Page:The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire.djvu/242

236 "The army that came to Moscow was about one hundred thousand strong; all the rest of the available forces of the Grand Army were left to garrison places on the road to the Niemen and to collect provisions. One hundred and sixty thousand men crossed the bridge at Smolensk in the march to Moscow; twenty thousand were killed on the road, and forty thousand were left to guard the magazines, hospitals, and stores at some four or five places. The terrible waste of war can be no better illustrated than in the story of Napoleon's campaign to Moscow. At Kovno, in Lithuania, is a monument with the inscription:

"And now," he continued, "I think you understand why Moscow presents so many irregularities in its architecture. In the spring of 1813 the people began to build again, and everything was done in a hurry. Those who could afford the time and money necessary to build good houses were the few rather than the many. Most Of the Russians had been impoverished in the war, and could only afford the cheapest of dwellings, while those who had not lost everything were desirous of obtaining shelter as soon as possible. The custom of that day has continued in a certain measure to the present, as you can see by looking around you."

For a knowledge of what our friends saw in Moscow we will refer as heretofore to the journals kept by the youths, together with extracts from their letters to friends at home.

"The first thing we wanted to see," said Fred, in his journal, "was the Kremlin, or ancient fortress of Moscow, on the bank of the river Moskva, from which the city is named. We saw many other things on the way there, but had no interest in them, and will leave their description to a