[Rev. Dr George Croly.] Autograph drafts of three passages from an anonymous article in Blackwood's Magazine entitled 'Russia', dealing with Napoleon Bonaparte's coronation as Emperor of the French. and his entry into and retreat from Moscow.

3pp., 8vo. Bifolium. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. Unsigned, but certainly in Croly's hand. The first page is headed: '- for tho' the Old Law was established in the promises of temporal prosperity, yet the gospel is founded in temporal adversity'. The three extracts, fiercely critical of the French emperor, follow over a total of 61 lines, with a few minor emendations. The differences from the published text are minor ('suitably and piously' for 'piously & suitably'; 'by even' for 'even by')The first extract, of 24 lines (present on p.456 in the published version), begins: 'On the 24th. of October, 1812, the French rear-guard left Moscow, a day since piously & suitably commemorated by the Emperor's laying the first ston of a magnificent church, dedicated to the "Redeemer'. The second extract, of 23 lines (preceding the first on p.456 of the published version), begins: 'On the 14th. of September the advanced guard entered Moscow, but Napoleon had scarcely reached the Kremlin, when he saw the city in a blaze.' The last extract, of 14 lines (on pp.449-450 of the published version), begins: 'In 1804 Napoleon was crowned Emperor of France. His first act was to dip his sceptre in blood.'