Again we werereleased from the
exercises.
I did not see him again until later in Oran,where a
very similar performance took place.
He thought hisperfect Parisian French would carry
him through.
Well, they wont do anything, they have an easy job
of it.
How thiswould have worked with a loaded gun, and
when the time for shootingcame, is another matter. It may be that that wastaken out
of him by his experiences in the French army. A shortceremony was held, nearly all
the soldiers refusing to enter thechurch.
These men, who detested the French and all that was
French, seemed tobe standing in mock-salute. I decided to receive my money at the
post office without the sergeant.
At the window a sergeant counted the loaves as they
were passedout.
He never troubledhimself about me, either with
advice, or a kind word, or influence.
I never found out who the censor was, or who wrote
openedby military censor. Five oclock was the hour for going out, and so he seemed
todelight in being late in his office. I watched from the window how all the
petitioners were lined up,standing at attention.
Many turned their back to it and
scowled.
He was clever and had a great deal of
charm,although he was without much moral courage. There were those who wished to
berepatriated and those who had private grievances. Some peopledont need to talk,
they know each other by instinct.
They resented being called down and insulted by
petty Germanofficers. The outgoingletters underwent the same inspection. The
outgoingletters underwent the same inspection.
You have come here to air your grievances, I
suppose? But they werecertainly the best element in behaviour and
appearance.
We had to strip, then the Doctor examined heart,
lungs, testedbreathing, etc.
The outgoingletters underwent the same inspection.
This was becauseonce after five oclock I had gone to his room and had had a chat
withhim.
What is the life of a poor Arab in the
Legion?
He did not see the wrongside of what the Germans
had been doing up to that time.
He had anextraordinarily young and handsome orderly
who accompanied him.
The cemetery was quite a distance from the town.
This was their opportunity; they would speak.
He could not speak French clearly and was furious
if asoldier did not understand him.
Inwardly I wept when I had been tried with
onemovement so long that I could not do it any more. Even that was difficult forthe
slouchy devil-may-care boys and men. Each one of our injections wasregistered in our
military books.
Inwardly I wept when I had been tried with
onemovement so long that I could not do it any more. Why have youwaited all this
time to come to me?
I decided to receive my money at the post office
without the sergeant.