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A member of the Hofkriegsrath from Vienna had come to Kutuzov the

day before with proposals and demands for him to join up with the

army of the Archduke Ferdinand and Mack, and Kutuzov, not

considering this junction advisable, meant, among other arguments

in support of his view, to show the Austrian general the wretched

state in which the troops arrived from Russia. With this object

he intended to meet the regiment; so the worse the condition it

was in, the better pleased the commander in chief would be.

Though the aide-de-camp did not know these circumstances, he

nevertheless delivered the definite order that the men should be

in their greatcoats and in marching order, and that the commander

in chief would otherwise be dissatisfied. On hearing this the

regimental commander hung his head, silently shrugged his

shoulders, and spread out his arms with a choleric gesture.

"A fine mess we've made of it!" he remarked.