would postpone till the next year the execution of his vast designs on
Russia. I could not undertake to say what his inmost thoughts were on
this subject; but what I can certify is that, being in a room adjoining
his, I one day heard him say to the King of Naples, that the first
campaign of Russia was ended, and that he would be the following year at
Moscow, the next at St. Petersburg, and that the Russian war was a three
years' campaign. Had it pleased Providence that his Majesty had executed
this plan, which he outlined to the King of Naples so earnestly, so many
of the brave would not have laid down their lives a few months after in
the frightful retreat, the horrors of which I shall hereafter describe.

During our stay at Witepsk, the heat was so excessive that the Emperor
was much exhausted, and complained of it incessantly; and I have never
seen him under any circumstances so oppressed by the weight of his
clothing. In his room he rarely wore his coat, and frequently threw
himself on his bed to rest. This is a fact which many persons can attest
as well as I; for he often received his general officers thus, though it
had been his custom never to appear before them without the uniform which
he habitually wore. Nevertheless, the influence which the heat had on
his physical condition had not affected his great soul; and his genius
ever on the alert embraced every branch of the administration. But it
was easily seen by those whose positions enabled them best to know his
character that the source of his greatest suffering at Witepsk was the
uncertainty whether he should remain in Poland, or should advance without
delay into the heart of Russia. While he was hesitating between these
two decisions he was nearly always sad and taciturn.

In this state of vacillation between repose and motion, the Emperor's
preference was not doubtful; and at the end of a council where I heard it
said that his Majesty met with much opposition, I learned that we were to