one o'clock
Then the suspense became more breathless still ; it was to be no mere skirmish that the peaceful valley of the Aisne was to witness that day , but a great battle , in which would participate the entire army , that was even now turning its back upon the Meuse and marching southward ; and there was no making of soup , the men had to content themselves with coffee and hard-tack , for everyone was saying , without troubling himself to ask why , that the `` wipe of the dish-clout '' was set down for midday . An aide-de-camp had been dispatched to the marshal to urge him to hurry forward their supports , as intelligence received from every quarter made it more and more certain that the two Prussian armies were close at hand , and three hours later still another officer galloped off like mad toward Chene , where general headquarters were located , with a request for instructions , for consternation had risen to a higher pitch then ever with the receipt of fresh tidings from the _ maire _ of a country commune , who told of having seen a hundred thousand men at Grand-Pre , while another hundred thousand were advancing by way of Buzancy . Midday came , and not a sign of the Prussians . At one o'clock , at two , it was the same , and a reaction of lassitude and doubt began to prevail among the troops . Derisive jeers were heard at the expense of the generals : perhaps they had seen their shadow on the wall ; they should be presented with a pair of spectacles . A pretty set of humbugs they were , to have caused all that trouble for nothing ! A fellow who passed for a wit among his comrades shouted : `` It is like it was down there at Mulhausen , eh ? ''