first line of houses.... Then, old chap, our lieutenant rushed
forward.... You should have seen them scuttle...."

I was delighted to see that the _moral_ of those fine fellows didn't
seem in the least affected. To hear them you would have thought the
Germans had been driven back at all points.

I got a porter to tell me where the military commissary was. He
pointed out an Artillery lieutenant, in a cap with a white band,
talking to a group of officers. I introduced myself, and asked him if
he knew anything about the state of affairs. Like everybody else, he
could only give me very vague information. "However," he added, "I can
confirm what you have heard about G. The First Corps has just retaken
the town, which was defended by the Prussian Guard. It appears that
our fellows were wonderful, and that the enemy has suffered enormous
losses. However"--the lieutenant's voice trembled slightly, and the
shrug of his shoulders betrayed his despair--"I have orders to
evacuate the station, with all my men and my papers, so soon as the
last train has been unloaded. I am to fall back towards L. How is one
to understand what all this means?"

We looked at each other, without a word. Everybody felt dejected and
doubtful. Not to understand!... To have to obey without understanding
why! It was the first time I had really felt the grandeur of military
service. You must have a soul stoutly tempered to carry out an
order--no matter what, even if that order seems incomprehensible to
you. There must have been in that corner of France, on the edge of
that frontier which we had sworn should never be violated--there must
have been thousands of officers, thousands of soldiers who would have
given their lives rather than yield up one inch of ground. Then why