The weather
was so bad that Napoleon could no longer see his star--the sky was
hidden. Poor man! It made him sick at heart to see his eagles flying
away from victory. It was a crushing blow to him.
Well, then came the Beresina. And now, my friends, I may say to you, on
my honor and by everything sacred, that never--no, never since man lived
on earth--has there been such a mixed up hodgepodge of army, wagons,
and artillery, in the midst of such snows, and under such a pitiless
sky! It was so cold that if you touched the barrel of your gun you
burned your hand.
It was there that Gondrin--who is now present with us--behaved so well.
He is the only one now living of the pontooners who went down into the
water that day and built the bridge on which we crossed the river. The
Russians still had some respect for the Grand Army, on account of its
past victories; but it was Gondrin and the pontooners who saved us, and
[pointing at Gondrin, who was looking at him with the fixed attention
peculiar to the deaf] Gondrin is a finished soldier and a soldier of
honor, who is worthy of your highest esteem.
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