noon before
Before dawn , however , we were on the march towards Chaumière , whither the army was directed , and the Emperor himself then stationed . It was the 1st of February , and the weather was dark , lowering , and gloomy . A cold wind drove the snowdrift in fitful gusts before it , and the deep roads made our progress slow and difficult . As our line of advance , however , was not that by which the other divisions were marching , it was already past noon before we knew that the enemy was but three leagues distant . On advancing farther , we heard the faint sounds of a cannonade ; and then they grew louder and louder , till the whole air seemed tremulous with the concussion . `` A heavy fire , Colonel , '' said a veteran officer of the regiment . `` I should guess there are not less than eighty or a hundred guns engaged . ''