第 35 节
作者:插翅难飞      更新:2021-04-30 17:18      字数:9322
  mistaken。
  But let that pass。     The Fates had ordained that I should hold my hand
  and that the Empire should fall。         But they had also ordained that this day
  of gloom and sorrow should bring such honour to me as had never come
  when I swept on the wings of victory from Boulogne to Vienna。
  Never had I burned so brilliantly as at that supreme moment when the
  darkness fell upon all around me。          You are aware that I was faithful to the
  Emperor   in   his   adversity;   and   that   I   refused   to   sell   my   sword   and   my
  honour     to  the   Bourbons。     Never     again   was    I  to  feel  my   war   horse
  between my knees; never again to hear the kettledrums and silver trumpets
  behind me as I rode in front of my little rascals。          But it comforts my heart;
  my friends; and it brings the tears to my eyes; to think how great I was
  upon   that   last   day   of   my   soldier   life;   and   to   remember   that   of   all   the
  remarkable   exploits   which   have   won   me   the   love   of   so   many   beautiful
  women; and the respect of so many noble men; there was none which; in
  splendour;   in   audacity;   and   in   the   great   end   which   was   attained;   could
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  compare with my famous ride upon the night of June 18th; 1815。                         I am
  aware that the story is often told at mess…tables and in barrack…rooms; so
  that   there   are   few   in   the   army   who   have   not   heard   it;   but   modesty   has
  sealed   my   lips;   until   now;   my   friends;   in   the   privacy   of   these   intimate
  gatherings; I am inclined to lay the true facts before you。
  In the first place; there is one thing which I can assure you。               In all his
  career Napoleon never had so splendid an army as that with which he took
  the field for that campaign。          In 1813 France was exhausted。              For every
  veteran there were five childrenMarie Louises; as we called them; for the
  Empress had busied herself in raising levies while the Emperor took the
  field。    But   it   was   very   different   in   1815。 The   prisoners   had   all   come
  back the men from the snows of Russia; the men from the dungeons of
  Spain; the men from the hulks in England。
  These were the dangerous men; veterans of twenty battles; longing for
  their old trade; and with hearts filled with hatred and revenge。                The ranks
  were   full   of   soldiers   who   wore   two   and   three   chevrons;   every   chevron
  meaning   five   years'   service。      And   the   spirit   of   these   men   was   terrible。
  They were raging; furious; fanatical; adoring the Emperor as a Mameluke
  does his prophet; ready to fall upon their own bayonets if their blood could
  serve   him。     If   you   had   seen   these   fierce   old   veterans   going   into   battle;
  with their flushed faces; their savage eyes; their furious yells; you would
  wonder that anything could stand against them。                So high was the spirit of
  France at that time that every other spirit would have quailed before it; but
  these   people;   these   English;   had   neither   spirit   nor   soul;   but   only   solid;
  immovable beef; against which we broke ourselves in vain。                     That was it;
  my friends!       On the one side; poetry; gallantry; self… sacrificeall that is
  beautiful and heroic。        On the other side; beef。        Our hopes; our ideals; our
  dreamsall were shattered on that terrible beef of Old England。
  You have read how the Emperor gathered his forces; and then how he
  and I; with a hundred and thirty thousand veterans; hurried to the northern
  frontier and fell upon the Prussians and the English。               On the 16th of June;
  Ney held the English in play at Quatre…Bras while we beat the Prussians at
  Ligny。     It is not for me to say how far I contributed to that victory; but it
  is well known that the Hussars of Conflans covered themselves with glory。
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  They fought well; these Prussians; and   eight thousand of them  were   left
  upon the field。      The Emperor thought that he had done with them; as he
  sent   Marshal   Grouchy   with   thirty…two   thousand   men   to   follow   them   up
  and to prevent their interfering with his plans。             Then with nearly eighty
  thousand men; he turned upon these 〃Goddam〃 Englishmen。                       How much
  we had to avenge upon them; we Frenchmenthe guineas of Pitt; the hulks
  of   Portsmouth;      the  invasion    of  Wellington;     the  perfidious    victories   of
  Nelson!      At last the day of punishment seemed to have arisen。
  Wellington had with him sixty…seven thousand men; but many of them
  were   known   to   be   Dutch   and   Belgian;   who   had   no   great   desire   to   fight
  against us。     Of good troops he had not fifty thousand。               Finding himself
  in the presence of the Emperor in person with eighty thousand men; this
  Englishman was so paralysed with fear that he could neither move himself
  nor his army。      You have seen the rabbit when the snake approaches。                  So
  stood   the   English   upon   the   ridge   of   Waterloo。     The   night   before;   the
  Emperor; who had lost an aide…de… camp at Ligny; ordered me to join his
  staff; and I had left my Hussars to the charge of Major Victor。               I know not
  which of us was the most grieved; they or I; that I should be called away
  upon the eve of battle; but an order is an order; and a good soldier can but
  shrug his shoulders and obey。           With the Emperor I rode across the front
  of   the   enemy's   position   on   the   morning   of   the   18th;   he   looking   at   them
  through his glass and planning which was the shortest way to destroy them。
  Soult was at his elbow; and Ney and Foy and others who had fought the
  English   in   Portugal   and   Spain。    〃Have   a   care;   Sire;〃   said   Soult。 〃The
  English infantry is very solid。〃
  〃You think them good soldiers because they have beaten you;〃 said the
  Emperor;  and   we   younger   men   turned   away  our   faces   and   smiled。        But
  Ney   and   Foy   were   grave   and   serious。      All   the   time   the   English   line;
  chequered with red and blue and dotted with batteries; was drawn up silent
  and watchful within a long musket… shot of us。                On the other side of the
  shallow      valley    our   own    people;    having     finished    their   soup;    were
  assembling for the battle。         It had rained very heavily; but at this moment
  the sun shone out and beat upon the French army; turning our brigades of
  cavalry into so many dazzling rivers of steel; and twinkling and sparkling
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  on the innumerable bayonets of the infantry。             At the sight of that splendid
  army; and the beauty and majesty of its appearance; I could contain myself
  no longer; but; rising in my stirrups; I waved my busby and cried; 〃Vive
  l'Empereur!〃 a shout which growled and roared and clattered from one end
  of the line   to   the other;  while   the   horsemen waved their swords   and   the
  footmen held up their shakos upon their bayonets。               The English remained
  petrified upon their ridge。       They knew that their hour had come。
  And so it would have come if at that moment the word had been given
  and the whole army had been permitted to advance。                   We had but to fall
  upon them and to sweep them from the face of the earth。                 To put aside all
  question of courage; we were the more numerous; the older soldiers; and
  the better led。     But the Emperor desired to do all things in order; and he
  waited   until   the   ground   should   be   drier   and   harder;   so   that   his   artillery
  could manoeuvre。         So three hours were wasted; and it was eleven o'clock
  before   we   saw  Jerome   Buonaparte's   columns   advance   upon   our   left   and
  heard the crash of the guns which told that the battle had begun。               The loss
  of those three hours was our destruction。              The attack upon the left   was
  directed upon a farm…house which was held by the English Guards; and we
  heard   the   three   loud   shouts   of   apprehension   which   the   defenders   were
  compelled to utter。       They were still holding out; and D'Erlon's corps was
  advancing   upon   the   right   to   engage   another   portion   of   the   English   line;
  when our attention was called away from the battle b