Page 600 - les-miserables

CHAPTER XIX

THE BATTLE-FIELD

AT NIGHT

Let us return—it is a necessity in this book—to that fatal
battle-field.
On the 18th of June the moon was full. Its light favored
Blucher’s ferocious pursuit, betrayed the traces of the fugi-
tives, delivered up that disastrous mass to the eager Prussian
cavalry, and aided the massacre. Such tragic favors of the
night do occur sometimes during catastrophes.
After the last cannon-shot had been fired, the plain of
Mont-Saint-Jean remained deserted.
The English occupied the encampment of the French; it
is the usual sign of victory to sleep in the bed of the van-
quished. They established their bivouac beyond Rossomme.
The Prussians, let loose on the retreating rout, pushed for-
ward. Wellington went to the village of Waterloo to draw up
his report to Lord Bathurst.
If ever the sic vos non vobis was applicable, it certainly
is to that village of Waterloo. Waterloo took no part, and
lay half a league from the scene of action. Mont-Saint-Jean

600 Les Miserables