536 
PARIS. 
what is become of their commanders. The rout is com¬ 
plete on this tide ; and I hope vve ffiall not foon hear again 
of thefe Pruflians, if they fhould ever be able to rally at 
all. As for the Engliih, we lhall fee what will become of 
them. The emperor is there." 
On the 17th, Napoleon having fent the third and fourth 
corps of infantry, under Girard and Vandamme, and the 
third corps of cavalry, under general Pagol, the whole 
amounting to about 35,000 men, and commanded by 
marflial Grouchy, to follow the movements of the Pruf¬ 
fian army to Wavre, proceeded with the remainder of his 
force to the polition which the troops under Ney occu¬ 
pied ; but, before his arrangements were completed, and 
liis orders given for his army to advance, the Britifh troops 
were in full retreat, with the exception of the rear-guard, 
which was hill at Quatre Bras. Napoleon, thinking the 
Britifh army remained in their polition at this place, ad¬ 
vanced his troops in ftrong columns of attack againft 
them ; but, when they reached the heights above the vil¬ 
lage of Frafnes, he was lurprifed to find that the Britifh 
had retreated ; and that the troops againft which his co¬ 
lumns were advancing were nothing more than a ftrong 
rear-guard, which fell back as his troops advanced. He 
immediately ordered his cavalry to advance in purfuit; 
and his columns of infantry continued their march in 
the direction of Bruflels. Many fkirmifhes took place 
with alternate fuccefs, until the rear of the Britifh army 
arrived at Genappe. The Britifh had to defile through 
the narrow ftreets of this village, and over the bridge 
which there croffes a finall river, in the very face of the 
purfuing enemy. The cuirafliers being in advance, the 
earl of Uxbridge ordered the 7 th huffars to charge them ; 
but their horfes were toofmall to produce any effedt, and 
their fwords fhivered into atoms like glafs, when they 
ftruck the fteel armour of thefe men ; and the regiment 
was forced to retire with fome lofs. The cuiraftiers pur- 
fued them rapidly, and took the rear-fquadron prifoliers. 
The life-guards were then ordered up to protect the huf¬ 
fars, and the rear of the army. The guards immedi¬ 
ately charged; and, after a fhort but fevere conteft, the 
French retired in confufion. Several other charges took 
place with the fame fuccefs, in which the Oxford blues 
greatly diftinguifhed themfelves. The retreat of the Bri¬ 
tifh was then continued, without any further interruption, 
to the heights of Mount St. John, in advance of Waterloo, 
a village in front of theforeftof Soignies, and on the great 
road to Bruflels, within nine miles of that city. 
During the whole of the afternoon of the 17th the 
rain fell in torrents, accompanied by dreadful thunder 
and lightning, as if the elements alfo had collected to this 
point all their deftrudfive engines to engage in the mighty 
conflift. This ftate of the weather was of great advan¬ 
tage to the allied army; and, the roads being broken up 
by their artillery, rendered it difficult for the French to 
purfue. It was five o’clock when the allied troops ar¬ 
rived at the pofition deftined for them by their lkilful 
commander. Napoleon’s army halted in the neighbour¬ 
hood of Genappe. In the evening a fhort cannonade 
took place towards Hougoumont, but without any refult. 
On the left the Belgian troops advanced in parties in 
front, brandifhing their arms, fhouting, and firing fome 
cannon, in token of defiance to the enemy ; but to this 
they paid no attention. 
All the army of Wellington was now colledled at 
Waterloo ; and the duke wrote to marflial Blucher, that 
he was refolved to accept the battle in that place, provi¬ 
ded that the marfhal could fpare two corps of his army 
to affift him. This the gallant veteran not only agreed 
to do, but promifed, if neceffary, to come with all his 
army to the affiftance of the Britifh general. At the fame 
time he propofed, that, if Napoleon did not attack the 
allies on the 18th, they fhould, on the l'ubfequent day, 
attack him with all their forces. When the evening 
approached, the allied foldiers, wet, weary, and hungry, 
took up their bivouack amidft the dripping corn, mud, 
and water, and in the open fields, with fcarcely any co« 
vering. The ground afforded no fhelter for the troops; 
fo that generals, officers, and men, were equally expofed 
to the rain, which was falling in torrents. 
The French army was in a fimilar fituation. The 
troops had been gradually coming up. during the even¬ 
ing, and occupied a ridge nearly oppofite to the pofition 
of the Englifh army. Napoleon flept at the farm-houfe 
of Cailou, near Planchenoit. Thus arranged, both ge¬ 
nerals and their refpective armies waited the arrival of 
morning, and the events it w'as to bring. During the 
greater part of the night, the thunder and lightning con¬ 
tinued moft tremendous, accompanied by a high wind, 
and inceffant and heavy rain ; but, though this night 
was dreadful to the foldier, it mult have been ftill more 
fo to the wretched inhabitants of the country which 
the armies occupied. Obliged to abandon their humble 
dwellings, in defpair they had fled to the deep recedes of 
the foreft for fecurity, and in the hope of faving their 
lives. The rich crops of grain, which were faff haltening 
to maturity, were trodden under foot, or eaten up by the 
cavalry ; and the helplefs farmer faw the labour of a whole 
year deftroyed in a Angle day ! 
Napoleon had been partially fuccefsful. His great ob- 
jeft remained yet to gain ; and which, if he did not gain 
immediately, would have compelled him to relinquifh all 
the advantages which he had previoufly obtained. Nu¬ 
merous reinforcements, he w r as well aware, were at hand 
to augment the armies of his opponents. Three corps 
of the Pruffian army were on their march, and making 
every exertion to join their comrades. He had therefore 
no alternative but to perfevere before thefe corps joined, 
or to return into France before the forces of the enemy. 
From the bravery of the allies on the 16th, he mult have 
been aware that the objeft which he had in view was a molt 
arduous, and even a doubtful, undertaking. Neverthelefs 
he was refolved to perfevere ; and believed that, however 
difficult it might be, ftill he could carry his point. His 
felf-confidence here led him into one of thofe errors 
which had oftener than once before proved fatal to him. 
He calculated that he had gained much more from the 
bloody operations of the i 5 th than he really had. He 
believed that Blucher’s army was incapable of any fur¬ 
ther refiltance that could be ferious, or impede him. 
“ He believed,” faid the Pruffian general, “ that the Pruf¬ 
fian army was retiring upon Maeftricht.” The duke of 
Wellington therefore alone remained, as Napoleon con¬ 
ceived, to offer any ferious refiftance to his progrefs; 
and he had determined to attack him before he could 
receive any affiftance from the army of Blucher. The 
former dilpofed of, he calculated he fhould be able to turn 
a fufficient force againft the difordered remnant of the 
Pruffian army, which he made lure of deftroying altoge¬ 
ther. Accordingly he had difpatched the army, under 
marflial Grouchy, to turn the left of the Pruffian army, 
attack its rear at Wavre, and be ready to advance upon 
the road to Bruflels, and in the rear of the whole, at 
the hour when he calculated that he fhould be able to 
force the front of both the allied armies, and completely 
feparate them the one from the other, fhould the Pruflians 
at all attempt to come to the affiftance of the Britifh ge¬ 
neral. Such were his profpefts; fuch were his fchemes. 
The poffeffion of the capital of the Netherlands, and the 
deftrudtion of Wellington and Blucher, two of the moft 
celebrated generals of the age, were the mighty prizes for 
which he immediately contended. Others more remote 
were alfo in his view. His tottering power to re-eftablifh, 
his tarniffied glory to reftore, and to diforganize the ge¬ 
neral plan of his mighty and numerous adverfaries, were 
the next objefts for which he fought. No common mo¬ 
tives impelled him on ; no common energies feconded 
his movements. An army, confidering its numbers, 
more felect than any France had ever before fent to the 
field, flood ready, heart and foul, to lecond his exertions. 
The whole were perfonally and enthufiaftically attached 
to 
