On the Road from Waterloo to Paris, 1863 by Marcus Stone

On the Road from Waterloo to Paris, 1863 by Marcus Stone

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Stone provided a description of his work in 1912.

After the disastrous defeat of Waterloo, Napoleon with a small escort fled to Paris. Resting for a brief space, he has entered a cottage, and is brooding by the fire. General Bertrand is drying the Emperor's coat, while a group of peasants stand aloof and gaze with awe and sympathy at their fallen idol - a young mother with a baby in her arms, a little girl and boy, a young widow, and an old soldier with an empty sleeve. There is an absence of men of fighting age, who have been drawn away for service in the campaign. A statuette of the Emperor on the chimney shelf, and a print of him in his coronation robes on the wall, accentuate the lost glory, which is further emphasised by the drizzling rain outside, where the villagers are to be seen questioning the escort.