So great was their ardour, that two divisions of the advanced guard disputed for the honour of being the first to pass, and were near coming to blows; and some exertions were necessary to quiet them.  Napoleon hastened to plant his foot on the Russian territory.  He took this first step towards his ruin without hesitation.  At first, he stationed himself near the bridge, encouraging the soldiers with his looks.  The latter all saluted him with their accustomed acclamations.  They appeared, indeed, more animated than he was; whether it was that he felt oppressed by the weight of so great an aggression, or that his enfeebled frame could not support the effect of the excessive heat, or that he was already intimidated by finding nothing to conquer.

At length he became impatient; all at once he dashed across the country into the forest which girt the sides of the river.  He put his horse to the extremity of his speed; he appeared on fire to come singly in contact with the enemy.  He rode more than a league in the same direction, surrounded throughout by the same solitude; upon which he found it necessary to return in the vicinity of the bridges, whence he re-descended the river with his guard towards Kowno.

Some thought they heard the distant report of cannon.  As we marched, we endeavoured to distinguish on which side the battle was going on.  But, with the exception of some troops of cossacks on that, as well as the ensuing days, the atmosphere alone displayed itself in the character of an enemy.  In fact, the emperor had scarcely passed the river, when a rumbling sound began to agitate the air.  In a short time the day became overcast, the wind rose, and brought with it the inauspicious mutterings of a thunder-storm.  That menacing sky and unsheltered country filled us with melancholy impressions.  There were even some amongst us, who, enthusiastic as they had lately been, were terrified at what they conceived to be a fatal presage.  To them it appeared that those combustible vapours were collecting over our heads, and that they would descend upon the territory we approached, in order to prevent us from entering it.

It is quite certain, that the storm in question was as great as the enterprise in which we were engaged.  During several hours, its black and heavy masses accumulated and hung upon the whole army:  from right to left, over a space of fifty leagues, it was completely threatened by its lightnings, and overwhelmed by its torrents:  the roads and fields were inundated; the insupportable heat of the atmosphere was suddenly changed to a disagreeable chillness.  Ten thousand horses perished on the march, and more especially in the bivouacs which followed.  A large quantity of equipages remained abandoned on the sands; and great numbers of men subsequently died.