Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-05-11
NAP0LEON'S WATERLOO.
THE LONDON "TINIES" ACCOUNT
OF THE BATILE.


NEW YORK, May l0.-The London Times
OF Thursday, June y, 1915, containing an
account OF Englaud's greatest victory
that of Waterloo-a reprint of which a
relative has sent me from across the
water, makes interesting reading in these
days of England's humiliation. The paper
itself is a curiosity. The great Thunderer
of 1915 is very small potatoes affair,
compared with its successor of TO years
later. In size it is about l6 by 10 inches,
and it has A pages, divided into columns
each. The cost was 6 pence English
money, equal to 10 cents in our currency.
The first page of the Issue before
me is entirely devoted to adver-
tisements, with the exception of
the lower half of the last column,
which contains some few details Of the
battle obtained from a gentleman who
left Brussels the evening Of the day 1t
was fought. The gentleman was evidently
interviewed" by the editor, although
that term is not used. The practice is
thus shown to be much older than its
designation. The second page is devoted
TO an official dispatch from the Duke of
Wellington to Earl Bathurst, the head of
the War Department. This is the only
correspondent was the commander OF the
English army!
The dispatch Is dated Waterloo, June
10, 1915. 1t first tells of the battles at
Llgny and Quatre Bras, and then about
column is given up to the battle of Water
loo. The rest Of the dispatch is devoted
20 the mention OF military movements be-
fore and after the battle, to praising the
praisewOrthy, and to chronicling the
/ N of no 1igfi ahA
who were killed. The dispatch is COM
parative modest in tone, as the following
paragraph shows: II should not do JUS
tice to my feelings, or to Marshal Butcher
and the Prussian army, II did not at
tribute the successful result of this ardu-
Gus day to the timely assistance | re-
! ceived from them." Wellington nowhere
! acknowledges, however, that the British
| were at any time in danger of defeat, and
| he implies that without the aid Of the
| Prussians they would have more than
| held their own. Nowhere, he says, had
their main line given way, and they had
| beaten back the French and forced them
to retire before the Prussians arrived. He
did not dare to follow up his success, he
nevertheless cOnfesses, until Blucher had
/ come to his assistance.
/ At the end of WellingtOn's dispatch is
/ a very short letter headed "PriVate Cor
respondence," and dated Hamburg, June
/ 10. 1t of course says nothing of the fight
| ing, and merely tells of the gathering
| together of the troops, very old news and
not worth the printing in view Of what
precedes.
THE FEATURE or THE ISSUE is THE
PEAN OF TRIUMPH
| in the editorial on the third page. As
may he expected, it is not open 10 the
| charge Of mOdesty, and it is such
verbose and badly written composition
| that it is worth trauscribiug in part. A
/ bulletin dated Downing street, June y,
| 1915, giving a short synopsis of Yelling
toms dispatch is followed by this sort of
stuff:
ssuch is the great and glorious result
1 Of those mastery movements by which
the Hero of Britain met and frustrated
the audaciOus attempt of the Rebel Chief
| Glory to Wellington, 10 our gallant
| Soldiers, and to our brave Alliesl Buona-
! parties reputation has been wrecked, and
his last great stake has been lost In this
tremendous conflict.
TWO HUNDRED AND TEN PIECES OF
CANNON
captured in a single battle, put to the
blush the bOasting column Of the Place de
| VendOme. Long and sanguinary, indeed,
we fear, the conflict must have been, but
| the bOldness Of the Rebel Frenchmen was
the boldness of despair, and conscience
safe heavy on those arms which were
| raised against their Sovereign, against
their Oaths, and against the peace and
| happiness OF their country. We cOnfi-
| IDENTITY expect great and immediate de-
fecti0n from the Rebel cause. We are
aware that a great part OF the French
nation looked to the opening Of this cam
| paign with superstitiOus expectation OF
| success to man, whom, though many of
them hated, and many of them feared. all
had been taught 10 look on as the first
captain OF his age. He himself went forth
| bOasting in his strength, and, still more,
in his talents. He had for many years
ridicuIed Carno's plan of Northern
campaign, and had openly aYOwed at
Paris his intention to break through
the allied Armies, instead OF NOV
ing round both their TANKS.
With as little reserve had he declared that
he would open the campaign on the Meuse
and Sambre. In short, by refinement in
iinesse be had exposed his true plan, i'm
| agining that nobody would believe that
such was his real intention. We do not
deny that his plan might have been one
of considerable ability, but be did not
| take into account that he was TO be OPP
posed by abilities superior TO his own.
That unpalatable truth his vanity would
not allow him 10 believe, nor would IL
| easily hnd credit with bis admirers, put
June IS, we trust, will satisfy the most
incredulOus. Two hundred and ten pieces
Of cannOnl When. where or how is this
loss TO be repairedi Besides, what has
become Of bis inyincible Guardy OF bis
admired and dreaded euirassiersl Again,
we do not deny that these were good
troops, but they were encountered by
better We shall be curious 10 learn with
what degree Of GOODNESS. Of personal cour-
age and sei-pOssessi0n, Buonaparte played
his stake on which he must have
been we'll aware his pretensions 10 EN-
pire hung. II is clear that he retrcated I;
nor are w0 prepared 30 hear that he fed
with cowardice; but we greatly suspect
that he did not court an honorable death.
We think his valour is Of the calculating
kind, and we do not attribute bis surviy-
ing tie abdlcatiOn at Fontainebleau en-
tlrely TO maRnanlmity. But
whoever fell on this glorious day cannot
have fallen In vain. The fabric OF rebel
lion IL shaken 20 It's base. Already we
hear numerous desertions have taken
place from tbe Rebel standard; and soon,
is 20 be hoped, the perjured wretches
Ney and DesnOuettes, and Excelmans and
Lallemand, and Labed0yere, and their
acc1mplices IN baseness and treason viii
be left alone as marks for the Indignation
OF Europe and Just sacrafces (sic) TO In
suited French hOn0ur.D
Than folintu tefth IA hroaIr anlv ~ "a mar