"
"'Which will Blucher do, do you think, general?" the colonel asked.
"'He sends word that he shall fight where he is; and in that case, if
Napoleon throws his whole force on him, he is nearly certain to be
beaten, and then we shall have Napoleon on us the next day."
"And now, Conway, I think it better to get a few hours' sleep if we
can; for to-morrow will be a heavy day for us, unless I am mistaken."
It was some time before Ralph slept, but when he did so he slept
soundly, waking up with a start as the sound of a bugle rang out in
the night air. It was taken up by the bugles of the whole division,
and Brussels, which had but an hour before echoed with the sound of
the carriages returning from the ball, woke with a start.
With the sound of the bugle was mingled that of the Highland pipes,
and in a few minutes the streets swarmed with the soldiers; for there
was scarce a house but had either officers or men quartered in it. The
upper windows were thrown up and the inhabitants inquired the cause of
the uproar, and soon the whole population were in the streets. There
was no delay. The soldiers had packed their knapsacks before lying
down to sleep, and in a quarter of an hour from the sound of a bugle
the regiments were forming up in the park. They were surrounded by an
anxious crowd. Weeping women were embracing their husbands and lovers;
the inhabitants looked pale and scared, and the wildest rumors were
already circulating among them; mounted officers dashed to and fro,
bugles kept on sounding the assembly; and the heavy rumble of guns was
heard as the artillery came up and took up their appointed position.
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