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remembrance of the melancholy objects which we had hitherto seen, we could not suppress our joy; but, with one spontaneous movement, we all exclaimed, Moscow! Moscow! At the sound of this wished for name, the soldiers ran up the hill in crowds, and each discovered new wonders every instant. One admired a noble chateau on our left, the elegant architecture of which, displayed more than eastern magnifigence; another directed his attention towards a palace or a temple; but all were struck with the superb picture which this immense town afforded. The walls, variously painted, the domes covered with lead or slates, or glittering with gold, offered the most pleasing variety; whilst the terraces before the palaces, the obelisks over the gates, and, above all the steeples– really presented to our eyes one of those celebrated cities of Asia, which we had thought had only existed in the creative imagination of the Arabian poets.
The Conflagration of Moscow.
“No cry, no tumult was heard in this scene of horror. Every one found abundantly sufficient to satisfy his thirst for plunder. Nothing was heard but the crackling of flames, and the noise of the doors that were broken open——and occasionally a dreadful crash caused by the falling in of some vault. Cottons, muslins, and in short all the most costly productions of Europe and of Asia were a prey to the flames.
