At the sound we
would spur our horses and hasten onward through the scattered
troops. At last, after riding all night in the clear moonlight,
we found that we had left both pursued and pursuers behind. By
the time we passed over the bridge at Charleroi the dawn was
breaking. What a company of spectres we looked in that cold,
clear, searching light, the Emperor with his face of wax, Soult
blotched with powder, Lobau dabbled with blood! But we rode more
easily now, and had ceased to glance over our shoulders, for
Waterloo was more than thirty miles behind us. One of the
Emperor's carriages had been picked up at Charleroi, and we
halted now on the other side of the Sambre, and dismounted from
our horses.
You will ask me why it was that during all this time I had said
nothing of that which was nearest my heart, the need for guarding
the Emperor. As a fact, I had tried to speak of it both to Soult
and to Lobau, but their minds were so overwhelmed with the
disaster and so distracted by the pressing needs of the moment
that it was impossible to make them understand how urgent was my
message.
Pages:
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296