occupied Chartres, was advancing on us at double
marching time. Our task was to block its way, to
throw it back as far as the walls of Paris, where the
valiant Ducrot was only waiting for our arrival to
sally out and clean the land of all invaders at one
sweep. The general recalled the victories of the
Revolution, the Egypt expedition, Austerlitz, Borodino. He expressed the faith that we would show ourselves worthy of our glorious ancestors of Sambre-et-Meuse. In view of that he gave precise strategic
instructions for the defense of the country, namely: to
establish an impregnable barrier to the eastern entrance to the town and another still more impregnable barrier upon the road of Chartres, to fortify the walls of the cemetery at the crossroad, to fell as many trees as possible in the nearby forest so that the enemy
cavalry and even infantry should be unable to turn our
flank from Senonches under the cover of the woods,
to be on the lookout for spies, and finally to keep our
eyes open. . . . The country was counting on us. . . .
Long live the Republic!
The cheer was not responded to. The little lieutenant who was walking around, his arms crossed on his back, his eyes obstinately fixed on the point of his boot, did not raise his head. We looked at one another perplexed, with a sort of anguish in our hearts, which came as a result of our knowledge that the Prussians were very near, that war was going to begin for us in earnest the very next day, today perhaps. And I had a sudden vision of Death, red Death standing on a chariot, drawn by rearing horses, which was sweeping down on us, brandishing his scythe. As long as the actual fighting was only a remote possibility we wanted to be in it, first for reasons of patriotism, enthusiasm, then out of mere braggadocio, later because we were nervously exhausted and wearisome
