from loss of lood, and was carried from the field. The next sen or officer, however, assumed the command; for not a man thought of retreating or yielding. Again the lancers precipitated themselves on the Scottish heroes; and it was not until the regiment was reduced to less than a tenth of its original number, that the enemy was put to flight. ance, as it was situated at the intersection of the roads from Charleroi to Brussels, and from Nivelles to Namur, by which Lord Wellington communicated with the Prussian army at Sombref. A detachment under the Prince of Weimar had retreated hither on the preceding evening, having been driven from the ground which it occupied between Quatre Bras and Frasné; but, being subsequently reinforced by the Prince of Orange, it was again enabled to resume its former posi-dour of the contest, was surrounded and made prisoner; tion. On his arrival at Quatre Bras, Lord Wellington ordered the troops of the Prince of Weimar to fall back and join him, while he awaited the arrival of the regiments from Brussels, and prepared to repel the attack which he expected the enemy to make. The first and second corps of the French army, under the command of Ney, were ordered to advance on Quatre Bras, and attack the position of the British, while Buonaparte, in person, directed his whole remaining force upon the Prussians. Ney executed his orders with great precision, and, leaving the first corps at Frasné, advanced to the combat with the second, and as only the second and fifth divisions of the British army had arrived, succeeded in making a considerable impression. Taking advantage of their numerical superiority, the French attacked some battalions who were separated from the main body, and almost completely destroyed them. A corps of Belgians was ordered to advance with the forty-second Highland regiment to support a detachment which was vigorously pushed by the French. Whether occasioned by the ardour with which the British rushed to the fight, or the slowness with which the Belgians followed, the two battalions were separated. An ambush of French lancers, who were concealed by some hedges and high standing corn, and who could not be discovered till they were close on the British, suddenly rushed upon them. Colonel Macara ordered the regiment, which was advancing in column, to form itself into a square; but, in performing this evolution, two companies were left out, when the lancers charged upon them, and in a moment overwhelmed them. Encouraged by this success, they charged on the square, and, though repulsed with loss, succeeded in cutting down great numbers of the Highlanders, among whom was the gallant colonel, The Prince of Orange, advancing too far, in the ar but a battalion of Belgians; seeing his danger, hastened to his relief, and rescued him from the enemy. The prince immediately tore off the insignia of bis order, and threw it among the soldiers, exclaiming, "There, my brave fellows! you have all deserved it." They accordingly fastened the star to their colours, and exclaiming, "The Prince for ever!" swore to defend it to the last drop of their blood. At this moment they were exposed to a galling fire, and many of them fell while in the act of pronouncing this loyal oath. Under the protection of their numerous cavalry and artillery, the French succeeded in forcing the British positions, and penetrated to the village of Quatre Bras The gallant Wellington, however, contemplated their approach without dismay and without apprehension He stationed himself in an open part of the plain, exposed to the hottest fire, where he could be distinctly seen by both armies, and there issued his orders with as much coolness and precision, as if his troops had been passing before him at a review. Some squadrons of Brunswick cavalry had in vain attempted to stem the enemy's progress. They rapidly retreated along the high road through the village, and were closely pursued by Napoleon's cuirassiers, when the ninety-second regiment, which lined a ditch bordering the road, poured on the French, who were almost at the muzzles of their guns, an unexpected volley, which destroyed every man in the direction of their fire, and made a complete chasm between the front and rear ranks of the squadrons which were galloping by. The few who were in advance proceeded to the spot on which the Duke of Wellington was posted, and rushed on him and his staff; but they were, to a man, either killed or taken. The rear of the enemy disconcerted by this unexpected reception, turned their horses and fled. The ninety-second now leaped from the ditch to charge in their turn. As they rose, a tremen The command was now assumed by Lieutenant-dous volley was poured upon them by a mass of French colonel Dick, although he had received a wound in the shoulder from a musket-bullet. He rallied the regiment, formed them into a smaller square, and awaited mother attack. The lancers again rushed desperately on them, and, although once more repulsed, did considerable execution. The lieutenant-colonel fainted infantry at a little distance. The staff of the regimental colours was completely shattered, and the ensign who supported it was shot through the heart. The British infantry, however, cheered and advanced. A little further on was a house, with a garden on the opposite side of the road. These were occupied by the Corsican's intimidated, and could with difficulty preserve itself from being broken. Ney, perceiving the danger to which he was exposed, sent in haste for the first corps; but he found, to his utter astonishment, that Buonaparte had already employed it at Sombref, to enable troops, who, under cover of the enclosure and the walls, | The French were not only driven from every position kept up a constant fire on the British as they approach- which they had gained, but the whole of their line was ed. The impetuosity of the ninety-second regiment was not to be restrained; the garden and the house were speedily cleared, and the enemy pursued to the skirt of a wood But, in this short space, they had sustained a loss of three hundred men. Four commanding officers were successively wounded and car-him to carry the position of the Prussians. ried off the field, and the regiment was now separated from the rest of the line, and compelled, though most reluctantly, to retire. The marshal's consternation at this discovery was extreme; as all his plans were deranged, and the day appeared to be inevitably lost: but, recalling his selfpossession, he brought the whole of the reserve of the second corps into action, and led them himself to the charge. The French cuirassiers advanced with great courage, but they were unable to withstand the cool intrepidity of the British troops, and, receiving a galling fire from some infantry who lined the wood, they turned their horses and fled. The thirty-third regiment, in the mean time, after suffering severely from the enemy's artillery, was broken by a charge of cavalry, and driven into the wood of Bossu with immense loss. The French followed them with impetuosity, and were rapidly making themselves masters of the wood, when the first division of the guards fortunately arrived on the field of battle. They had marched nearly twelve hours without intermission, and, though exhausted with hunger and fatigue, they immediately formed into line, arrested the progress of the enemy, and drove him again into the plain. But, in penetrating through the forest, their line had become irregular and broken, and, on emerging into the open ground, they found a division of French infantry drawn up ready to receive them. Flushed with success, the guards waited not to re-form their line, but darted forwards to the new combat; and the French, imagining that they should easily repulse so irregular an attack, readily engaged them. The contest, though short, was very severe. The French recoiled from the shock, and were pursued up the rising ground, when the cavalry of Ney, perceiving that the British division was unsupported, charged upon them. All attempts to form a square were in vain, and their only safety consisted in a rapid retreat to the forest. This they happily effected, though with some loss; and, having rallied in the wood, they poured on the cavalry, which pursued them, a destructive fire, which not only check-mishers, which covered the retreat of the main body. ed their progress, but soon sent them in disorder from the field. The guards again advanced to the attack of the infantry, which had now occupied its former position. Again the enemy was unable to stand before them; and once more pushing on too far in the eagerness of pursuit, the cavalry rushed on them as before, and drove them back to the forest. A corps of Brunswickers now joined the British, and advancing together, they finally compelled the enemy to retreat. The Duke of Wellington, in the mean time, though considerably outnumbered by the enemy, had obstinately contested every inch of ground. By the arrival of the guards he was enabled to act on the offensive. The twenty-eighth regiment was now attacked by a numerous body of cuirassiers and lancers, and, being formed into a square, continued to fire, at the same time, from three sides, on one of which the lancers presented themselves, and, on the two others, the cuirassiers. In vain the cavalry repeatedly and desperately charged upon them. As the front ranks were pierced by the sabres or lances of their horsemen, their places were immediately supplied, and, as their numbers decreased, the square was gradually diminished; but not for a moment were they disordered; not one opening was left for the cavalry to penetrate, and at length, by their incessant and deliberate fire, they succeeded in completely repulsing the enemy. Several French squadrons, however, still hovered round them, and it would have been dangerous to have deployed. They therefore advanced in square against a mass of infantry, and, in a few moments, penetrated their centre, and routed them; then deploying, they charged in line, and cleared the whole frout of a host of skir The French were now thrown into complete confusion. The baggage, the camp-followers, and the wounded who had been sent into the rear, conceived that the fate of the day was decided, and retreated as rapidly as possible towards Charleroi, General Rousel's division of cuirassiers then presented itself, and held the British advanced troops in check, till the infantry had time to rally. These formed into squares, and retired as far as Frasné, where they again halted. The British, however, promptly pursued, and endeavoured by several determined charges to carry the heights, but the French fought with a desperation, which maintained their position. The engagement continued with various success until the close of day, when the first corps of the French army, of which Buonaparte | force to oppose him. To himself he reserved the task had made no use, returned to Frasné, and the British cavalry arrived from Niuove. It was now too late for either party to avail themselves of their reinforcements, and they bivouacked on their respective positions. This battle, though attended with no decisive result, reflected the highest credit on the British arms. During the greater part of the day, the Duke of Wellington contended against an immense superiority of numbers. His artillery had not arrived, and at no time had he more than a few squadrons to oppose to the crowd of cuirassiers and lancers who galloped round the British squares, and availed themselves of the slightest disorder to break in upon and overwhelm the infantry. The divisions, also, were separately engaged, and advanced to the combat fatigued by a long and rapid march, and without having taken any refreshment since the preceding day. The loss on both sides was prodigious, and nearly equal. The allies acknowledged a loss of nearly four thousand men in killed, wounded, and prisoners, and the French a loss of four thousand two hundred. The number of prisoners, on either side, was inconsiderable. Among the killed of the allied army was the Duke of Brunswick, who fell as he was gallantly heading his troops in a desperate charge. He had recently returned from England to take possession of the dominions of his ancestors, and, on the first intelligence of the landing of Buonaparte, had hastened with his black hussars, and other regiments, to join the armies of the allies. He led in person every charge of cavalry during this memorable day. He was scarcely engaged when a severe wound caused him, for a moment, to retire to the rear; a handkerchief was bound over it, and he returned to his men, who were beginning to waver, and led them back to the charge. Two slight wounds, which he afterwards received, were disregarded; and, after that, another dangerous one checked not his ardour; and it was not until the corps of the enemy to which he was now opposed was dispersed, that he would permit a dressing to be applied. This was scarcely completed, when the enemy again advanced in force, and threatened to overwhelm one of the British divisions. He again placed himself at the head of his men, and led them on to a more desperate charge than they had yet attempted, when a musket-bullet passed through his bridle-hand into his breast, and caused his death in a few minutes. When the Corsican moved with his centre and right wing against Blucher, he imagined that he left to Ney a more easy task than his own; and that the marshal would find no difficulty in pushing on to Brussels, before the British army could be concentrated in sufficient of coping with Blucher, and by his overthrow cutting off all communication between the Prussian and British armies, and compelling each to seek safety in unconnected movements. The Prussian veteran was strongly posted to receive his inveterate foe. His army occupied a line where three villages, built upon broken and unequal ground, served each as a separate redoubt, defended by infantry, and well furnished with artillery. His right wing occupied the village of St. Amand, his centre was posted at Ligny, and his left at Sombref. All these hamlets are strongly built, and contain several houses, with large court-yards and orchards, each of which is capable of being converted into a station of defence. The ground behind these villages forms an amphitheatre of some elevation, in front of which is a deep ravine, edged by straggling thickets of trees. The villages were in front of the ravine; and masses of infantry were stationed behind each, to reinforce the defenders as circumstances might require. In this position Blucher had assembled three corps of his army, amounting to eighty thousand men. But the fourth corps, commanded by Bulow, being in distant cantonments between Liege and Hannut, had not arrived at the point of concentration. The force of the assailants is stated in the Prussian despatches at one hundred and thirty thousand men. But, as Ney had at least thirty thousand soldiers under him at Quatre Bras, it does not seem that the troops under Buonaparte's immediate command at the battle of Ligny, even including a strong reserve, which consisted of the first entire division, could exceed one hundred thousand men. The forces, therefore, actually engaged on both sides, might be nearly equal. Fired by sentiments of the most inveterate hostility, the ordinary rules of war, which, on other occasions, afford some mitigation of its horrors, were renounced upon both sides. The Prussians declared their purpose to give and receive no quarter; and two of the French divisions hoisted the black flag, as an intimation of a similar intention. The morning was employed in reconnoitring the ground, and making the necessary dispositions; but, at three o'clock in the afternoon, the engagement commenced by a furious cannonade, under cover of which the third corps of the French army, commanded by Vandamme, attacked the village of St. Amand. They were received by the Prussians with the most determined resistance, in despite of which they succeeded in, carrying the village at the point of the bayonet, and established themselves in the church and church-yard. The Prussians made the most desperate efforts to recover possession of this village, which was the key of |