When I returned to my room the Corporal told me to follow him, as I
had to undergo another medical inspection. Two other _Volontaires_
who had been drafted into my squadron accompanied us; one of them
evidently belonged to the middle classes, but the other looked a mere
farm hand; he was, indeed, the son of a small farmer who had made great
sacrifices to give his son a good education, and the boy, brought up in
a Government school, had managed to get his B.A. degree, and his people
had with difficulty scraped together the £60 necessary for obtaining
the privilege of serving for one year only. The fact of the poor boy
having been foolish enough to elect to serve in the cavalry can only
be ascribed to his ignorance, as he lacked sufficient means for this
branch of the service, and a bad time of it he had, poor fellow.
"I say," the Corporal said to me confidentially, "that chap is a nice
sort of _Volontaire_: fancy--he said that he'd be blowed if he was
going to pay eight bob a week to get a trooper to fag for him, and he's
only given two bob for us to drink his health with, and not a brass
farthing to me, his Corporal. Ain't I going to set him to work he won't
relish!"
I took the hint and promptly handed the Corporal a ten-franc piece.
"Oh, I didn't mean that as a hint, of course," he said, pocketing
the money, "but I know you're quite the gentleman, and the right
sort too, and besides, you're a friend of Sergeant de Lanoy, a real
live Count, and the best of fellows into the bargain. I say you,
what's-your-name," the Corporal went on, addressing the country
bumpkin, "that's the canteen, what are you going to stand us?"
"Oh," replied the poor fellow blushing, "I thought we were going to the
medical inspection?"
"Yes, of course we are," replied the Corporal, "but I can see that the
Surgeon-major hasn't turned up yet, so we've got lots of time."
Taking pity on the poor fellow, I invited the Corporal and my two
comrades to accompany me to the canteen, where we each had a cup of
coffee, or rather chicory, with a glass of brandy, a refreshment which
cost six pence for the four of us. The third _Volontaire_ insisted upon
standing another drink, and then we hastened to the dispensary. There
we were told to wait in a large, bare ante-room, and Walter, whom I had
not seen since the morning, joined us. "A queer lot," he said, looking
at our companions (there were fourteen of us, all told). One of them
especially attracted our attraction, for he had a huge moustache and
was apparently a man of thirty. Half a dozen at most looked gentlemen,
while the others were, to say the least, commonplace. Few of us felt
inclined to be communicative, and when the Surgeon-major turned up
he found us gazing at each other in silence. The Surgeon-major was a
short, active, sharp-spoken man, and having entered his office he sent
the Corporal in charge of the dispensary to order us to strip. Once
more we were measured, felt, and thoroughly examined, all of us with
one exception being passed as sound in wind and limb. The only one who
failed to pass was rejected for short-sight, and ultimately invalided
by the "_réforme_" commission. Our respective Corporals then took us
back to our rooms, mine choosing a route through the canteen, where he
insisted upon treating us--with the money I had given him--and he was
half-seas-over before we left.
On our return to the room we found the Sergeant _fourrier_ awaiting
us, and he at once took us to the store, where we were to receive our
outfit. The store consisted of a long apartment, along the centre
of which rows of shelves ran, reaching from floor to ceiling; on
these were classified, according to size, every conceivable article
of regimental outfit, each department being under the charge of a
skilled regimental Sergeant--a Sergeant tailor, a Sergeant bootmaker, a
saddler, and a Sergeant storekeeper. We were first sent to the tailor.
When my turn came he cast a glance over me, took from a shelf two pairs
of trousers, two tunics, and one morning jacket. A Corporal showed us
how to put them on according to regulations. The trousers are made of
red felt, the seat and inside of the legs being of double thickness,
that is to say, fully one inch thick; from the knee downwards they
were covered with soft but thick leather, with straps to fix under the
boots. When I first held them in front of me they nearly reached to my
chin, but the Corporal said that they would be all right. I therefore
got into them, but when I pulled my braces as tight as they would go,
the trousers reached my armpits, and were so broad and so stiff that
I could only walk with legs apart, to say nothing of their weight,
which amounted to a good many pounds. I next got into my tunic, but the
sleeves were so long that they reached the middle of my hand, while
the collar was several inches too large for me. Under the collar of
the tunic we had to fasten twice round our necks a blue cotton tie,
two inches broad, fastened in a single knot in front. The tunic, a
blue one, had a white collar with the regimental number in red figures
embroidered on a blue background. A white strap was also affixed to
the outside of the cuffs of the sleeves. The Corporal having examined
me, ordered me to go to the bootmaker's department, in another part of
the stores. "When you have been fitted with boots," he said, as I was
walking off, "you must return to the tailor, who will send you to be
inspected by the Captain."
When I reached the bootmaker's special corner, I found him cursing
furiously because he could not fit one of my comrades. "Ah ces nom de
Dieu de ---- d'volontaires faudrait leur y faire des bottes expres.
Ah malheur de Dieu vrai!" At last he seemed to have succeeded and
called me forward in turn. Having told me to take off one of my boots
he looked at it: "Encore un d'ces malheurs de Dieu qu'a des pieds
qu'ça fait suer," he exclaimed. "I shall never find boots for you," he
went on, "why have you got a long narrow foot like that? Damnation!
damnation!" he kept repeating as he went to look through his stock.
I must mention here that only four sizes of boots are kept in stock;
they all are square-toed and immensely broad; the heels are nearly
two inches high, with spurs nailed on to them. The top of the boot is
made of a soft piece of leather on which two leather tags are sewn,
the boot itself reaching half way up the calf of the leg. Most French
soldiers are, I suppose, flat-footed. At any rate every boot presented
to me was so low in the instep that I could not find a single pair in
which I could insert my feet, until, at last, the assistant bootmaker
triumphantly produced a pair about two inches too long and an inch
too broad for me, explaining that if I put sufficient straw inside
them they would fit all right. Finally, I had to pull down the leather
portion of my trousers over the boots, not forgetting to fasten the
under straps which alone prevented the boots from dropping off my feet.
I hobbled as well as I could towards the tailor; he turned me round
admiringly.
"It's all right," he said, "go and show yourself to the Captain."
My boots, as I have just said, were only held on my feet by the straps
under them, and at every step my spurs caught in the heavy leather
coverings of my trousers, but at last I managed to reach the Captain.
He ordered me to unbutton my tunic, and looking at my elephantine
trousers: "What's that?" he cried; "put your braces lower," and
artistically creasing my trousers from top to bottom, he stepped back
a few feet, and having had a good look at me: "They're too short," he
said, "go and get another pair from the tailor." As I was hobbling away
he called me back. "What are those boots you've got on? They are too
big for you. Are you such an idiot that you can't feel they are too
big?"
"Yes, sir," I replied, "but----"
"But!" he exclaimed, "now look here, my boy, please understand that we
don't allow remarks of any kind in the army. Go and get another pair of
boots and trousers, and look sharp about it."
I stumbled back towards the bootmaker. "The Captain says," I began,
"that these boots are too large for me and that you must find me
another pair."
"Ah, these d----d _Volontaires_, what a lot of trouble they give us!"
sighed the bootmaker. After looking through all his stock he chucked
three more pairs at me. In vain I tried to get into them, and called
the bootmaker to show him that none of them would fit me. "Why the
deuce don't you take off your socks, socks aren't regulation," he
angrily retorted. Notwithstanding my protests, I had to take them
off. At last I managed to get one foot inside a boot, but the other,
notwithstanding the efforts of two strong men, resisted. "All right,"
said the bootmaker, "I'll stretch it a bit later on."
So with only one boot on I hobbled to the tailor. "The Captain says my
trousers are too short," I told him.
"Oh, I'll soon put them to rights," he answered. Having pulled my
braces lower down he thereupon proceeded to crease the leather at the
bottom of the trousers. "Now go back to the Captain," he said.
When I once more appeared before that officer he looked at me in utter
disgust. "Why have you only got one boot on? Bootmaker," he shouted,
without leaving me time to reply, "can't you find a pair of boots for
this man?"
"No, sir," replied the bootmaker, who had hurried up at the officer's
command, "he's got an instep like I've never seen."
"What business has a cripple like you in my squadron?" angrily remarked
the Captain.
"But, sir----" I began.
"Shut up," he howled; "if you answer me again I'll send you straight
off to the cells!" and without looking at my trousers, he angrily told
me to put on my tunic, which I had removed at his orders. I did so, and
was then ordered to fold my arm over my chest. "What's that?" said the
Captain; "how dare you come and show me such a tunic? Are you such a
fool as not to see for yourself it's too small?"
Warned by previous experience I made no reply, and returned limping
with my single boot to the tailor. I explained to him that the Captain
found my tunic too small.
"All right," he said, "I'll soon make it larger." He pulled it about
a little and sent me back to the Captain, who once more ordered me to
fold my right arm over my chest.
"Sleeves too long, go and change," he said brusquely.
I returned to the tailor and explained matters to him.
"Never mind, my boy," he said; "I'll make you one that will fit you,
it won't cost you much, and, of course, you have got money--you're a
_Volontaire_; now pull up your sleeve a bit and hold it tight under
your arm before the Captain looks at you."
I did so.
"Fold your arms," once more said the Captain, when I returned to him
for inspection. I followed the tailor's instruction. "It's too small,"
yelled the Captain, "go and change."
Without taking the trouble of doing this, I merely walked to where the
tailor stood, and came back with the same tunic, letting the sleeve
drop a little. This time, when the Captain examined me, he found it was
a perfect fit!
One aspect of the grotesque muddle I have just described is a very
serious one.
In the event of war breaking out between France and Germany, there is
absolutely no doubt that success would depend on the rapidity with
which troops could be mobilised in each country. While I was in the
regiment, I witnessed more than once the arrival of the men belonging
to the reserve. Although they are supposed to arrive with one suit of
uniform, which they must take home with them after performing their
act of service, their equipment has to be handed over to them, and the
process entails all the confusion and trouble which were incurred when
our own outfit had to be given out to us. In Germany things are very
differently managed; every man belonging to the reserve knows at what
barracks he will have to report himself, and every year the reserve
men are called together for a few hours, and shown where each man can
find his complete outfit. These are stored up in the following way:
Long rows of shelves are divided into a certain number of partitions,
each one of which contains the complete outfit of a private, every
article of clothing having been properly fitted to the wearer, so that
in case of mobilisation each soldier would know exactly where to go
for his outfit, and no time would be wasted in distribution, in trying
on uniforms and boots, and running from one department to the other.
The object of calling out the reserve men for a few hours yearly is to
teach them exactly where their outfit stands, and also to try on all
the garments with a view to making any alterations rendered desirable
by advancing years. In France, on the contrary, everything would be in
confusion, and the various services, instead of helping each other,
would lose valuable time in complicated red-tapeism.
But to proceed:
I went through the same ceremony with all the other clothes which
were handed over to me. My outfit consisted of two tunics, two pairs
of trousers, one short jacket for drill, one _képi_, and a helmet.
The latter is certainly the most comfortable head-gear in the French
army. It rests on the head by means of a broad leather band, the ends
of which are cut into strips tapering towards the centre, where they
are tied together so as to form a kind of skull-cap, which bears the
whole weight of the helmet. The latter affords a splendid protection
against the sun and rain. Although its weight is nearly double that of
the _shako_ used by the light cavalry, it does not cause any pressure
on the forehead or on the back of the head, as the latter invariably
does. Besides the above garments, we also received two pairs of boots,
two pairs of stable suits consisting of canvas trousers and blouse,
with a blue and white cap and a dark-blue great-coat with a huge cape.
Our regulation linen consisted of two shirts of the coarsest material,
two pairs of drawers of the same stuff, two towels, and, besides these,
two pairs of thick white leather gloves. (All soldiers being supposed
to have hands of the same size, the regulation gloves are invariably
"nines.") Socks form no part of the regulation outfit; the men usually
replace them by bits of rag, which are nicknamed "Russian socks." To
complete the list of our wearing apparel, I must mention an enormous
pair of wooden clogs for use in the stables, and a canvas bag into
which our outfit was shoved; having received this, we were told to
carry it on our shoulders to our rooms. We did not receive our arms
until the following day, when each of us was given a carbine and a
straight sword about four feet long, besides a small box of tools with
which to take the carbine to pieces. At the same time we received our
various trappings--a sword-belt with brass buckles, a sword-strap, a
carbine-strap, and a cartridge-box (which in my time was slung over
the shoulder and across the breast and back of the trooper). The next
day our saddlery and stable gear were served out to us. The saddles
then in use were still the discarded ones which had been bought
from the British Government in 1870. These saddles had a high and
straight wooden back, behind which the portmanteau was attached. This
portmanteau was round and made of blue cloth with a red grenade at each
end. Two holsters with miscellaneous straps, a leather bag containing
a spare iron, and an open cord-girth completed our saddle fittings.
The bridle was similar to that used in the English army, with bit and
snaffle so contrived that, by removing the straps holding the bit, the
head-stall remained on the horse, the snaffle being passed through the
rings of the head-stall. Our stable outfit consisted in a currycomb, a
soft brush, a hard brush, a chamois leather, a sponge, and a comb for
mane and tail, the whole being enclosed in a small canvas bag.
To return to my first day in the regiment. Having brought back all my
gear to the room, I was informed by the Corporal that all the things
would have to be marked with the number which had been assigned to
me. The clothes, linen, and all articles of wear I was supposed to
mark, myself, with stencils which could be obtained from the Sergeant
_fourrier_. I entrusted, however, the two men who had arranged to
clean my things with this tedious work, as I was, myself, most anxious
to get into the town. Of course I had to be in uniform. Full dress
had to be worn after noon. I therefore borrowed clothes, a helmet, a
sword, and even a pair of boots, from my two orderlies; and I received
instructions how to behave in the streets. I had to carry my sword in
my left hand, the hilt turned downwards and a few inches behind my
hip, the tip of the scabbard in front of me. In case I should meet any
Corporal, non-commissioned officer, or officer, whether they belonged
to my regiment or not, I was to salute them with the right hand, the
elbow lifted high in the air, two steps before reaching them, bringing
my hand down only when I had passed two steps beyond them. It was not
without difficulty that I managed to get down the stairs into the
barrack yard, and I found it still more difficult to walk about. The
enormous weight and width of my trousers, the looseness of the boots
which had been lent to me, their high heels and the spurs which caught
at every step in the leather coverings of my elephantine trousers, the
tightness of the tunic under the arms, and the wobbling of the helmet,
which was much too big for me, conspired to produce such a state of
discomfort and insecurity that I only managed to walk with legs apart
and arms held stiffly away from my body. I could hardly manage to
hold my sword with my No. 9 gloves, which were, moreover, as stiff as
a board; and I felt as awkward as a man who, for the first time in his
life, tries to walk across a tight-rope. I had just reached, with much
difficulty, the gate of the barracks, and was going to walk out, when a
stentorian voice proceeding from the guard-room suddenly stopped me.
"Hullo, you recruit, where are you going?" I looked over my shoulder
and saw the Sergeant of the Guard. I turned round, saluted, and nearly
lost my balance in doing so. "Come here, you booby!" shouted the
Sergeant. He examined me from head to foot. "Right about turn!" he then
said to me. It was easier said than done; but I was already walking off
when the Sergeant called me anew. "Where are you going?" he said.
"Well, Sergeant, I am going into the town."
"Oh, really, are you? Turn round first, I want to look at your back."
I turned and stood there for a minute or two. "Go back to your room,"
said the Sergeant at last.
"But, Sergeant," I replied, "I thought that we were allowed to go out."
"Go back to your room," he said, laughing, "and ask your Corporal why I
won't let you go out." Disconsolately I trudged back to the room. There
I was greeted with a roar of laughter from all the troopers.
"So," they exclaimed, "the Sergeant has sent you back?"
"Yes, but why?" All the men shouted with laughter. I confess that I
felt rather foolish.
"Come here, you recruit," good-naturedly said one of them at last,
"let me brush you." And so saying he vigorously applied a brush to my
back. It appears that before I went out one of the troopers had drawn
a huge chalk cross on my tunic. I then learnt that before leaving
barracks, every trooper must present himself before the Sergeant of the
Guard, who has to examine him, and see that he is properly groomed;
if anything is amiss in his uniform the Sergeant sends him back to
put himself straight. This, I may add, often leads to considerable
abuse of their power by certain Sergeants, for when one of them has a
grudge against a man he will send him back five or six times to his
room without telling him what he considers wrong in his attire--the
regulations in no way compelling the Sergeant to explain to the trooper
where he considers that the fault lies. I have seen a trooper sent back
in this way to his room no less than eight times running.
It was a pouring wet day, and when for the ninth time the Sergeant
ordered him to return the trooper implored him to tell him what was
wrong.
"You dirty pig," replied the Sergeant, "look at your boots, they are
covered with mud." The trooper, it must be mentioned, had to walk over
a hundred yards from his room across the courtyard before reaching the
gate, and irritated beyond measure by the injustice of the Sergeant,
he asked, in a sarcastic tone, whether he was expected to carry an
umbrella.
"If you like," added the man, "I'll go and fetch my brushes and brush
my boots here, and then perhaps you will be satisfied?" For that answer
the Sergeant gave the man four days' _Salle de Police_, stating in
his report as a reason for that punishment that "the trooper, after
presenting himself nine times before the Sergeant of the Guard in a
disgraceful state of filth, had grossly insulted the Sergeant who had
remonstrated with him." The trooper had often been punished before, and
held a bad record, so, upon reading the Sergeant's report, the Colonel
altered the punishment into thirty days' prison.
But to return to myself. When I appeared once more before the Sergeant
of the Guard, that non-commissioned officer, who was not a bad fellow
after all, laughed at the trick that had been played on me and allowed
me to go out.
I shall always remember that first outing. I never realised how
grotesque a figure I was cutting, until I met another _Volontaire_ in
the same plight as myself. I had, besides, been so terrified by the
warning I had received not to fail to salute Corporals, especially
of the infantry--as a feud always exists between infantry and
cavalry--that whenever I saw a soldier with a red woollen stripe on
his sleeve, I saluted at once. For this I was unmercifully chaffed by
some troopers of my squadron who happened to pass while I was solemnly
saluting an infantry man just adorned. They ultimately explained to me
that only men with two stripes held the rank of Corporal, while those
who had but a single stripe were merely first-class privates--_i.e._,
men drawing higher pay for good conduct. For my blunder I had to pay a
fine to my comrades, taking them to the nearest café to have a drink.
Although we were not allowed to have rooms in the town, most of the
_Volontaires_ had engaged lodgings before joining the regiment. As I
have already said, I had engaged a room at the Crown Hotel, and, as
every year the best set among the _Volontaires_ had been in the habit
of putting up there, special accommodation was reserved for them:
even a private dining-room was retained for us, and when I arrived
there that evening, I found six of my comrades having an appetiser
in our special room. They were all young men of good and well-known
families: besides Walter, of whom I have already spoken, there were
Cuffet, whose father had been a Cabinet Minister a few years before;
Pager de la Tasherie, whose father had been an Ambassador; Meix, now
the head of one of the largest engineering firms in France; de Nevers,
who succeeded, some years ago, to a dukedom, and a couple of others,
also of gentle birth. The greatest comfort we found at the hotel was
the possibility of getting a tub, for we soon discovered the absolute
lack of sanitary arrangements in our barracks. We had a pleasant dinner
that night, and having taken off our tight-fitting tunics, we almost
felt like civilised beings. We were, however, soon recalled to the
reality of our position by the rolling of drums and the sounding of
bugles. It was the tattoo. In every French garrison town, a quarter of
an hour before soldiers have to be in barracks, the trumpeters, and, if
there is an infantry regiment in the place, the buglers and drummers,
assemble in the principal square and thence march back to barracks
playing the _retraite_. We hurried over our coffee and returned to
barracks. For fear of being late we walked as fast as we could, but one
or two of us got entangled in our spurs or fell head over heels over
our swords.
I cannot possibly give an adequate idea of the horrible stench which
caught me by the throat when I opened the door of "my" room. Imagine
the odour of 80 human beings, 79 of which had not had a bath within
the last three months, add to that the emanations from 160 pairs of
boots which had been in use for an average of three years, sheets that
had not been changed for a month, and crown the mixture with a smell
of stables rising through the floor (our room stood over a stable
containing 100 horses), and you will perhaps be able to gather a faint
idea of what the place smelt like. Five minutes after the trumpeters
had returned to barracks the evening "call" took place. In the cavalry,
troopers are not called by their individual names in the evening; but
every trooper has either to stand at the foot of his bed in uniform if
he has been out, or in stable dress if he has not left barracks, or
else he can be in bed if he chooses. The Sergeant of the Week walks
through the room, each Corporal having to report with reference to
absent men, whether they are on guard, or stable duty, on leave, or
missing. When the Sergeant has been the round of a room, the men can
do what they like throughout the barracks until 10 P.M., when they
must all be in bed at the bugle call of "Lights out." In my time the
night call was at 8 P.M., but since General Boulanger was Minister
of War soldiers have been allowed to stop out until 9 P.M. After the
evening call we changed our clothes and the _Volontaires_ collected
in the canteen. This consisted of a large room, 30 feet by 20; a long
table stood in the middle of it, with smaller tables on each side,
forms running alongside of each. A kitchen opened on to this room,
and the place was crowded. If the smell of our living-rooms was bad,
the smell of the canteen was equally so: burnt fat, onions, garlic,
wine, and bad tobacco furnished its chief components. A large number
of men, and almost every Corporal of the various squadrons in which
the _Volontaires_ were serving, were collected in the canteen in the
hope--which was not deceived--of getting drinks from us. They chiefly
appreciated red wine, which was sold at fivepence and sixpence a quart,
superior wine fetching eightpence a quart. Brandy could be had at a
halfpenny a glass, or 1_s._ 2_d._ the quart. These prices left a very
good margin of profit to the canteen-keeper, as all wines and spirits
sold in French barracks are exempt from excise duty. A table had been
reserved for us, and there the fourteen _Volontaires_ who were serving
that year met in the evening.
That night our chief topic of discussion related to the _Bienvenue_
(welcome), a canteen banquet offered by the _Volontaires_ to the men
and Corporals of their respective _pelotons_. It was at length settled
that this should take place on the following Friday.
At ten o'clock, when the trumpeters sounded "Lights out," we returned
to our respective rooms, and for the first time I was taught how to get
into a military bed. To do this properly is a fine art. The bed, as I
have already mentioned, was about two feet eight inches broad, and to
guard against its occupant tumbling out blankets and sheets are tightly
tucked under the straw mattress. In order to get in you have therefore
to stand at the head of your bed, and to gently pull yourself inside
as if you were getting into a bag. I got halfway down satisfactorily,
but then, notwithstanding my efforts, I was unable to make further
progress. Suspecting that a practical joke had been played on me, I
got out of bed, and soon found that it had been prepared apple-pie
fashion. While I was examining my bed, I heard, not far from me, a
tremendous noise, and saw the bed of one of my comrades rolling bodily
on the floor. This is another favourite trick played on recruits, and
easily accomplished. The bed consisting of three boards perched on two
iron trestles, by pulling sharply the trestle which stands under the
foot of the bed, the whole of it can be precipitated forward; while
the sleeper, thus suddenly aroused, is further terrified by seeing the
Corporal (who usually is a party to the joke) near him, threatening
to send him to the cells for kicking up a row. In the present case
the sufferer was the impecunious _Volontaire_ whom I have already
mentioned. The poor fellow had to make his bed anew in the dark--no
easy matter.
[Illustration: DRAGOON SITTING ON HIS BED EATING FROM MESS-TIN]
So far as I was concerned, I turned my attention to one of the troopers
who had undertaken to look after me. He was a Parisian, a former street
arab, and I suspected him of having prepared an apple-pie bed in order
to have a laugh at me. He pretended to be fast asleep, although I
called him two or three times; but I struck a match and caught him
grinning. In order therefore to make him heed me, I went to the foot of
his bed and, seizing the iron trestle, determined to bring the whole
affair to the floor if he did not get up. This soon aroused him.
"Look here, old chap," he exclaimed, "you don't try any of these 'ere
jokes on your seniors, or else you'll smart for it."
"Well, Titi," I replied, "you've got to make my bed over again, so,
after all, the joke you wanted to play on me has been wasted, for it
only gives you extra trouble."
At first he declined to touch my things, but, as I warned him that if
he didn't do it he'd never get another tip from me, he reluctantly set
to work. It took me a pretty long time to go to sleep that night; my
neighbour snored like a pug dog, and a goodly number of the eighty men
who slept in the same room as myself, besides snoring, emitted such an
atrocious effluvium that I did not feel able to go to sleep. It takes
some time, too, to get accustomed to the noise of stables, and I could
hear quite distinctly the chargers below constantly kicking their
stalls; at last, however, I dropped to sleep from sheer exhaustion.