ed a prospect of plunder, and by the right of occupancy, kept off all who attempted to share in the spoil. It frequently happened that force was exerted against these sentinels, and, in the combats which ensued, many were killed and wounded. The imperial guard, proud of its pre-eminence, as janissaries of the despot, behaved with arrogance towards the other troops, and were of course, particularly detested by them; so that when they happened to be inferior in numbers, they were, in their turn, persecuted and outraged. The different corps of cavalry entertained the same calousy and animosity towards each other, and heaped all sorts of insults upon the infantry, whilst the infantry on their side, menaced them with the bayonet. Such was the spirit of the army. In advancing towards the frontiers to protect its fellow citizens, it reduced them on its march, to a situation in which they had nothing to fear from the bitterest enemy. From the time of leaving its cantonments, it had continued to move with celerity; the weather though inclement, had not so deepened the roads as to impede the passage of the artillery and caissons. The rapidity of the movements bordered, in fact, on precipitation. It now became evident that the plan was to surprise the enemy in Belgium by an unexpected irruption. On the 14th, the whole army was united and in line on the extreme frontier. All uncertainty as to the object of these mancuvres was now dispelled by the following proclamation, which was read at the head of each division and regiment "SOLDIERS, "It is to-day the anniversary of Marengo and Friedland, which twice decided the destiny of Europe. Then, as at Austerlitz and Wagram, we were too generous. We believed the oaths and protestations of princes whom we left upon the throne. To-day we find them leagued together, and wishing to overthrow the independence and the most sacred rights of France. They have commenced this most unjust attack. Let us march to meet them-They and we, are we not still the same men? "Soldiers-At Jena, against these same Prussians now so arrogant, you were one to three, and at Montmirial one to six "Those of you who have been prisoners among the English, relate to your comrades the frightful evils that you suffered in their hulks The Saxons, Belgians, and Hanoverians, the soldiers of the confederation of the Rhine, lament that they are compelled to aid the cause of princes who are enemies of justice and the rights of all nations. They know that this coalition is insatiable. After having absorbed twelve millions of Poles, twelve millions of Italians, one million Saxons, and six millions of Belgians-it will next destroy the secondary powers of Germany "Madmen!—a moment of prosperity has blinded them. The oppression and humiliation of the French people are beyond their power. If they enter France, they will find in it their grave. "Soldiers,-We have forced marches to make, battles to fight, and perils to encounter: but with constancy the victory will be ours: the rights, the honour, and the happiness of our country will be re-conquered "For all Frenchmen who have 1 a heart the moment is arrived to conquer or to die!" It is almost unnecessary to say that this proclamation was received with transports of joy and noisy acclamations by a multitude of ignorant soldiers, for whom high-sounding words, however unintelligible to them, are the perfection of eloquence. It is equally unnecessary to comment upon this ridiculously emphatic address, bearing as it does, the genuine stamp of Bonaparte. It augmented the uneasiness of those reflecting men, who gave themselves the trouble of examining his incoherent ideas, by showing them, in the full extent, the dangers which despair had driven him to en counter. In the mean time, the officers were exulting in the precision of their marches, and discovered, as they said, the presence of the great man" by the result of combined movements, executed in a manner so skilful, that the different corps of the army seemed, after proceeding for some days on the same route, to have found themselves regularly placed in the line, as if they had sprung out of the earth by a magic power. On the 15th at break of day, the army was in motion to enter Belgium. The 2d corps attacked the advanced posts of the Prussians which were opposite to them, and pursued them briskly as far as Marchienne au Pont. The cavalry of this corps had an opportunity of charging several squares of infantry which they penetrated, and from whom they took some hundred prisoners. The Prussians hastened to repass the Sambre. The light cavalry of the centre followed the route of the 2d corps upon Charleroi, and sweeping by successive charges, all the force upon the left bank of the Sambre, drove the enemy to the opposite side. While a number of sharpshooters defended the approach to the bridge, the Prussians were busily engaged in rendering it impassable, so as to retard the march of the French, and give themselves time to evacuate the town; but being briskly pushed, they were not able to destroy it entirely. The damage which they had occasioned being but slight, the sappers and marines of the guard soon removed all difficulties. Towards noon the work was finished; the light cavalry passed over, and took possession of Charleroi. The 2d corps having in the mean time effected its passage at Marchienne, advanced upon Gosselies, a town situated on the Brussels road, with the intention of cutting off the retreat of the column driven back at Charleroi. The Prussians, surprised at such a brisk assault, and pursued by our light troops, retired in good order upon Fleurus, where they began to concentrate. They were repeatedly attacked by our advanced guard, which, without allowing them time to take up their position, threw themselves with overwhelming impetuosity upon the columns that resisted. The presence of Bonaparte so electrified the French troops, that they rushed upon the enemy without firing a gun, and springing with the hayonet into the midst of the enemy's masses, drove every thing before them. The squadrons of the bodyguard repeatedly charged the Prussian infantry. In one of these attacks, General Letort, colonel of the dragoons of the guard, received a mortal wound. After many obstinate and bloody combats, the French succeeded in mastering all the positions where the enemy at tempted to make a stand. The | pursuit ceased towards night; and Bonaparte, having left the third corps on the road to Namur, and the second at Gosselies on the road to Brussels, returned to establish his head-quarters at Charleroi; the rest of the army occupying the surrounding villages. were stipendiaries, than free citizens expressing their real sentiments. They received us as conquerors, whose kindness it was necessary to propitiate; they showed themselves to be merely the friends of the strongest party, and their exclamations plainly signified this; "We wish to be Frenchmen if your "bayonet brings us the law: do not “pillage us, do not lay waste our country, but treat us as fellow citizens." But their supplications were not regarded. Notwithstanding the apparent pleasure with which our soldiers received this friendly treatment, they behaved as if they were encamped among their avowed enemies; devastation and plunder every where marked the progress of the army. As soon as the troops had taken a temporary position near some village, they rushed like a torrent upon the miserable inhabitants; provisions, furniture, linen, clothes, all disappeared in an instant. The village where they had encamped, presented on their departure the spectacle of a vast heap of rubbish and ruins, around which was scattered every thing that had served as furniture for the houses. Its environs which had been covered with rich fields of grain, seemed to have been devastated by a deluge of hail, whilst the spots left by the fire of the bivouacs, black and scattered among the littered grain and grass, appeared to have been struck with the lightning of the storm. The result of these several engagements was a thousand prisoners, the passage of the Sambre, and the possession of Charleroi," where some magazines found; but the most signal advantage gained, was, to have animated by this first success, the courage and confidence of the troops. Accordingly, Bonaparte employed his usual tactics to turn it to the best account. The number of prisoners was declared greater than its real amount; and to fortify this suggestion, he divided them into numerous detachments, which he marched in triumph one after another towards the corps which were still in the rear, and on the roads by which they were approaching. It may be easily imagined that at the sight of them the cries of Vive l'Empereur redoubled, and the soldiers gave themselves up to transports of joy. Although the whole of the French army had not yet passed the Sambre, it was entirely in the Belgian territory, and in the midst of the new subjects of the kingdom of the Low Countries. It had been told us, that they only waited for our presence to rise en masse in support of our cause. We found indeed some groups of peasants at the entrance of the villages through which we passed, who joined us in the cry of Vive l'Empereur, but they did not appear animated with a very sincere enthusiasm. To speak candidly, they more resembled a collection of When we were departing, the inhabitants issued from their asylum, the men silent and thoughtful, the women weeping, and the children half-naked and affrighted. They might be seen wandering up and down, to identify and collect the scattered fragments of their utensils, amid their desolated fields. From the information which we obtained, we were led to believe, that the advanced posts of the Prussians, though watchful, had been completely surprised, and that the allies, far from expecting such a sudden and serious attack, had intended in a few days to enter the French territory. The inhabitants, also, were astonished at our appearance among them, at the moment when they supposed us to be absorbed in preparations against invasion. They generally spoke ill of the Prussians, whom they represented as exorbitant in their demands and unruly in their deportment. of their former companions in arms!! Such were our dreams. On the 16th, at three o'clock in the morning, all the columns of the French army which yet remained upon the right bank of the Sambre, proceeded to effect their passage, and as soon as this was accomplished, the whole army moved forward. The command of the left wing, consisting of the 1st and 2d corps of infantry, and four divisions of cavalry, was given to marshal Ney, who had arrived at head-quarters the evening before, and who was ordered to march by Gosselies and Frasnes upon Brussels. The centre composed of the third, fourth and sixth corps, together with the guard in reserve, a 'numerous body of cavalry, forming altoge my, was ordered to move upon Fleurus. Marshal Grouchy, with the cavalry of Pajol and some battalions of infantry, manœuvred towards the village of Sambre on the road to Namur. These events, though not very important in themselves, gave rise to a multitude of conjec-ther, the main strength of the artures as to the result of the campaign. It was argued, that the army of the enemy would find it impossible to effect a concentration; that their several corps, separated, actively pursued, and on every side surrounded, could make but a feeble resistance. Wellington, it was said, must be disconcerted by an offensive movement which he was far from foreseeing, and his whole plan of the campaign rendered nugatory, now that he had no longer the choice of time and ground. Confidence in Bonaparte was unlimited; his combinations appeared as unerring in practice as they were skilful in theory: The English would inevitably be destroyed, or driven to a precipitate embarkation; the army would soon reach the Rhine, in the midst of the universal acclamations of the Belgians, who would rise en masse for their deliverance, and whose troops were only waiting for a favourable moment to pass over into the ranks In debouching from Fleurus, we soon discovered the Prussian army, the principal part of which was drawn up in close columns on the plateaux* which surrounded the windmill of Bussi. It extended in a curve along the whole top of an eminence, at whose foot was a deep woody ravine which protected the whole line: its right rested upon the village of St. Amand, its centre upon Ligny, and its left extended indefinitely towards Sombref, and stretched out in the same manner towards Gembloux, and the road to Namur. All these villages, which are large and built upon uneven and intersected ground, were in front of the ra • Elevated flats. vine, and abundantly supplied with infantry. Having reconnoitred the position, Bonaparte immediately made his dispositions to attack. The first corps, forming part of the left wing, was placed with two divisions of heavy cavalry, in rear of the village of Frasnes, on the right of and at a little distance from the road to Brussels, that it might be able to advance to the points where its presence should become necessary. The third was directed, in columns of attack, upon the village of St. Amand; the fourth advanced towards Ligny, supported by the 6th, the guard, and a numerous reserve of cavalry. Marshal Grouchy, with the divisions of the right, advanced towards Sombref. The third corps commenced the affair in attacking the village of St. Amand, a part of which they succeeded in taking with the bayonet after an obstinate resistance, but from which they were soon driven. The 4th precipitated itself upon Ligny at the same time that the two wings became engaged, the left at Frasnes and the right at Sombref; in a few moments the engagement became general, and a strong cannonade, which gradually increased, was felt along the whole line. The battle was sustained on both sides with equal pertinacity. It is impossible to give an idea of the fury with which the soldiers fought; it, seemed as if each one of them was avenging a personal affront, and had discovered in his adversary his implacable enemy. The French gave no quarter, and the Prussians had previously declared, it is said, that they would massacre all Frenchmen who should fall into their hands. These menaces were levelled particularly at the Guard, against whom they were especially incensed. The villages in dispute were several times taken and retaken, after a dreadful slaughter. Those of St. Amand and Ligny particu larly were contested with incredible obstinacy. The French, however, at last made a lodgment in the church-yard of St. Amand, and maintained it in spite of the reiterated attempts of the Prussians to expel them; but at one time the struggle was so fierce, and success so dubious, that Bonaparte sent off with all haste to order up the first corps as a reinforcement. By this movement, the left wing which had been busily engaged with the English, and had driven them from the heights of Frasnes, to the farm of Quatre Bras (where they had at last taken a position) was considerably weakened; and Bonaparte here committed an imprudence nearly sufficient to draw after it the entire loss of the battle, in omitting to give marshal Ney notice that he had subtracted a part of his force. About an hour after the departure of the first corps for St. Amand, the English army having received strong reinforcements under the prince of Orange, became in their turn the assailants, and drove back both our tirailleurs and the columns which they covered. The English occupied the whole border of a considerable wood, lying upon the left of the road to Brussels. Immediately in front of this wood ran a hollow path resembling a ravine, and between the road and the position of the French troops on its right, were plateaux or eminences of some considerable breadth, covered with rye. All at once these plateaux were covered with numerous square battalions supported by a formidable body of cavalry, who advanced boldly and threatened to pierce |