Yonder is
Lobau's corps!"

On every side, as far as the eye could reach, there was nothing to be
seen but cuirasses, helmets, colbacks,[1] sabres, lances, and files of
bayonets.

[1] Military caps of bear-skin.

"What a battle," exclaimed Buche. "Woe to the English!"

I had the same thought; I did not believe a single Englishman would
escape. But it was we who were unfortunate that day, though had it not
been for the Prussians I still believe we should have exterminated them.

During the two hours we stood there, we did not see the half of our
regiments and squadrons, and new ones were continually coming. About
an hour after we took our position we heard suddenly on the left,
shouts of "Vive l'Empereur," they increased as they approached us like
a tempest; we all stood on our tiptoes and stretched our necks to see;
they spread through all the ranks, and even the horses in the rear
neighed as if they would shout too. At that moment a troop of general
officers whirled along our front like the wind. Napoleon was among
them, and I thought I saw him, though I was not certain, he went so
swiftly, and so many men raised their shakos on the points of their
bayonets that I hardly had time to distinguish his round shoulders and
gray coat in the midst of the laced uniforms. When the captain had
shouted, "Carry arms! present arms!" it was over.

We saw him in this way every day, at least when we were on guard.

After he had passed, the shouts continued along our right farther and
farther away, and we all thought the battle would begin in twenty
minutes.

But we were obliged to wait a long time and we grew impatient. The
conscripts in d'Erlon's corps, who were not in battle the day before,
began to shout "Forward!" At last, about noon, the cannon thundered on
the left and were followed by the fire from the battalion and then the
file. We could see nothing, for it was on the other side of the road.
The attack had commenced on Hougoumont. Immediately shouts of "Vive
l'Empereur!" broke out. The cannoneers of our four divisions were
standing the whole length of the hill-side, at twenty paces from each
other. At the discharge of the first gun, they all commenced to load
at once. I see them still, as they put in the charge, ram it home,
raise up, and shake out their matches as by a single movement. This
made us shiver. The captains of the guns, nearly all old officers,
stood behind their pieces and gave orde