66] ANNUAL REGISTER, 
‘by the general vote. On June 
‘8th the members of both cham- 
bers assembled in presence of 
Napoleon, and severally took the 
‘oath in the same terms as had 
‘bee done by the electors. Na- 
‘poleon then pronounced a speech, 
an which he congratulated him- 
‘self on having just commenced 
the constitutional monarchy. He 
recommended to their delibera- 
tion the consolidation of their 
constitutions into one body; al- 
laded to the formidable coalition 
‘of kings which threatened. their 
‘indépendence;-and announced the 
probability of his being soon 
‘ealled to appear at the -head of 
‘the army. 
The grand conflict was now at 
‘hand; ‘and its scene was clearly 
‘decided for ‘the Flemish border, 
‘the old battle-field of Europe. It 
‘was'mentioned at the conclusion 
‘of the last year’s historical re- 
‘cord, that the whole of the for- 
tified lise of the Low Countries 
towards France was occupied by 
strong garrisons chiefly in Eng- 
lish pay. From the time of the 
‘alarm excited by Buonaparte’s 
~succéss, reinforcements had been 
sending from England without 
intermission; and the Duke of 
‘Wellington had arrived to take 
the supreme command of ‘the 
troops, native and foreign, in 
“Belgium. Jn the latter end of 
“May the head-quarters of the 
“French army of the North were 
established at Avesnes in French 
~Flanders; and in the ‘apprehen- 
‘sion of an invasion by the allied 
“armies on that part, Laon and the 
‘castle of Guise were put in a 
‘defensible ‘state. Field-Marshal 
“Prince Blucher about this time 
1815. 
arrived with the Prussian army 
in the neighbourhood of Namur, 
and held frequent conferences 
with Wellington. 
Buonaparte left Paris on June 
“12th, accompanied by Marshal 
Bertrand and General Drouet, 
and proceeded to Laon. It was 
‘always hismaxim to push forward 
to the most important point ; and 
this, beyond question, was now the 
position occupied by the combin- 
ed British and the Prussian armies, 
whilst the Russians and the Aus- 
trians were still at a distance. At 
the head of a numerous army, 
composed of the very flower of 
the French troops, and full of 
confidence in his fortune and ta- 
Jents, he ‘made an attack at day- 
‘light of the 15th on the Prussian 
‘posts on the Sambre. Charleroi, 
of which they were in possession, 
was carried, and General Ziethen, 
their commander, retired upon 
Fleurus, where he was attacked 
by the French, and -sustained @ 
considerable loss. Blucher ‘con- 
centrated the rest of the Prus- 
sian. army upon Sambref; ‘and 
the French continued their march 
along the road from Charleroi to 
Brussels, and atacked a brigade 
.of the Belgian army under the 
Prince of Weimar, which «was 
-forced back toa farm-house called 
Quatre Bras. Lord Wellington 
was not informed. of these events — 
till the evening, when he imme- 
diately ordered his troops to 
march to the left to support the 
Prussians. 
On the 16th Blucher, who 
was posted on the heights be- 
tween Brie and ‘Sombref, and 
occupied two villages in front 
although -all the corps ‘of ‘his 
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