eight o'clock
Very near us was the little village Catelineau , and in the distance on our left , between the wood and the river , lay the village of Gilly . The sound of musketry , cannon , and platoon firing , was heard constantly in that direction . The news soon came that the Emperor had driven the Prussians out of Charleroi , and that they had re-formed in squares at the corner of the wood . We expected every moment to be ordered to cut off their retreat , but between seven and eight o'clock , the sound of musketry ceased , the Prussians retired to Fleurus , after having lost one of their squares ; and the others escaped into the wood . We saw two regiments of dragoons arrive and take up their position at our right , along the bank of the Sambre . There was a rumor a few minutes afterward that General Le Tort had been killed by a ball in the abdomen , very near the place where in his youth he had watched and tended the cattle of a farmer . What strange things happen in life !