In the Foreign Legion

Monsieur Via?sse : The Legion's atmosphere : The Cafard demoniacs : Bismarck's dou

ès, something I had long been dreading occurred. Even by changing my few gold pieces into the smallest of coppers, I could not spin them out eternall

liged to waste his strength in cleaning Arab sewers, was chaffing me. He thought it a

emembered with grim humour that the state of my finan

bugler,"

ut privileged sons of the Prophet-and inquired if

e no more mo

m his bed, looki

d'yo

ey is f

face g

ne lying stored in Sidi-bel-Abbès.... All at once his

ome more!"

ok my

. "They'll send you some, a légionnaire always gets something sent h

ittle in Arabic and thoughtfully repeated a chapter of the Koran, treating of the duties of friendship. A little inspired by this, he asked for a whole hour about my former friends. I told him that they were either dead or on the point of starvation. The bu

losopher keep

ime, he muttered nothing but

ked: "And is there

rd, I pulled out my

tairs to the canteen, he wisely proposed buying two half-bottles instead of a whole one, for the half-bottles were always

eat respect, till not a drop was left. Then he

then we've got none. But if I were you, I should

ettes, had, in the land of Sidi-bel-Abbès, been a fortune, and had saved me from much wearisome, petty work. Thanks to them, I had been able, after long marches or heavy fatigue duty, to go straight into town without having to bothe

cks were packed. My interests were now quite taken up by all the petty, trifling considerations of the Legion. I quarrelled with the others whether it were really my turn to fetch fresh water in the big earthenware jug; I disputed t

o each other when living such a hard life, crowded into so small a space. Everywhere the worst side of human nature showed itself, and even the greatest fool was soon clever enough to f

k of humour left in him. He was the queerest character in the room. He declared he was a Roumanian, but only spoke German, and that with a terrible Berlin accent, which was, to say t

de so as not to miss an opportunity of stealing something from his comrades. He had a vile mouth under his enormous nose. In a whining tone he swore all day long at providence

ia?sse, sacré nom de Dieu! toujours via?sse-what does the fellow want?" The whole regiment laughed at "Monsieur Via?sse"; he was never called by his real name, Abramovici, but officers and corporals called to him: "Eh, Via?sse, come here!" He never worked. He was only saved from punishment by his inherent gift

poured from his vile mouth, while the long arms, with the

ole forenoon and have got nix to eat but a poor soup. I'm a stricken man and will have to get some extra food if I am not t

ever made me laugh as much as he did. On the day of his arrival with the depot-train from Oran, I happened to hear when the sergeant of the company for the first time ord

the lurid red nose, he turned away to get out of the reach of the "windmill arms," and at last fell down on the nearest bed with a horrible Arab oath, and laughed as he had

until at last his harangue ended i

om hears a laugh down there that Monsieur Via?

e began our friendship wit

ill you give m

In return he assured me of his high esteem, and when longing for a smoke called me "Herr Baron." When

some work, just because some trousers or jacket did not seem to be folded correctly. It had been nothing else but "cafard" when I had roared at the captain because the doctor refused to give me an opiate on the march-it

aire escap

of the Legion wine that was apportioned to us every second day, and watched with ridiculous suspicion that the next man did not get more than he did; one quarrelled over a piece of bread; one took one's neighbour

was really strange how many of the légionnaires had a screw loose, of

bed for hours, speaking to no one. If you ask him what is the matter, he will answer with a gr

through their comrade's body, without any reason, without any outward cause. Sometimes they rush out into the d

of the horizon peculiar to Algeria. Then the barrack-yard of the Foreign Legion lies deserted. It is so hot that the stones on the yellow clayey ground s

an is a useless object in the sun-blaze of the hot season. In the infernal heat of the soldiers' rooms the "cafard" has often been the cause of great disast

ing the siesta a description of what our men's room looked like

ds in all kinds of possible and impossible positions. Some were swearing, others quarrelling-nothing brings on the "cafard" so quickly as physical suffering. Two Spaniards were quarrelling in the loud gesticulating manner of their race; a German in the next bed had fallen asleep, and was mutte

avait ?a, il dira

e sergeant was a rogue and was working him to death. Here the German awoke. Disturbed in his sleep he y

owly and tiredly and, leaning on hi

e silence

th, the damned 'casque à pique,' meaning the Prussian helm

the epithet "casque à pique," I punish you with two days' barrack arrest. You are not serving in a French line regiment, but in the Foreign Legion. You und

aire laughed and qui

, and was in the act of assaulting his countryman and comrade. The corporal sprang between the two and sent one flying to the right, the other to the left. In a second the w

ires, debout!' 'Up, up!' sounded down

he heat. The description has the advantage of the impressions of the

it would be mutiny en masse, at another time desertion in a body. This madness is well known wherever a company of légionnaires is stationed. In some kind of form it is always present

m alone. He has no idea that a hidden power, like unto madness, is making him act in such a manner, he only believes himself to be in a bad humour. But the bad humour rises and increases, often driving him to murder, more often to suicide. The légionnaire cannot foresee the effect

than ten years. He got out of our way whenever he could, and when his duties were over, slunk away into lonely corners of the barrack-yard. Every fifth day he left the barracks, on pay-day, to return re

een closed; Smith and I were still sitting on the bench in front of the guard-room, the sergeant and the other légionnair

ant-la

side stood the grumpy old légionnaire, swaying from

ng the gate. "You -- old pig, you ought

and remained standing i

ou can be jolly glad that your own company is on guard duty, e

nt. Suddenly, without saying a word, he

le tussle ensued. We were twelve to one, but it took us more than a quarter of an hour to get the upper hand of the "cafard" madman, and every one had been m

e post-mortem examination the army surgeon stated that the bu

e worst case

n all kinds of peculiar whims. Smith's comical reciting of the Kor

e was Schlesinger. Like the German Prime Minister, he had the stature of a giant, and in his heavy face with the bald head, in the sharp eyes, there certainly was a slight resemblance

shed to the kitchen. He lounged about the door till the cook, getting suspicious, came to see if the intruder intended st

up majestically and

in a surprised vo

pas?" said Schlesing

urely must be a relation

d. This was quite a new idea. It had never enter

" said von Rader in a tone of

happy. "Are you a young soldier?" he asked the man who had

mething better. My father" (von Rader lowered his voice to a whisper

h impressed by h

ve in the Legion," a

returned with a large piece of roast pork. "Tiens, camarade. To-mor

on Rader, putting hi

together almost daily, and von Rader always had a piece of meat

he was deeply offended and did not answ

al grapes. A very funny idea, for Krügerle never ate grapes himself; he did not li

was to stea

e against the possessors of vineyard

mers grew angry. They sent a deputation to the colonel, declaring that his légionnaires were worse than a locust-plague. The colonel abused them all and sent out a command that all who transgressed again would be punished. The légionnaires laughed-were a little more careful, but stole quite as ma

latter, having an idea what was the matter, examined the "invalids," who promptly told a great story of having been s

the grapes were not worth while being shot a

wled about in the vineyards and stole grapes. Once he was shot and ran right back to the barracks and into the soldiers' room. Five min

ty-but it was worth suffering a little; if he had gone to the

t went stealing grapes

ays lies hidden in the cafard. I was

ch words of command, but did his work conscientiously. Week by week he got quieter. Stupidly he did his work and spoke to nobody. In his free time he sat on his bed moodily staring in front of him. Now and then he would be punished for neglecting his uniform, but this did n

ly he watched us while we were eating. When we had finished, he crept up to the table, examining the empty dishes in the hope of finding a few drops left. After this he would rush down to the kitchen to

on all-fours under the beds to look for the coveted morsel. They poured petroleum into his

t the prodigy. All the time he sat crouching on his bed, smiling vacantly and gobbling down whatever he could get. He would gnaw at the dry bone held o

have a joke, they brought the glutton a dry crust or a piece of hard Legion biscuit, just to watch him

sts on our table instead of the usual daily portion of bread

One of them struck the poor devil, who, biting and scratching and hitting at every one, shrieked like a ma

de coffin on the cart lay the remains of Légionnaire Bauer. In the infirmary he had smashed his head against the wall....

his funer