ch had been assigned to him was still far away in the rear
towards Chatelet.[484] The absence of Gerard, and the uncertainty as
to the enemy's aims, annoyed the Emperor. He mounted the windmill
situated on the outskirts of Fleurus to survey the enemy's position.

It was a fair scene that lay before him. Straight in front ran the
high-road which joined the Namur-Nivelles _chaussee_, some six miles
away to the north-east. On either side stretched cornfields, whose
richness bore witness alike to the toils and the warlike passions of
mankind. Further ahead might be seen the dark lines of the enemy
ranged along slopes that formed an irregular amphitheatre, dotted with
the villages of Bry and Sombref. In the middle distance, from out a
hollow that lay concealed, rose the steeples and a few of the higher
roofs of Ligny. Further to the left and on higher ground lay St.
Amand, with its outlying hamlets. All was bathed in the shimmering,
sultry heat of midsummer, the harbinger, as it proved, of a violent
thunderstorm. The Prussian position was really stronger than it
seemed. Napoleon could not fully see either the osier beds that
fringed the Ligny brook, or its steep banks, or the many strong
buildings of Ligny itself. He saw the Prussians on the slope behind
the village, and was at first puzzled by their exposed position. "The
old fox keeps to earth," he was heard to mutter. And so he waited
until matters should clear up, and Gerard's arrival should give him
strength to compass Bluecher's utter overthrow while in the act of
stretching a feeler towards Wellington. From the time when the Emperor
came on the scene to the first swell of the battle's roar, there was a
space of more than four hours.

This delay was doubly precious to the allies. It gave Bluecher time to
bring up the corps of Pirch I. and Thielmann under cover of the high
ground near Sombref, thereby raising his total force to about 87,000
men; and it enabled the two allied commanders to meet and hastily
confer on the situation. Wellington had left Brussels that morning at
8 o'clock, and thanks to Ney's inaction, was able to reach the crest
south of Quatre Bras a little after 10, long before the enemy showed
any signs of life. There he penned a note to Bluecher, asking for news
from him before deciding on his operations for the day.[485] He then
galloped over to the windmill of Bussy to meet Bluecher.

It was an anxious meeting; the heads of the advancing French colu