The prince of Wirtemberg, having been beaten, as the reader has seen, by general Dwernicki at Swierza and Nowawies, was forced to retreat rapidly in the direction of Pulawy, and to repass the Vistula, opposite that place. The ice of the river was, fortunately for him, still strong enough to admit of a passage upon its surface; but notwithstanding this advantage, he had been pursued by Dwernicki so closely, through the whole of his line of retreat, that he daily lost great numbers of prisoners. It was on the night of the 23d of February, that this passage was made by the Russians, and Pulawy occupied by them. As the position of that place was strong and commanding, general Dwernicki did not think it expedient to attack the enemy in front, who, although beaten, were still superior in force. He conceived the plan of passing the Vistula, at a point at some distance below Pulawy, and of making an attack upon the Russian right wing. On the evening of the 26th, the brave colonel Lagowski, with 500 infantry and two squadrons of cavalry, passed the Vistula (_p_). On reaching the opposite side of the river, he threw himself into the forests which surround Pulawy. The position of Lagowski would have been critical, if the Russians had obtained intelligence of this manoeuvre; but they had no suspicions of it. Colonel Lagowski, expecting that general Dwernicki would soon make a demonstration in front, left the forest, and approached the town, keeping up a brisk fire of skirmishers (_a_). The Russians, surprised by this attack, directed against it as strong a fire of artillery (_f_) and infantry (_d_) as its suddenness would allow; but our light troops succeeded in approaching the town, and getting possession of several houses, keeping up a continued fire. The two squadrons of cavalry (_b_) which had been sent to attack the enemy in his rear, threw themselves upon him at the same time, with great impetuosity. The consternation of the Russians became general, the greatest disorder soon followed, and a retreat was commenced, which was attended with the loss of several hundred men and horses, and four pieces of artillery. The enemy, in evacuating the town, set it on fire, to complete the barbarities which they had been practising. Pulawy, a spot one of the most favored of nature, and perhaps presenting one of the finest scenes in Europe, was soon a mass of ruins, the sight of which filled the bosom of every Pole with regret and horror. Those ruins, such indeed as the whole country is now filled with, evidences of the horrible barbarity of the Russians, in recalling to the minds of the Poles the lost beauty and magnificence of their country, will be a pledge of their eternal hatred of the despotism which authorized those ravages. [Illustration: XIV. _p.180_.] [Illustration: _Pulawy_ XIII. _p.178_.] [Illustration: _Kurow_ XV]