ith a
pointed chin. A great many peasants in our country resemble him, and
they are not the most stupid. He said not a word to us, and when he
had passed the whole length of our line, all the generals and colonels
were grouped together. The command was given to order arms. The
orderlies then set off like the wind; this engrossed the attention of
all, but not a man stirred. The rumor spread that Grouchy was to be
commander-in-chief, and that the Emperor had attacked the English four
leagues away, on the route to Brussels.

This news put us in anything but a pleasant humor, and more than one
said, "It is no wonder that we are here doing nothing since morning; if
the Emperor was with us, we should have given battle long ago, and the
Prussians would not have had time to know where they were."

This was the talk we indulged in, and it shows the injustice of men;
for three hours afterward, in the midst of shouts of "_Vive
l'Empereur_," Napoleon arrived. These shouts swept along the line like
a tempest, and were continued even opposite Sombref. Now everything
was right. That for which we had reproached Marshal Grouchy, was
perfectly proper when done by the Emperor, since it was he.

Very soon the order reached us to advance our line five hundred paces
to the right, and off we started through the rye, oats, and barley,
which were swept down before us, but the principal line of battle on
the left was not changed.

As we reached a broad road which we had not before seen and came in
sight of Fleurus, with its little brook bordered with willows, the
order was given to halt! A murmur ran through the whole
division--"There he is!"

He was on horseback, and only accompanied by a few of the officers of
his staff.

We could only recognize him in the distance by has gray coat and his
hat; his carriage with its escort of lancers was in the rear. He
entered Fleurus by the high road, and remained in the village more than
an hour, while we were roasting in the grain fields.

At the end of this hour, which we thought interminable, files of staff
officers set off, at a gallop, bent over their saddle-bows till their
noses were between their horse's ears. Two of them stopped near
General Gerard, one remained with him, and the other went on again.
Still we waited, until suddenly the bands of all the regiments began to
play; drums and trumpets all together; and that immense line which
extended from the rear of St. Amand t