336

LIFE OF COLONEL MACERONI.

erroneously stated; on the day it happened (14th June) hewas attacking Konigsberg, this single battle cost theRussians fifty thousand men.

From Konigsberg- Murat pushed on to Tilsit, dispersingor capturing many detachments of the enemy on his way,and here it was, that for the first time he met with theCalmuck Tartar cavalry of the Russians . These men arecovered with maile armour (chain) similar to that worne inthe twelfth and thirteenth centuries in Europe , before theuse of plate armour. They wear a very handsome steel orbrass helmet very like those of the Circassians, —are armedwith lances, but in lieu of fire arms, they use bows andarrows with much dexterity. Like the ancient Parthians ,their progenitors, they seemed more dextrous at fleeing thanin standing their ground, and were held in perfect contemptby the French soldiers even more than the Cossacks .

On the day of Murat’s arrival at Tilsit, he received twoflags of truce with letters, one from the Prince Bagration ,the other from the Russian general-in-chief, Beningsen,requesting an armistice. He immediately forwarded themto the Emperor , and the armistice was signed the 21st ofJune.

Shortly after took place the celebrated conference of thetwo Emperors and the King of Prussia , on the raft on theNeimen at Tilsit. Murat was at Napoleon ’s side on thatoccasion. At the peace there concluded, Joseph was recog-nised King of Naples; Louis, King of Holland ; andJerome, King of Westphalia.

Spain had now been for several years in close offensiveand defensive alliance with France, —a species of alliance,however, something analogous to that between England andPortugal , wherein the desire of the one party is the lawfor the other. In order to strike a blow at the commercialoperations of Great Britain , no sooner was the treaty of