Still the French do not succumb. Napoleon sends his picked troops, the Imperial Guard, against the British; marching resolutely against the enemy in the tide of universal retreat, it is mowed down rank by rank. Ultimately the whole Guard is destroyed: "Not one man misses his appointment with suicide." After this, panic is complete, and the French army turns into a disorganized mob that sweeps over the countryside pursued by Blucher's troops, who give no quarter.
One incident remains to be told, unimportant to the course of history, but illustrative of man's undying spirit. At the end of the battle, an obscure officer named Cambronne is one of the few men still resisting. To the British exhortations to surrender, he answers with one eloquently obscene word.
After the French defeat, the field is abandoned to the scavengers. Among the most industrious we find a certain Thénardier, who methodically proceeds to strip the dead. Suddenly a hand grabs him from behind. It is a dying officer clutching him for help. Calmly Thénardier removes him from the cadavers and pockets his valuables. The officer, a man called Pontmercy, ironically believes Thénardier has saved his life and, asking his name, says he will never forget him.
