The Duke had observed both cannon and infantry endeavouring to retire from the rear of the French position, and resolved to allow them as little time as possible to recover from the confusion in which they retired from the last attack. The orders flew like lightning along the line, and the whole army was instantly in motion, with as much alacrity as if the action was just beginning. Prince Blücher had joined the left wing of the army, and nearly the whole of the Prussian force had by this time arrived: the right wing of the French gave way before them, and was soon in great confusion. There were still some large squares of the old Imperial Guard opposed to the English, to cover the retreat. As soon as the advance was ordered, Sir Hussey Vivian's brigade charged the squares, broke into one of them, passed the others, and drove away the cavalry and the artillerymen from the guns, leaving the squares exposed to the whole force of the British army then bearing down on them.

The cavalry having put to flight the artillerymen, those destructive engines, the cannon, were silenced, and our infantry soon came in contact with the last-mentioned squares of the Imperial Guard, who, notwithstanding their hopeless situation, seemed still to consider themselves invincible, and scorned to tarnish the reputation they had held so long in the estimation of Europe: but the British troops were not then to be checked; after a short conflict, in which many fell on both sides, the squares broke, and the rout was the most complete ever known. The brigades of light cavalry continued the pursuit nearly to Genappe, when it was relinquished to our brave allies the Prussians.

Extract of a Letter from an Officer of the 18th Hussars.

"On the morning of the 18th, Major-general Vivian, who commanded the 6th Cavalry Brigade, composed of the 1st Hanoverian Hussars, the 10th Royal, and the 18th Hussars, made us take a few hours' rest in a little copse on the borders of the forest of Soignies, and close to a village forming the left of the British line, and in correspondence with General Bulow. At four o'clock in the morning a Prussian officer arrived, who informed Majorgeneral Vivian that he left Ohain at 12 o'clock, and came with the utmost speed possible, with orders to inform the Duke of Wellington that Marshal Blücher had commenced his march at 12, and that he hoped to be up by one, P.M. (but the roads were so bad, that he did not open fire until four o'clock); and that General Bulow was marching from Ohain on our left, to operate agreeably to the promise made to Lord Wellington by Marshal Blücher: however, from the badness of the roads, he did not come

up till eight o'clock in the evening; but, even at that late hour, he was of the greatest use, as we were much harassed by the artillery and musketry of the French.

"At 3 o'clock P.M., Major Percy was sent by the Duke of Wellington to General Bulow, to inquire how long it would be before he could come up: he returned in a short time, saying, that he would arrive in an hour; but, as I before observed, the roads prohibited the possibility of his doing so.

"The Duke of Wellington dispatched Lieut.-col. Stavely, at a quarter before seven o'clock, to see if the Prussians were coming; they had made a halt to rest themselves near the field, before they came into action; very few of the officers, and none of the soldiers of the British army, knew that the Prussians were expected.

"The enemy pressed the centre of the British line so heavily, that we were obliged to leave the left, and form in line in the rear, and almost on the heels of the pressed infantry: and remained in that position for about a quarter of an hour, when the French gave way, and we charged, first the Cuirassiers, then the Lancers, and ultimately became so mixed with the enemy, then the confusion exceeded all description; but terminated in the entire defeat of the French.

"I must name to you an individual occurrence which happened in our regiment. Serjeant Taylor, on coming up with the Cuirassiers, made a cut at the head of one of them, which had no other effect on the Frenchman than to induce him to cry out in derision, Ha! ha!' and to return a severe blow at the Serjeant, which was admirably parried, and Taylor then thrust his sabre into the mouth of the Cuirassier, who instantly fell, and the conqueror cried, 'Ha! ha!' in his turn; which circumstance much increased the ardour of the other men."

Extract of a Letter from John Marshall, private 10th Hussars, part of the preceding Brigade.

"Pidlute, near Paris, July 11th, 1815. "I have availed myself of this opportunity to give you as much information as comes within my knowledge, though you no doubt are well acquainted with what has transpired during that short, but ever-glorious campaign: but as the scribbler of a newspaper can say what he pleases, I shall take the liberty of saying what I know to be true-and so to the subject. On the 16th of June, our troops were in motion. At day-break in the morning,

* This forms a subject for one of the etchings to illustrate this work, by Captain Jones.