. Battles of the nineteenth century . n at his post atBinche, and thither the duke promptly senthim, after first inquiring if there were any news. No, nothing, but that the French havecrossed the Sambre, and had a brush with thePrussians ! Miiffling had previously broughtthe intelligence, which should have arrived muchsooner, the duke afterwards saying to Napier : I cannot tell the world that Bliicher picked thefattest man in his army to ride with an express WATERLOO. 33. to me, and that he took thirty hours to gothirty miles. Far from being surprised (as some writers haveit), the dukes orders
. Battles of the nineteenth century . n at his post atBinche, and thither the duke promptly senthim, after first inquiring if there were any news. No, nothing, but that the French havecrossed the Sambre, and had a brush with thePrussians ! Miiffling had previously broughtthe intelligence, which should have arrived muchsooner, the duke afterwards saying to Napier : I cannot tell the world that Bliicher picked thefattest man in his army to ride with an express WATERLOO. 33. to me, and that he took thirty hours to gothirty miles. Far from being surprised (as some writers haveit), the dukes orders were despatched before hewent to that now historic entertainment, andthe dancing continued long after he and hisofficers had left. At four oclock Packs Highlanders, in kiltand feather bonnet, swung across the PlaceRoyale and passed through the Namur Gate—the rising sun glinting on their accoutremerrts,their bagpipes waking the sleeping streets. Come to me and I will give you flesh, wasthe weird pibroch of the Black Watch, and many. pictons division off to the front. At two oclock, while it was yet dark,strange sounds were heard under the trees—the shuffling of mens feet, the ringingof musket-butts on the ground, short words ofcommand, and the running ripple of the roll-callalong the ranks. People opened their windows and looked out ;carriages returning from the ball drew up andwaited: it was Pictons Division off to thefront. a Highland laddie heard it that morning for thelast time. Some of the officers marched in silk stockingsand dancing-pumps. Lingering too long at theball, they had not had time—or perhaps, as the,night was warm, they had not troubled—tochange them ; and there were not, a few whonever found time again. Out in the early morning along the great high-way they went, past lonely farms and clustering 54 BATTLES OF THE NIXETEEXTH CENTURY. villages, through the gre}--green gloom of thebeech woods of Soigne to Mont St. Jean,where they halted for breakfast, an
Size: 1430px × 1747px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1901
