On the other side of the shallow valley our own people, having
finished their soup, were assembling for the battle. It had
rained very heavily, but at this moment the sun shone out and
beat upon the French army, turning our brigades of cavalry into
so many dazzling rivers of steel, and twinkling and sparkling on
the innumerable bayonets of the infantry. At the sight of that
splendid army, and the beauty and majesty of its appearance, I
could contain myself no longer, but, rising in my stirrups, I
waved my busby and cried, "Vive l'Empereur!" a shout which
growled and roared and clattered from one end of the line to the
other, while the horsemen waved their swords and the footmen held
up their shakos upon their bayonets. The English remained
petrified upon their ridge. They knew that their hour had come.
And so it would have come if at that moment the word had been
given and the whole army had been permitted to advance. We had
but to fall upon them and to sweep them from the face of the
earth. To put aside all question of courage, we were the more
numerous, the older soldiers, and the better led.
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