— 456 — 



rough sketch from Sergeant-Major Cotton's map of trie 

 Field of Waterloo, at sunset on the 18th June, 1815. 

 There lies the slate-covered little church of Braine 

 l'Alleud, where we just left our train from Brussels, to 

 which the highway, a rough road lined with cobble 

 stones, leads. 



There is Hougomont — Hugo-rnons for antiquarians, 

 founded some centuries back by Hugo, Sir de Som- 

 meril, once a castle, now a farm-house only, inhabited 

 by a gardener, a descendant of Willem Von Kylsom, 

 who had charge of it in 1815. At that period it was in 

 the possession of a M. de Lunneville, a descendant of 

 Arrazola Deonate, once viceroy of Naples. In 1849, 

 the castle belonged to Count Bobiano. 



There is La Haye Sainte, rested at 2 p. m. on that 

 day, from the Allies; there is the farm of La Belle 

 Alliance, where Wellington and Bliicher met at the 

 dusk of the evening to congratulate one another on 

 their mutual success. Blticher suggested in consequence 

 that the battle should be named the battle of La Belle 

 Alliance, but Waterloo prevailed for the English, 

 whilst the French called it Le Combat du Mont St. 

 Jean ; at Mont St. Jean, Wellington, le Due de Vilain- 

 ton, stood for some time in the early part of the fight, 

 and there, the headquarters of the wounded and hospi- 

 tals were located. I have often been struck with the 

 luminous expose" of the disposition of the French and 

 allied forces given by Victor Hugo. " Those," says he, 

 " who wish to form a distinct idea of the battle of 

 Waterloo, need only imagine a capital A laid on the 

 ground (thus A). The left leg of the A isNivelles road, 

 the right one, the Genappe road, while the string of the 

 A is the broken way running from Ohaim to Braine 

 l'Alleud. The top of the A is Mont St. Jean, were 

 Wellington is, the left lower point is Hougomont, where 

 Beille is with Jerome Bonaparte, the right lower point 

 is La Belle Alliance, where Napole'on is ; a little below 

 the point where the string of the A meets and cuts the 



