soldiers then broke their array, and rushed tumultuously forward, while Napoleon in the midst of them, gazed impatiently on the scene. His first words were, 'Here is that famous city at last!' but he immediately added, 'It is full time!' "The entry of the French troops into the town, however, dispelled many of their illusions. Moscow THE DYING SOLDIER; THE advance of Napoleon, with his grand army, upon |