And in summing up, after describing the "moral degradation" of the old
soldiers, he concludes: "Imagine what, in our modern society, can be a
soldier who re-enlists. He is a man who definitely bids adieu to family
affections, who desires simply a small, tranquil existence, regular,
well secured. This man is most decidedly a mediocre. Perhaps he may
render some service to the _bleus_; but he cannot be offered to them as
a model nor as a guide."
It is to be said, however, that not all the pictures drawn of this life
in the caserne are as gloomy as these. On this subject there is indeed
abundant information. Notwithstanding the respectable number of
exceptions provided by the more or less merciful various laws of
conscription,--the eldest of a family of orphans, the only brother of
six sisters, the eldest of a family of seven children, the elder of two
brothers drawn at one time or the younger brother of one actually doing
service,--the experience of the class of the _bleus_, as the raw
recruits are called, is sufficiently common among French citizens of
very varying classes of society. Naturally, the gentlemen find this very
democratic experience more trying than do the peasants and the bumpkins.
Every visitor to Paris who has passed the inoffensive looking and very
youthful infantry sentinels on duty, or seen their comrades crowding in
the open windows of the great, bare barracks, has experienced some
desire to know something of the interior life of these great military
warehouses. Our illustrations may serve to suggest many of the more
picturesque and, so to speak, domestic of these minor incidents, and one
of the most cheerful of the scribes who have participated in them, M.
Henri de Noussanne, can give us further information. His experience lay
in the daily life of an infantry soldier, but the general lines are the
same for all arms of the service.
Unfortunately, to begin with, as there is always a possibility of war
with the return of the swallows, the usage has been established of
summoning to the colors the neophytes in the month of November. The
rigors of the wintry season are thus added to those inherent in the
rudiments of military discipline. Consequently, and as the State
provides her budding warriors with but one handkerchief, two pairs of
gloves, and no stockings, M. de Noussanne earnestly counsels the mothers
and sisters to furnish these young men with thick underclothing and warm
woollen stockings. Behold them finally enrolled in "the grand class, the
real class, the most sympathetic of classes, that of the _bleus_,"
parading the streets, escorted by parents and relatives in tears and by
joyous and unsympathetic urchins! At the sight of the great caserne
which yawns to swallow them, their respect for authority becomes
definite and concrete; otherwise, their ideas are like their marching,
much bewildered. Once entered, the _anciens_ take them in hand,
_tutoying_ them fraternally: "Thou, thou art my bleu.... Don't be
afraid.... No one will _mistouffle_ thee.... I will fix thy affairs."
They even show them maternally how best to tuck themselves in their
narrow beds; and the regulations no longer permit hazing of any kind. So
that the first night is apt to be one of the repose that follows various
and conflicting emotions.
The _réveil_ sounds at six o'clock. The great operation of shedding
citizens' garments and assuming the uniform is at hand, and is one of
the most amusing in the life of the caserne. The captain of the company
oversees it with the utmost care. "He has to verify everything, see
everything. In the exact terms of the regulations, he is the father of
the company. His _rôle_ is of capital importance. No detail of the
instruction, of the _tenue_, of the discipline, should escape him. Two
hundred men are confided to his care, for whom he is responsible to the
colonel and the _chef de bataillon_, who, to reward or to punish, govern
themselves by his notes. At every moment he is called upon to dispense
justice, for in a family of two hundred members the conflicts are
frequent. He can inflict only two weeks in the _salle de police_, or a
week in prison, but his decrees are brought to the knowledge of the
superior authority, which takes upon itself to increase their severity.
[Illustration: THE FRENCH ARMY OF TO-DAY. ARRIVAL OF A RICH CONSCRIPT.]
"The captain is not only a judge, a father, an instructor, he is also
an administrator. To his paternal duties are added maternal ones. The
nourishment, the clothing, and the care of the men depend upon him.
Certain funds are allowed him which he uses at his discretion. The
material and moral comfort of a company depend absolutely upon the skill
and the character of its captain, who is seconded in his delicate
functions by the lieutenant, the sous-lieutenant, the sous-officiers,
and the corporals. The _perfectionnement_ of the whole of this
organization concerns him. The captain is, in a word, the keystone of
the vault of the military edifice. Everything depends upon him. It is
not then surprising that the smallest details interest him. It is
specially on the occasion of the arrival of the _bleus_ that he
multiplies himself.
"I was very much surprised, on arriving at the regiment, at the
attention which the commander of the company gave to the selection of
the shoes. At every moment he could be heard exclaiming;
"'_Chaussez-vous large, chaussez-vous long_ [get your shoes long and
wide]!'
"When we were shod, he passed us in review, causing all our foot-gear to
be felt by a sergeant kneeling to assure himself that they were of a
sufficient length, and this is the little speech with which he gratified
us:
"'My children, there are no good soldiers without good shoes. All the
strength of Samson lay in his hair, all the strength of the foot-soldier
is in his shoes. Never forget my principle: _Chaussez-vous large,
chaussez-vous long!... Rompez!_'"
_Rompez_ signifies: Be off! scatter! clear out!
Then comes the initiation into the mysteries of the _paquetage_, the
arrangement of the soldier's few effects, the regulation method of
folding and disposing and hanging up, each on its peculiar hook. One of
the first lessons in the _Code militaire_ is that of the salute, and the
language of the corporals is energetic in proportion to the dulness of
the recruit. "Salute in three times.... Attention, Fouillon, listen to
what I am saying to you!... You throw out the right arm, the hand flat,
open, and the fingers together.--_Un!_ ... Mark time, animal!" (Fouillon
begins again; it is better, the corporal continues): "You carry the hand
up straight as high as the button on the right side of the peak of your
cap.--_Deux!_" (Here, a horrible roar): "Lift your elbow!..." (Fouillon,
terrified, menaces the sky with an obedient elbow.) "_Trois_: you turn
your head toward the superior officer whom you are saluting and throw
the hand back quickly into position six paces after having passed
him.--_Trois!_ ... Go, now, and defile before the lieutenant and try a
little to commence the salute six paces in advance, without marching as
if you had a broomstick in your back!"
One of the favorite of the many jokes on the new recruit turns on the
zeal with which, after he has mastered this lesson, he salutes
everything in the street that has the slightest appearance of an
officer, even the sergents de ville and the many cocked hats worn by
municipal officials of various grades. There are various minute
regulations concerning this ceremony, it is always obligatory, but there
is a certain amount of elasticity provided to prevent its becoming
absurd, as in the case where the soldier encounters his officer every
few minutes, in a gallery of a museum, etc.
The young recruit is strongly advised not to let the pleasures of his
first sortie in the streets in all the splendor of his new uniform (duly
arranged with the regulation folds in the back by his particular
_ancien_) tempt him to prolong this promenade unduly. "Above all, no
_frasques_! One is young, and the sunny Sunday jacket sets a man off
admirably. Love beckons.... Take care! take care! The recall is sounded.
It is necessary to return at a double-quick. Ten minutes late, that is
four days in the _boîte_. If passion carries thee away, my poor Pitou,
and if, with thy _pays_ Dumanet, thou 'jumpest the wall' after recall,
that will be _la grosse_. It is not gay, my friend, _la grosse_. A
_demi-fourniture_, two soups, 'one of which without meat' and, for an
aperative and digestive, the _peloton de chasse_, three hours in the
morning, three hours in the afternoon, the knapsack charged according to
the regulations. B-r-r-r!
"Believe me, youth, no _fredaines_.... Thou wilt be caught!"
Other writers who might be cited, more definite and unsparing in their
details, give unquotable descriptions of the nights in the _chambrée_,
or great dormitories, the uncouth associates, the language, the manners,
the practical jokes, the quarrels, the hideous lack of ventilation at
night and the rancid odor of so many imperfectly washed bodies, cheap
tobacco, and soiled linen. Even M. de Noussanne is obliged to omit the
termination of one of his recitals of the amusements of the caserne:
"No; it is better to slide over this passage. The nude is difficult to
paint. This is a pity; it plays a very important _rôle_ in the
facetiousness of the caserne. Would you have another example?
"The evening call has sounded; the sous-officiers are at mess or
outside, and the men are preparing to go to sleep. All at once,
charivari in the adjoining chambrée! The door opens, and two _lapins_,
clothed only in a sack ... on the back, enter, rifle in hand, fixed
bayonet, and in this picturesque costume parade round the room, leaping,
cavorting, howling, whilst their comrades roll in delicious enjoyment
of the joke." And he adds: "You amuse yourself the best way you can in
the regiment; for, it is only justice to say for it, the military
authority does nothing to render the caserne agreeable to the soldier.
"Whenever there is an officer who, having a care for the private comfort
of his men, looks after them outside of the service regulations and
brings himself in contact with them, he very quickly becomes a target
for the jests of his obliging little comrades who leave the club of the
_Caricature_ or the _Annuaire_ only to go and swing censers before
'Madame la Présidente,' who has a mania for match-making.
"Even if this officer be the commander of a corps d'armée, the whole of
France will badger him if he lays himself open ever so little to
criticism. Nevertheless, if it be true that everything is becoming
ameliorated and humanized, what is there surprising in the supposition
that the army should become less rude, since it declares itself better
instructed? But no: routine rules, and no minister concerns himself to
enliven the life in the caserne.
"How simple it would be to put at the disposition of the men games of
skittles, of bowls, of _crocket_, to organize in bad weather amusing and
instructive entertainments with magic-lantern slides and dramatic
spectacles. Actors, musicians, singers, they are all to be had.... But
it is the business of the officers to organize everything, to conduct
everything. Now, our officers think their duties ended when, at five
o'clock, they leave the caserne."
[Illustration: THREE-YEAR MEN IN BARRACKS. A GOOD JOKE.