Page:Battles of Quatre Bras & Waterloo.pdf/2



o event ever struck Europe, we may say the world, with such wonder and astonishment, as the sudden appearance of Napoleon Bonaparte on the coast of France, in March 1815,—his subsequent journey to Paris—the diminutive force with which he engaged in this undertaking, and the rapid success which, at first, attended his ambitious designs. With little more than 1100 men, in the space of twenty days, did this extraordinary character find himself in possession of the French capital, and of that throne which he abdicated about twelve months before. It is not our intention to follow him through all these events but only to give a circumstantial account of the battles of Quatre Bras, Ligney, and Waterloo.

But, before proceeding, we shall give a short detail of his leaving Elba, and his journey through