The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1854-02-04

'irrg 1lYucNO mpuuy he continued his de
fence, but The ru'dlrf- -rrrrg 'h,r cumrade. ben.
dug their footsteps towlu- France and away
from tie battle of the Eu-,llr-, began 90 follow
al rc till hr was left almost alone SJli true t.
hj- du,y he continued lo cover the retreat %!
hIs army be had 50 often saved Al had not
vet passed the Nlcmau. and by dut persuasion
and thro-is, and prom'.cs, he collected thirt,
mcn around him AMI with mu-Ect- tn hard de
Tended with his handful the gate Of Wilma Al
length, when the last soldier WAS over, he eiuu
" retired trough the sirrsts with bis face to the
enemy, and, crossing the river, was the last Of
The grand army who left the Russian territory"
Hl- last charge at waterloo showed that the
hrmncss and bfayeuess Of the man WAS uudimin
i-hcd.
1t i, true the old guard was not what it had
been. II required the experience and training Of
veterans that fell IN the snow.drfts of Russia.
but ,tll It was the Oli Guard which had ever
regarded itself the prop aud pride of Bonaparte.
Il was the same tha; had gained him so many
blttlc--the same th At at Krasnoi, IN the retreat
rom lig sa, when reduced to a small band.
closed round their emperor aud marched past
the Russian batteries. playing IN the hottest Of
the FIRE, the popular air, 20" p"'IDn ctrc arieur
9taW s''n Il. JimR'c' 1t was the unccuquer.
able goouni.
From eleven in the morning till four in the af
'ciuoon, the battle had ragged while victory
pc'chcd on neither standard. The heavy French
cavalry bad charged the English squares IN vain
Bpnaparte la lcft fourteen hundred men around
IIougoumon'. The centre Of the English lines
al not yielded an luch yet eShau.ted and worn
they stood lees firm in their plnce+ The Old
Guard had remained parsive spectators Of the
scene the whole day, being reserved Cot the last
moment to complete the victory. at this uuc.
ture, the head the Prusaan colnms appeared
on III" field. Fifty thousand fresh troops adGen
the English army, would make the odds too
giert Instead of remaining I'LL Grouchy could
come upani restore the balance BuGapirtc took
the ra-h and dcspcro'c resolution VI tungug lis
entire reserve into the field, and with une awful
charge prevent the threatened Injunction Of two
farmics.
For this purpose he calce Up the 'Oll Guard
and placing hln,-efat their head marched down
the slope, and h,lung in a hollow addressed them
in hi fiery vehement manner. lie told them ev.
erything rested on their yalor. They answered
with shout " Ire PEmgcro,r' that was heard
all along the Bri ish lines lie then placed
them under Ncy who ordered the charge Bo
naparte eas been blamed for not hehding thi,
charge himself bat be knew that he could not
carry that guard so f.r, nor hold them so long
before the artillery, as Nry. The moral power
Ney carried with him, from the reputation he
had gained Of being the braye-t OF the brave,
wac worth a whole battalion
Whenever Il colgm saw him at their he'd they
know that it was victory or auumaion With
the exception Of Mcdonald We do not know zen
eral IN the two armies who could hold his sol.
dlrrs in the very face Of destruction as he
The whole continental struggle exhibited no sub.
liner spectacle than this last effort Of Napoleon
to save his sinking empire. Europe bad been
put upon the plains OF Waterloo to be battled
for The great military skill and energy the
world possessed had been tasked to the utmos,
during the day. Thrones were tottering on the
field and the shadows Of fugitive kings filtered
through the smoke Of the battle. Bonaparte'
star taemblel in the zenith, now blazing out il
10 ancient spcnder, row suddenly palling before
hs anxious eye. At length when the prussians
appeared on the field, be resolved to put Europe
on one bod throw. He committed himself and
Europe to Ney and saw his empire rest on q
single charge. We almost forgot Napoeon'4 am.
htion and guilt IN our 'ympathy with him il
this critical moment of hs life The intense an
Xicty with which lie watched the advance ol
that column and the terrible suspense he suffered
when the smoke of The battle wrapped it from
when thu curtain hf;cd over fugitive army and
the d.sparinE shrek rung on every side, "La
CARD" y'rUlc, makes us for a moment almost
wish he had gained the day.
Ney felt the immence responsibility resting
upon him He frt the pressure of an empire res
ting on hi' barye heart and resolved not TO prove
unworthy To the great charge committed to hi.
care. Nothing could be more imposing than tn,
movement Of tlst great column to the assault -
That guard had never vet recoilcd before a hu
man foe and the allied forces hchell with awe
ITS firm and terrible alvance to the final charge
t1r momcnt the batteries stopped PLAYING anj
the tireIng ceased along the British lines With
out the blast of bugle or the beating OF
drum TO cheer their steady courage they moved
on IN the dead 81 cnce over the plain The mex
moment the artillery opened and the head @
that gallant army seemed 10 sink into the earth
Rank after rank went down. vet they neither
stopped nor filtered Dl4sulviny suuadrnns and
whole columns di-appenring one after another
in the destructive fire affected not their stead,
courage. The column closed up as before an,
each trcadng over hls fallen Comradc pressC,
firmly on. The horse which Ncv rode fell uudp
him, and he had scarcely mounted another. be
fore that also fell under him Again and agaiJ
did that untinchng man feel lls -teei link duwl
till five bad h.en shot nndrr him. Then with hi
uniform rlddled with hrllcts and hi face sngc,
with powder he marched on foot with his draw
sabre AT the head of his column In vain dr,
the artillery hurl its storm of fire and lead int
that lytug mass Up to the very muzzles the,
pressed and driving The aftlerymcn from thei
own plccel, pushed through the English lines -
But the sudden trcng Of that hitherto unseer
rnnl into their very faces, pouring a sheet G
fame INTO their bosomS, was to much for huma
courage.
Nry was hurried back over the feld Flt fo
crowd Of fugitives that forced him back he woul
have stood alone and died in his track A.
was disdainiug to fly though the whole army wa
hvng he formed ais men into immence sguara
and ludeavored to stem the terrible tide, an
would have done so, had it not been for the fit
lhausand fresh Prussians that pressed upon h
on his exhausted ranks For a long time the
stood and let the artillery plough through ther
But the fate of Napoleon was writ, though III
brave Ncv done what no other man in EuroT
could have DONE the decree could not be reverse
: the star tha. had blazcd so beautifully ov,
the world went down in blood and the brave.
Iof the brave" had fought his last battle 1t w
worthy Of the great name. AMI the charge Of III
. Old Guard at Waterloo, with him at their hea
will he pointed to by rmotsst generations wit
a shu1dcr.
MrUprRrE- NJ 4 SLAVE SENTENCED To RE Hrs
-Our readers viii recollrct the part cuIars of
horrible case in South Carolina in which tv
white mcn named Thomas Ma,tcy and VI
Bhcklcdgc hunted down n runaway slave wi
blood hounds Nnd then put him to death hv 4
most prolonged aud cruel torture These iricn
b were brought before the Court Of Appeals
4 ~, tao la MI nTt lac n,