Upon the opposite side of the valley there was a similar rise, and on this was the French position.  Nearly in the center of this stood the farm called La Belle Alliance, close to which Napoleon took up his stand during the battle.  Behind the British position the ground fell away and then rose again gently to a crest, on which stood the villages of Waterloo and Mount St. Jean.  The great forest of Soignies extended to this point, so that if obliged to fall back Wellington had in his rear a position as defensible as that which he now occupied.

The allies were arranged in the following order:  On the extreme left were Vandeleur’s and Vivian’s light cavalry brigades.  Then came Picton’s division, the first line being composed of Hanoverians, Dutch, and Belgians, with Pack’s British brigade, which had suffered so severely in Quatre Bras, in its rear, and Kempt’s brigade extending to the Charleroi road.  Alten’s division was on the right of Picton’s.  Its second brigade, close to the road, consisted of the First and Second light battalions of the German legion, and the Sixth and Eighth battalions of the line.  The Second German battalion was stationed in the farm of La Haye Sainte.  Next to these came a Hanoverian brigade, on the right of whom were Halket’s British brigade.  On the extreme right was Cooke’s division, consisting of two brigades of the guards, having with them a Nassau regiment, and two companies of Hanoverian riflemen.

Behind the infantry line lay the cavalry.  In reserve were a brigade of the fourth division, the whole of the second division, and the Brunswickers, Dutch, and Belgians.  The artillery were placed at intervals between the infantry, and on various commanding points along the ridge.

The duke had expected to be attacked early, as it was of the utmost importance to Napoleon to crush the British before the Prussians could come up; but the rain, which began to hold up as daylight appeared, had so soddened the deep soil that Napoleon thought that his cavalry, upon whom he greatly depended, would not be able to act, and he therefore lost many precious hours before he set his troops in motion.

From the British position the heavy masses of French troops could be seen moving on the opposite heights to get into the position assigned to them; for it was scarcely a mile from the crest of one slope to that of the other.

In point of numbers the armies were not ill-matched.  Wellington had forty-nine thousand six hundred and eight infantry twelve thousand four hundred and two cavalry, five thousand six hundred and forty-five artillerymen, and one hundred and fifty-six guns.  Napoleon, who had detached Grouchy with his division in pursuit of the Prussians, had with him forty-eight thousand nine hundred and fifty infantry, fifteen thousand seven hundred and sixty-five cavalry, seven thousand two hundred and thirty-two artillerymen, and two hundred and forty-six guns.  He had, therefore,