Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1843-12-01

emperor was Letort, his aid.de.camp. an arden,
who seemed already to snuff the air Of
battle he was smiling too, the poor fellow, as
il he had long days to live All this las.
ted for about a minnie. Then the whip crack
ed, the horses Weighed, and all disappeared like
a vision.
RETURNING FROM WATERLOO.
Three days aftcrward, toward evening, some
people arrived from St. Quenrin they said as
they came away they heard distinctly report Of
cannon. The morning of the 18th, a courier
arrived, who scattered all along the road the
news Of the victory. The 18th nothing. The
10Th nothing: only vague rumors were abroad,
coming no one knew whence. 1t was stated
that the Emperor was at Brussels. The Goth,
three men in rags, two wounded, and riding ia.
ded horses, covered with foam, entered the
town, and we're instantly surrounded by the
whole population, and pushed into the court
yard Of the town house. These men hardly
spoke French. They were were, | believe,
Westphafians, belonging somehow to our army.
To all our questions they shook their heads
sadly, and ended by confessing that they had
quilted the field Of battle at Waterloo at s
o'clock, and that the battle was lost when they
came away. 1t was the advanced guard Of the
f%ugitives. We would not believe them. We
said they were Prussian spies. Napoleon could
not be beaten. Thu fine army which we had
seen pass could not be destroyed. We wanted
to put the poor fellows in prison so soon had
we forgotten 'l3 and IA, to remember only the
years which had gone before, My mother ran
to the fort, where she passed the whole day,
knowing it was there the news mus. arrive,
whatever it were. During this time ] looked
out in the maps for Waterloo, the name OF which
even ! could not find, and began TO think the
place was imaginary, as was the mans account
of the battle.
AT four o'clock, more ~fugitives arrived, who
confirmed the news of the first corners These
were French, and could give all the details
which we asked for. They repeated what the
others had said, only adding that Napoleon and
his brother we're killed. This we could not
believe! Napoleon might not be invincible,
invulnerable he certainly was. Fresh news
more terrible and disastrous continued to come
in until ten o'clock at night. AT ten o'clock al
night we heard the noise of a carriage. 1t stop.
ped, and the postmaster went out with a light
| We followed him as he ran to the door TO ask
, for news. Then he started a step back, ant
cried, "It's the Emperor !" got on a stone
bench and looked over my mothers shoulder
1t was indeed Napoleon !; seated in the same
corner, in the same uniform, his head on his
breast as before. Perhaps it was bent a little
lower, but the G was not a line in his counte'
nance, not an altered feature, to mark wha
were the feelings Of the great gambler. who hat
just staked and lost the world. jerome an'
Letort were not with him now to bow and smll'
in his place. Jerome was gathering togethe
the remnants Of the army. Letort had been Gu
into by a cannon ball. Napoleon lifted his heat
slowly, looked round as If rousing from a dream
and then, with his brief strident voice, "wha
=: - ~ 49,
sire" SHOW many leagues from Soissous :
"Six sire. "From Paris? !" "Nineteen."-
TELL the post boys to 60 quick :" and he ono
more flung himself back into the corner Of hi
carriage. his head falling on his chest. Tn
horses carried him away as if they had wings
The world knows what had taken place be
tween these Two appar tons Of Napoleon!