Page:The Siege of London - Posteritas - 1885.djvu/75

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HREE batteries of English artillery commenced the battle, and, not being answered, the French were charged by the heavy dragoons. One of the enemy's squares was broken by the Life Guards, who, however, were not allowed to pursue. The French commander hastily formed line, and commenced to move his whole force forward under under cover of a dense fog, which, however, was hardly favourable to them, as they were totally unacquainted with the ground. The English commander slowly fell back before the advance of the enemy, and swerved towards the west, and then suddenly made a half-turn to the left, this movement being met by the French bringing their right shoulders forward to maintain a line parallel to that of the English. Then a spirited charge of all the British infantry and dragoons was delivered with the utmost vehemence. The French received it in line in order not to slacken their fire by forming squares, which would have prevented three-fourths of each battalion from keeping it up. They poured thus a perfect hurricane of bullets into the English ranks as they slowly retired. But the English showed no inclination to charge home, and only kept pressing their foes back without making them face about, while they were waiting for their artillery to open fire. A cry of surprise suddenly broke from the French rear ranks, and it served to explain the strange manœuvre of the English, who, under cover of the fog, had forced their enemies into the Serpentine. The French Commander-in-Chief had not been aware of the existence of this small lake, not having had time or opportunity to reconnoitre. The scene was extraordinary, and soon an immense number of French troops were struggling frantically in the water, and hundreds of them were drowned while the whole of that wing of the army was thrown into