28 STORIES FROM DAUDET

The Marshal is engaged on a game;
this is why the army waits for orders.
- When the Marshal has begun his game
. the heavens might crumble and fall,
nothing in the world could prevent
him from finishing it.

Billiards !

It is his weakness, this great soldier’s.
There he stands, serious as on the
battlefield, in full uniform, his breast
covered by medals, his eyes flashing,
his cheeks flushed by the excitement
of the dinner, the game, the punch.
His aides-de-camp surround him,
assiduous, respectful, languishing with
admiration at each stroke. When the
Marshal makes a point, everybody
dashes to the marker; when the
Marshal is thirsty, everybody is eager
-to mix his punch. There is a rustling
of epaulettes, a jingling of crosses and
tassels; to see all the sweet smiling,
the grand courtly bows, and all the
fresh embroideries and new uniforms,
recalls the autumn at Compiégne and