WILNA. DREADFUL SUFFERINGS.
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pockets, at the cost of only some score thousand humanlives!
Murat had scarcely been twelve hours in Wilna beforethe Russian cannon were heard both on the east and thesouth of the city. The Bavarian General, de Wrede, foughtnobly, and so did General Loison, with his skeleton divisionof almost fingerless soldiers. On this occasion, a divisionof Neapolitans marched out gaily to attack the Russians ,but the cold had such an effect, on these inhabitants of thesunny clime of Italy that their hands and feet becameimmediately frozen, and but a very few of them could pos-sibly retain their muskets. At 3 a.m., on the 10th ofDecember, the French evacuated Wilna, leaving more thanfifteen thousand men and officers behind them, whose feetbeing in a state of mortification from the cold, could notfollow their comrades. The commencement of this marchwas dismal beyond expression : King Joachim and PrinceEugene found themselves bewildered in the trackless snow,with mounts and hills a head, so as to be obliged to standstill in such a situation until the distant day light shouldenable them to decide upon a path. Let us only for aninstant imagine to ourselves a host of wounded, starving,maimed, and shivering men, waiting in such a situation— upto their knees in snow— covered with falling snow—andsuffering all the pangs of hunger, mortified hands and feet,undressed wounds, in fine - despair! Here was left behindthe last pieces of cannon, ammunition waggons, provisionsand baggage, together with about six millions of francs ingold and silver of the military chest. I have mentionedonly the particulars that have not been much noticed bythe various writers on this horrifying subject. But I shallhasten with all possible speed to take King Joachim backto Naples.