The Washington herald., 1914-10-25
By JAMES MORGAN

I Quatre Bras. seven miles away. There.
| with an irresolution foreign TO his i'm
petuous temper in his prime, the mar
| Wellington returned from his visit to
I Blucher by the windmill and until he
| was heavily outnumbered. He was
when he saw the. day slipping away
/ from him and recollected the Emperor's
message 70 him in the morning The
fate Of France is in your hands" He
at stake. Having first deserted Ma
| pOleOn in 1914 and now the Bourbons in
lSl5, the hapless marshall fought with
/ halter round his neck and, waving
| his sword like a mailman. he cried out
| for the English bullets to deliver him
| from his despair. But when night feIl
Wellington still held the road TO Brus-
sels-and Waterloo!
On the Road to Fate.
Napoleon. however. confident that he
had put the PrUssians out of action and
could dispose Of wellington singIy and
at his leisure. took - ease next day.
the IIth-the day before Waterloo, He
felt sure that the allies were hopelesslv
separated, and that the rended Prussian
army was In a retreat on its bases OF
supply at Leige and Namur
He breakfasted unusually late drove
down TO the battlefield, reviewed his vic
torious troops, and talked politics with
MS generals. It was not until II o'clock
that he ordered Marshal GrouChy 10
take SSOO men and ll5 guns and pur-
sue Blucher. While l march against
the English" he said. you will pur-
sue the Prussians." Grouchy objected
up the pursuit of an army that had
started more than twelve hours ahead OF
him. But the Emperor cut him short
and sent the marshal and his g. 900 men
away. never TO see them again.
Meanwhile. WELLINGTON at Ouatre Bras
was receiving word that the Prussians
campaign, but were moving northward
by the nearest available road TO Brus-
sells. old BluCher has received a damned
good hiding" the duke said. as he or
hope OF uniting with the Prussians far
ther north. Thus in the afternoon Of the
lIth the allies were marching by parallel
roads only eight and ten miles apart
When Napoleon came in sight OF Ouatra
Bras, Wellington was gone, and only a
rear guard remained. Lord CXbridge, the
commander OF the rear guard. saw him
appear on the crest OF a ridge. a perfect
Silhouette against the sky. and cried to
his gunners: Fire, and aim we'll" But
they missed the mark.
Then with Napoleon and his guard at
the heels Of UXbridge's rear guard, there
began a wild chase along the Brussels
road. Another afternoon storm beat down
upon them as pursued and pursuers, drip
ping wet. raced from hamlet to hamlet.
The Emperor, in fury Of impatience,
shouted: "Firei Fire! Fire! They are
EsllEllSAs Ut II was the time since
Toulon. twenty-One years before, that he
had come in sight Of red coat But Tx
bridge yelled to his artillerymen: Faster!
Faster. For Gods sake gallop, or you will
be captured"
At half-pRst six Of a cloudy, foggy
evening the Emperor, with the rain
streaming down him, came to a rude.
one-story roadside tavern, whose proud
landlord had celebrated his matrimonial
alliance with the belle of the countryside
by naming IL la Belle Alliance" Out
of the darkness in front OF him he heard
the cannon Of the enemy. Was II only
UXhridge who was firing? Or were Well
lington and his army out there in the
night, preparing to stand for battle on
the morrow? To solve the doubt he
ordered several OF his field batteries TO
open fire. And Wellington answered with
a roaring cannonade.
The doubt was resolved. Napoleon had
arrived at the trysting place Of fate and
soon he saw the campfires OF the British
army faring in the olackness OF the
stormy, cherries night that covered with
its pail the field OF Waterloo.
tCopyrisht, 1914. b. James Mrgan.l
Next Sunday-The Battle of Water
loo. and Mr.. MorRausa rIrfura NJ ~