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Article THE MASON. Page 1 of 23 →
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The Mason.
THE MASON .
IT was during the late war , towards the close of Napoleon ' s disastrous invasion of Russia , that a party of French officers were assembled in a rude tent , refreshing themselves after the fatigues of a hard day's march . Moscow had already been abandoned , and the hitherto victorious armies
of France were in full retreat , amid all the horrors of a Russian winter . The ground was covered with a deep snow , which yielded crisply beneath the tread : the men , in clearing the space for the erection of the tent , had piled it in form of a circular embankment , into which the
outward stakes were driven . The night was intensely cold ; not a cloud obscured the heavens ; the stars , shining with that peculiar brilliancy which distinguishes them in a
northern latitude , lit up the distant plain , that , trenched by the drifting winds into billowy forms , appeared like a sea of foam , relieved only with the red glare from the watch fires of the neighbouring piquet . Wrapped in fur cloaks and pelisses , the spoil of the
abandoned city , they were seated on the ground , enjoying their repast with that true zest which only hunger gives . The party consisted of Count Lauriston , Major Guillet , Captain Adolphe Lesseau , Lieutenant Florent , who , with several inferior officers , had attended their chief in his
unsuccessful interview with the Russian general , Prince Kutusoff , when , commissioned by Bonaparte , he went to propose an armistice , and treat for peace . The supercilious manner in which he had been received by the prince , who refused either to grant a cessation of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Mason.
THE MASON .
IT was during the late war , towards the close of Napoleon ' s disastrous invasion of Russia , that a party of French officers were assembled in a rude tent , refreshing themselves after the fatigues of a hard day's march . Moscow had already been abandoned , and the hitherto victorious armies
of France were in full retreat , amid all the horrors of a Russian winter . The ground was covered with a deep snow , which yielded crisply beneath the tread : the men , in clearing the space for the erection of the tent , had piled it in form of a circular embankment , into which the
outward stakes were driven . The night was intensely cold ; not a cloud obscured the heavens ; the stars , shining with that peculiar brilliancy which distinguishes them in a
northern latitude , lit up the distant plain , that , trenched by the drifting winds into billowy forms , appeared like a sea of foam , relieved only with the red glare from the watch fires of the neighbouring piquet . Wrapped in fur cloaks and pelisses , the spoil of the
abandoned city , they were seated on the ground , enjoying their repast with that true zest which only hunger gives . The party consisted of Count Lauriston , Major Guillet , Captain Adolphe Lesseau , Lieutenant Florent , who , with several inferior officers , had attended their chief in his
unsuccessful interview with the Russian general , Prince Kutusoff , when , commissioned by Bonaparte , he went to propose an armistice , and treat for peace . The supercilious manner in which he had been received by the prince , who refused either to grant a cessation of