hedgerows. About halfway down the slope lay four farms. On the right
was Hougoumont; a chateau with farm buildings attached to it and a
chapel. In front of this lay a thick wood with a close hedge, and the
house and farm buildings were surrounded by a strong wall. In front of
the center of the line lay the farm and inclosures of La Haye Sainte,
abutting on the main Charleroi road, which, as it passed the farm, ran
between two deep banks. In front of the left of the line were the
hamlets of Papelotte and La Haye. At the top of the ridge the ground
sloped backward, and the infantry were posted a little in rear of the
crest, which hid them from the sight of the enemy, and protected them
from artillery fire. The whole of the slope, and the valley beyond it
was covered with waving corn or high grass, now ready for cutting.

Upon the opposite side of the valley there was a similar rise, and on
this was the French position. Nearly in the center of this stood the
farm called La Belle Alliance, close to which Napoleon took up his
stand during the battle. Behind the British position the ground fell
away and then rose again gently to a crest, on which stood the
villages of Waterloo and Mount St. Jean. The great forest of Soignies
extended to this point, so that if obliged to fall back Wellington had
in his rear a position as defensible as that which he now occupied.

The allies were arranged in the following order: On the extreme left
were Vandeleur's and Vivian's light cavalry brigades. Then came
Picton's division, the first line being composed of Hanoverians,
Dutch, and Belgians, with Pack's British brigade, which had suffered
so severely in Quatre Bras, in its rear, and Kempt's brigade extending
to the Charleroi road. Alten's division was on the right of Picton's.
Its second brigade, close to the road, consisted of the First and
Second light battalions of the German legion, and the Sixth and Eighth
battalions of the line. The Second German battalion was stationed in
the farm of La Haye Sainte. Next to these came a Hanoverian brigade,
on the right of whom were Halket's British brigade. On the extreme
right was Cooke's division, consisting of two brigades of the guards,
having with them a Nassau regiment, and two companies of Hanoverian
riflemen.

Behind the infantry line lay the cavalry. In reserve were a brigade of
the fourth division, the whole of the second division, and the
Brunswickers, Dutch, and Belgians. The artillery