They could not know that it
was not our French custom to eat foxes, and it showed their
desire that he who had won the honours of the chase should also
partake of the game. It is not for a Frenchman to be outdone in
politeness, and so I returned it to these brave hunters, and
begged them to accept it as a side-dish for their next dejeuner
de la chasse.
It is thus that chivalrous opponents make war.
I had brought back with me from my ride a clear plan of the
English lines, and this I laid before Massena that very evening.
I had hoped that it would lead him to attack, but all the
marshals were at each other's throats, snapping and growling like
so many hungry hounds. Ney hated Massena, and Massena hated
Junot, and Soult hated them all. For this reason, nothing was
done. In the meantime food grew more and more scarce, and our
beautiful cavalry was ruined for want of fodder. With the end of
the winter we had swept the whole country bare, and nothing
remained for us to eat, although we sent our forage parties far
and wide.
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