By Lionel Decle Author of "Three Years in Savage Africa" With Eight Illustrations by H. Chartier London William Heinemann 1899 This Edition enjoys Copyright in all Countries Signatory to the Berne Treaty, and is not to be imported into the United States of America....

It is right to state that the following pages have not had the advantage of final revision by the Author, as Mr. Decle was called upon to take charge of an important mission to Africa on behalf of the "Daily Telegraph," and was therefore unable to complete the preparation of his MS. for the press....

The bitter and protracted discussions which have arisen out of the Dreyfus case, and which have divided France into two hostile camps, have concentrated the attention of the civilised world on the French army, but nobody has done more to disgrace it, and to lower it in the eyes of friends and foes alike, than Frenchmen themselves. Those who, persuaded of Dreyfus' innocence, made superhuman efforts to further the noble cause of justice and to obtain the redress of one of the greatest wrongs ever

Every Frenchman is liable to military service during twenty-five years of his life—viz., from the age of twenty until he is forty-five. [1] In time of peace this period of service is thus divided: (i) Three years of active service. (ii) Ten years in the reserve of the standing army, during which two periods of a month each with the colours must be undergone. (iii) Six years in the territorial army, with two periods of thirteen days each with the colours, and (iv) Six years in the reserve of the

The military law I have just explained is that which has been in force since 1889 only. It differs from the previous law chiefly in regard to the length of service. In my time (1879) the period of service in the active army was five years instead of three. Young men, however, who had obtained the degrees of B.A. or B.S., provided they paid £60 to Government, and provided also they contracted a voluntary engagement within the year preceding that in which they became liable to conscription, were a

In order to enable readers to understand clearly the account of my adventures, I think it will be necessary to describe somewhat fully the routine of a French cavalry regiment, as well as the rights and duties of officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates. Any one desiring further particulars can obtain them from a little book called " Règlement du Service Intérieur des troupes de Cavalerie." (Paris: Librairie Militaire de L. Baudoin, 30 rue Dauphine.) The following are the titles of the

"The following are regarded as offences against discipline, and punished as such according to their gravity: "On the part of the superior, every act of weakness, abuse of authority, insulting language, or the unjust infliction of any punishment. "On the part of the inferior, murmuring, unseemly answers, lack of obedience (whatever may be the circumstances or the provocation); evading a punishment; drunkenness (even without disturbance); general misconduct, debt, quarrels ... in fact, every derel

When I returned to my room the Corporal told me to follow him, as I had to undergo another medical inspection. Two other Volontaires who had been drafted into my squadron accompanied us; one of them evidently belonged to the middle classes, but the other looked a mere farm hand; he was, indeed, the son of a small farmer who had made great sacrifices to give his son a good education, and the boy, brought up in a Government school, had managed to get his B.A. degree, and his people had with diffic

It must not be imagined that a trooper can be sent to hospital without having to go through innumerable formalities, the French administrative system being so devised as to complicate the simplest matter. Before going to hospital, a full inventory of all the trooper's belongings has to be drawn up by the Sergeant fourrier , the trooper being allowed to retain only the undress uniform which he wears. The remainder of his kit, including his arms, are returned to the stores, where a fresh inventory

I do not intend to enter into many of the details of my second year's service, as this was a mere repetition of what I had already gone through, and I will therefore confine myself to a brief description of that portion of my adventures which may offer some special points of interest. Some time elapsed before the arrival of the new Volontaires , and during this period we had practically no work to do with the exception of "stables." All the Sergeants of my squadron, and many of those belonging t

When I was sent to prison there were four other troopers undergoing a similar punishment, but I did not see anything of them until the call for "Soup," as they were kept out all day on fatigue duty and punishment drill. Before they returned the Adjudant came again to see me, and advised me to go to the medical visit the following morning. He told me that he had seen the doctor, and laid my case before him, and that the doctor had promised to exempt me from punishment drill and from fatigue duty.

Had been a fortnight in the infirmary, when one morning at ten o'clock one of the Sergeants of my squadron ordered me to dress in tunic and képi , saying that he had received orders to take me before the Conseil . This word simply means court, and is applied to the Conseil de discipline (regimental court-martial) as well as to the Conseil de réforme (Invalidation Commission), but I had by that time become so accustomed to threats of being sent before a regimental court-martial, that I could only

It will probably be believed by many readers that in describing my life as a soldier I have at times given the reins to my imagination; but I can only assure them that this is not the case. I have, fortunately or unfortunately, an excellent memory, and the scenes and conversations I have described are ineffaceably engraved on my mind. That much of my narrative is occupied with the constantly recurring punishments that befell me, is not my fault—to have slurred over those punishments would have b

No allusion has been made in the Introduction to the pay of officers, nor to the actual cost of the keep of troopers. Being unable to find any documents on which to base my calculations, I appealed to M. Urbain Gohier, the French writer whose authority on this subject is the greatest, and I append the reply which he very kindly sent me: Dear Sir , Subjoined are the chief items of the budget for pay —which is the same in all branches of the service so far as officers are concerned. As to the aver

Accused persons are examined by a Juge d'instruction (examining magistrate) in camera . Prisoners are considered guilty until they can prove their innocence. The examining magistrate can use any means he likes to obtain a confession; he can send a prisoner to solitary confinement ( au secret ) for weeks, if he chooses. He collects all information respecting the prisoner, bewilders him, lies to him if he thinks fit, and can keep him for months in confinement, before committing him for trial or re

The Academy. —"A really excellent budget of information about Army life in all its aspects. We can cordially recommend it to all who take a personal or patriotic interest in the army." The Daily Mail. —"A particularly interesting and instructive book about army life in its varied aspects. Even Mr. Kipling may learn a great deal from these enlightening pages." The Daily Telegraph. —"The book is full of excellent suggestions on matters both great and small, and should prove of much interest to the

The Review of Reviews. —"All imaginative pictures drawn by authors in an attempt to depict war as it really is sink into insignificance beside this actual record of a soldier's daily experience in the rearguard of the Army of Moscow. The Peace Societies could desire no more effective literature, and, if they are wise, will do all they can to promote the sale of this book." The Times. —"A vivid narrative of Napoleon's ill-starred Russian campaign as viewed from the ranks. Bourgogne was a shrewd s