Atlantida by Pierre Benoit
page 30 of 293 (10%)
page 30 of 293 (10%)
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straining for the sensation, in this new atmosphere, of the kiss of
the outlying desert. "About midnight, at the Camp of the Zouaves, a humble post on the road embankment, overlooking a dry valley whence rose the feverish perfume of oleander, we changed horses. They had there a troop of convicts and impressed laborers, under escort of riflemen and convoys to the quarries in the South. In part, rogues in uniform, from the jails of Algiers and Douara,--without arms, of course; the others civilians--such civilians! this year's recruits, the young bullies of the Chapelle and the Goutte-d'Or. "They left before we did. Then the diligence caught up with them. From a distance I saw in a pool of moonlight on the yellow road the black irregular mass of the convoy. Then I heard a weary dirge; the wretches were singing. One, in a sad and gutteral voice, gave the couplet, which trailed dismally through the depths of the blue ravines: "'_Maintenant qu'elle est grande, Elle fait le trottoir, Avec ceux de la bande A Richard-Lenoir_.' "And the others took up in chorus the horrible refrain: "'_A la Bastille, a la Bastille, On aime bien, on aime bien Nini Peau d'Chien; Elle est si belle et si gentille A la Bastille_' |
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