young man, exceedingly thin and blond, laced in his uniform as
tightly as a girl in her corset, and wearing tilted to one side
his flat and waxed cap, which gave him the appearance of a porter
in an English Hotel. His exaggerated mustache, long and straight,
tapering indefinitely on both sides and ending in a single blond
hair, so thin that the point could not be seen, seemed to weigh on
the corners of his mouth and pulling down his cheeks, impressed on
the lips a drooping fold.

In Alsatian French, he invited the travelers to alight, saying in
a stiff tone:--"Will you please get off, ladies and gentlemen?"--

The two good Sisters obeyed first with the docility of holy women
accustomed to submission. The Count and Countess appeared next,
followed by the manufacturer and his wife, then Loiseau pushing in
front of him his larger and better half.

Loiseau, as he got off, told the officer: "Good day, Sir!" prompted
by a feeling of prudence much more than politeness. The Officer,
insolent like all men holding absolute authority, stared at him
and did not reply.

Boule de Suif and Cornudet, although near the door of the coach,
were the last to alight, serious and dignified in the presence
of the enemy. The corpulent girl was trying to control herself
and be calm; the democrat, with a tragic and rather shaky hand,
was tormenting his reddish beard. They wanted to maintain their
dignity, being fully conscious of the fact that at such meetings
each represents a little his country; and both equally revolted by
the supineness of their companions, she tried to show herself more