The Washington herald., 1914-11-01
ME Ian a. M4Z5eZO0

4 him a respite of two hours when he rode
down into the valley. where from La
Haye Sainte his eye swept the thin and
| jagged British line. But there remain. i
TO him only $500 OF his Guard. Behind
that fragrant of his invincible corps re
| gathered the wreckage of his army, put
| ting in his last man for one supreme, des-
| psrate effort to turn the tide.
While he was preparing for the at
tack a captain Of carabineers deserted his
| ranks and raced ahead through the hail
OF shot and shell straight toward the
| enemy. Raising his right hand as he
drew near the British the traitor cried
out: Long live the King Of England"
The redcoats lowered their guns before
their strange visitor. who now shouted:
get ready! Napoleon, the scOundrel. will
half an hour"
The British line closed up and braced
Itself for the assault. Even Napoleon
himself might come. for Blucher. too. was
coming. as every bulldog in the pack well
knew.
Forward moved the little band of
French. But even as they went the van
OF Blucher's 5000 Prussians burst upon
the scene from Papellotte. A thrill OF
panic ran through the slender ranks Of
the advancing column, as its members
looked into. the barrels Of WelliDgtOn's 5
| muzzles in front OF them, heard Bulow
still pounding upon their flank and saw
Blucher moving upon their right
But the ringing tones Of the master. s
| voice rallied them and aroused their
Gallic spirit, while couriers were sent
over the field to spread the cheering
delusion that GrOuchy, too, was coming
Now the Guard went forward as steady
as il on review led by Ney, his face
begrimed with powder, his sword broken.
his hat and coat rent by bullets. As he
went his horse was shot from under him
for the fifth time that afternoon, and Ee
rolled on the ground, but struggling 10
his feet and waving his broken sword
When The French came within 900 Yards
the British cannon famed in their faces
Vet the charging battalions did not bend
before the yawning guns. Many nSng 1Sis
roar with shouts of 'Nive lEmpereur.
They swept over the British batteries,
and. shifting victory at last, rushed on
with quickening pace.
Division commanders cried out to Well
ington for re-enforct ments to save their
troops from destruction. But he had
none to give. Let them all die" the
tree beside the Brussels road. Hold on
TO the very last man, so as to give the
Prussians time to come up"
The French now, near CLOCK, were
close upon the duke himself. when ne
gave the memorable command. stand
up. Guards, and make ready The Brit
ish Life Guards, who had been lying IN
wait, sprang from the earth like dragons
teeth and opened a murderous tire at
sixty PAGES Still leaping over their own
dead and wounded, on came the Gauls
steel and then stRgger back In that in
stant when the Old Guard recoiled the
name Of Waterloo became forever a syn
onym not OF victory but Of defeat
The Death Cry.
The death cry OF the empire rang out
on the evening air: The Guard gives
way"' The Guard gives way" For
the first time on any field that lRmenta-
ton ran through the ranks Of France, as
the stricken Guard reeled back, caught
in a demoralizing cross-tire from the vic
torious foes who swarmed about IL.
Blucher's Prussians were now getting
into action and fast working IN behind
the French, when Wellington rose in his
stirrups and waved his cooked hat. Al
that signal the whole British army
poured down Mount st. Jean and fell
upon the recoiling troops.
Not far from the spot where France
has planted a memorial sculpture of a
wounded eagle, Napoleon, sitting on his
little white horse by the wall OF La Hays
Sainte, strove once more and for the
last time to form q martial line. He had
only one round Of shot left for his batN
terry. But he pieced together few broken
fragments Of the Guard. and ranging
them in three squares for an orderly re-
treat, he took his placj In the center Of
one OF them.
As these frail squares retreated acrpss
the valley, with the huge British squaies
pounding against them like battering
rams, they grew thinner and thinner, un-
til Napoleon left them. and with a few
chasseurs FLED the lost field. The British