about ten o'clock
must be exterminated , and others , that we were given up _ en masse _ , and several declared that the marshals were traitors , and ought to be court-martialed and shot . At last the commandant ordered a halt , and riding down the line he told the men , that the traitors had left too late to do mischief , that we would make the attack that very day , and that the enemy would not have time to profit by the treason , and that he would be surprised and overwhelmed . This calmed the fury of a great proportion of the men , and we resumed our march , and all along the route , we heard repeatedly that the exposure of our plans had been made too late . But our anger gave place to joy , when about ten o'clock we heard the thunder of cannon five or six leagues to the left , on the other side of the Sambre . The men raised their shakos on their bayonets and shouted : `` Forward ! Vive l'Empereur ! '' Many of the old soldiers wept , and over all that great plain there was one immense shout ; when one regiment had ceased another took it up .