He did it! Every captain in the French Army did it. And the next
morning at six o'clock our little machine was ready to go and take its
place in the operations of the big machine. The following day, at six
o'clock, we entrained again; but no longer was it the confused and
disorganized crowd that it had been the evening before. It was a
company with arms and leaders; a company which had already made the
acquaintance of discipline. That was proved by the silence reigning
everywhere. At the moment of departure the Colonel had commanded:
"Silence!"
There was not a sound. The long train, crowded with soldiers, was a
silent train which passed through the open country, the towns and the
villages all the way to Paris without a sound except the puffing of
the engine. In the evening, silent always, we detrained at Paris and
marched to a barracks situated to the north of the capital. We were
to stay there a month.
* * * * *
The story of Paris during the month of August, 1914, is an
extraordinary one that would deserve an entire volume to itself. That
feverish city has never lived through hours that were more calm and
peaceful. During the first two weeks Paris seemed to be in a sweet,
peaceful dream, in which the citizens listened eagerly for sounds of
victory coming from the far distant horizon.
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