El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-06-18
The Battle Of Waterloo
ONCE FAMOUS BATTLEFIELD NOW GROWS
GRAIN IS DISAPPOINTING TO TOURISTS

Nlnety-ftVe years ago today, on June
/ Is. 1915, Napoleon BOnaParte met WITH
! final and crushing defeat in the battIs
OF Waterloo. The issue of that battle
broke the inflexible will, doomed to
disappointment the Unsuitable ambition
| and extinguished forever the star Of
destiny of the greatest soldier, the
greatest lawgiver, the greatest finan-
cier and the greatest politician mod
ern Europe had known.
Theodore Roosevelt IS due to ar
rive in New York today. after an alb
sence of something more than year.
most or which time has been spent in
the wilds Of Africa, beyond the pale
of civilization. The fact that Mr. Roose-
EeIt return to the United States has
been compared by some politicians to
the return of Napoleon from exile In
the island of Elba, the more or less
mythical existence Of the ".Back-from-
Eliza Club, and the further fact that
MI Roosevelt is the most remarkable
personality in American public life to-
day ADDS interest to the curious coin
cidence that the day of the Roosevelt
homecoming should be the anniversary
OF that tragic event in which the orig
lnaI Back from Elba movement came
to its terrible end.
NapOIeOn's Abdicatfon.
In March, 1914. the troops Of the al
- PNN VI entered Pdr1S.
The Emperor Napoleon then was de-
feated but not discouraged. He abdi-
Gated the imperial throne and the
french people invited Louis XVIII, head
OF the house of Bourbon, to reign over
them Napoleon was to retain the rank
and title of emperor and was TO rule
in imperial state over the island of
Eloa, In the Mediterranean Sea. Liberal
pensions We're provided for the i'm
perial family. The Bourbon rule was
stupid, tactless and unpopular Napo-
leon kept careful watch over events
from his position of vantage in Elba.
Finally. the time came to strike
Napoleon. accompanied only by few
retainers, set sail from Elba on Feb
ruary &c On the first day OF March
he landed on French soil on the shore
of the Gulf of Juan He began at once
his march towards Paris. At first, the
people We're distrUstful and afraid. But
when Napoleon reached that part Of
the country garrtsoned by the soldiers
who had followed his eagles 10 victory,
the soldiers and the people threw away
the white flag Of the Bourbons and
hoisted the tri-cOlor of their greatest
hero. On March 19. Napoleon approached
the outskirts Of Paris. at the head Of
a great army a hundred thousand
French troops were drawn up in battle
array TO oppose him, and TO defend the
lilies Of Louis XVIII. Curiously, ques-
uoningly, excftedly NapOleon's own SOL
diers waited to receive an attack from
Napoleon But even they did not know
their emperor
Again In Power.
For, instead of q charging column.
there came an open carriage and in il
was seated the Little Corporal, the
Great Corsican. He stood up in the
carriage, and, with one wave of his
hand captured 100. 900 soldiers sworn to
defend the king of France. That night
Louis fled from Paris and Napoleon
entered the Tuileries and again assumed
the dignity. power and authority of
emperor of the French. Napoleon was
back from Elba.
One hundred days later, on the plains
before the tiny Belgian village of Wa
terloo. Napoleon engaged in battle
against the combined forces of the
British, Dutch, Flemish and German
armies. under the command of the Duke
Of Wellington. That day Napoleon saw
his matchless army routed aud cut TO
pieces Then and there, the British
empire was saved. the German empire
made possible, the whole course of
the history of the nineteenth century
was changed and shaped anew. II not
the most mOmentOus battle of history,
1t was the most interesting.
a greater number of Americans will
visit the battlefield of Waterloo this
summer than in any of the ninety-five
years since the battle was fought This
will be on account OF the great inter-
exposition being held in Brus-
sells, which is serving to attract TO
beautiful Belgium more than the ordi-
nary proportion of the American sight
seers in Europe.
The traveller in Old World
quently demands the ancient and re-
fuses to waste his time on anything less
than five centuries old, in spite Of the
efforts of the guides to elaborate upon
the beauties OF a brand new railway
station or theater. Guides in Wash
ington annoy European travellers by
persistently pointing out houses holy
with the halo OF a hundred years
whereas the travellers have come to
America with the express intention of
refusing to see anything over ten years
old
The battlefield of Waterloo is the !
one notable sight which is a compro-
mise between the ancient and the mod |
ern- Commanders of trTo Scotch regi- /
ments on the morning of that fateful /
18th of June muttered mutiny against |
the great duke because he had given 1
the 42nd regiment a prominent part in /
the early maneuveTS. and therefore, ac- |
cording to the Scotch cOIonels the And |
would get all of the praise in the news |
papers I
American colonels who were accused !
IF spectacular fighting for the benefit :
Of newspa per correspondents during the !
war with Spain, were the subjects OF |
much sharp criticism because they had /
so degraded the World-Old martial art.
-ba1, ara roiIroaded into the nrima RES 1