The herald., 1917-10-25

~ 'iiee O'CLOCK WeliingtOn'S forces
having suffered severely from the
bombardment, and fresh troons sppenr.
ing on the horizon (these were the
russians coming up, although Napo-
ieoh insisted they We're Grouchy's
! mem. the emperor tried charge of
( ms magnificent heavy cavalry against
/ the British right and center. So ter
{ rlnc was the rush Of these helmetpd
ana "orseleted hOrsemen, reins in teeth
Saber and pistol in hands, that they
I roo" fairly over the British advance
guns. bringing up against the daunt-
/ less squares Of British infantry. If this
success had been heavily supported hy
loot troops different might have been
I the issue. for the cuirassiers stayed
/ long on the crest frantically stormng
/ AT the squares which moved them
down by squadrons. As II fell out
/ they were almost totally destroyed by
/ the fire OF the stubborn squares. am
/ by counter attack Of masSed Engli>i
horse.
The order for this charge Of IN,
| French hOrse-at least in the form
was delivered-was afterward repud
/ ated by Napoleon. who declared III
Ney acted Ike a mailman" and III
/ he threw the cavalry away" SOr
| where in the course of this action
! reserve cavalry, the Horse Grenada,
| and the lighter lanCerS, and HuSsaI
/ had been brought in. Whether they
! charged by direction Of Ney or on the
! inspiration Of Guyot, their immediate
! commander. is not certain. Napoleon
/ asserted that they had been ordered e.
/ leave him under no circumstances. This
| destruction Of the whole mounted re.
serve Napoleon told Bourrienne cost
him the day.
In the waning day the intrepid
Ney, gathering the wreck OF
D'ErlOn's corps, did carry La Haye
Sainte, on the English left. but II
was too late. The Prussians were
already pushing hard. Napoleon was
forced 10 play his last card. Cavalry
gone, first line corps shattered. he or
dered up the dauntless Imperial Guard
The emperor and the guard had turned
the day on many q field. The fierce
giants. In their towering bearskins,
| seemed almost irresistible. Passing
before him. they hailed him with great
shouts Of "Vive rEmpereur," while he,
pOisting toward the English line, cried
out: There is the road to Brussels "
But the guard went TO death, and
In the last charge II was ever to make
With Ney, hatless, covered with mud
and blood. at Its head, on foot-for his
fifth horse Of the day had been killed
under hint climbed the hill in the
face Of furious artillery FIRE. only to
encounter Maitland's brigade Of Eng
| fish household troops, to whom the
duke himself Is said to have shouted
the order, up, guards, and at them y
The FIRE which followed was too ter
rife for even the veterans Of Napo-
Icons eagles. In the darkness, for II
i was now nearly eight o'clock, they
wavered. reeled and fed, with the Brit
ish cavalry sabering them as they ran,
Someone raised the cry Of "Sauve Qui
peut," and all was lost. Only Cham
bronne's regiment of the guard re-
manned compact and defiant, moving
slowly in the weller Of blood, sheer
ing at commands to surrender, prefer
ing death to ignominy-and finding 1t.
Napoleon was swept off the field, to
become in a few weeks an exiled cap
tive.
The loss Of the French was never
known. All records disappeared with
the destruction Of the army. In dead
and wounded Wellington lost 1900,
the Prussians 1900 more. At such
cost was purchased the delivery of Eu-
rope.