Zebiline, vol 3 | Page 9

to Henri's mind,
put him in sympathetic humor with the stranger.
"'Ah! There are mountains that we never climb but once,'" he said. "We
three, meeting in Paris, can prove the truth of that proverb."
"Not only in Paris," said Lenaieff. "If you were in Saint Petersburg,
Henri, you might, any evening, see your old flame, Fanny Dorville."
"Does she keep a table d'hote?"
"No, indeed, my boy. She plays duenna at the Theatre Michel, as that
fat Heloise used to do at the Palais-Royal. She must have died long ago,
that funny old girl!"
"Not at all. She is still living, and is a pensioner of the Association of
Dramatic Artists! But, pardon me, our conversation can hardly be
amusing to our guest."
"No one can keep a Frenchman and a Russian from talking about
women! The habit is stronger than themselves!" said the old officer,
with a hearty laugh.

"Well, and you, Captain," said Lenaieff: "Have you not also trodden the
primrose path in your time?"
"Gentlemen, I never have loved any other woman than my own wife,"
replied the honest German, laying his large hand upon his heart, as if he
were taking an oath. "That astonishes you Parisians, eh?" he added
benevolently.
"Quite the contrary! It assures us peace of mind!" said Lenaieff. "To
your health, Captain!"
"And yours, Messieurs!"
And their glasses clinked a second time.
"Apropos," said Lenaieff to Henri, "the military governor has asked me
to accompany him to-morrow to the review at Vincennes. I shall then
have the pleasure of seeing you at the head of your division."
"Teufel!" exclaimed the German officer; "it appears that the
Commandant de Prerolles has lost no time since we took leave of each
other."
"Thanks to you, Monsieur! Had you not allowed me to withdraw from
your society, I should certainly not have reached my present rank! To
your health, Captain!"
"To yours, General!"
Succeeding bumpers finally dissipated entirely the resentment of the
former jailer, and when they parted probably never to meet again--he
and his prisoner had become the best friends in the world.
"Meine besten complimente der Frau Hauptmannin!" said Henri to him,
in leaving him on the boulevard.
"Lieber Gott! I shall take good care not to own to her that I dined with
you."

"And why, pray?"
"Because there is one thing for which she never will forgive you."
"What is that?"
"The fact that you were the cause of her living alone for six months!"

CHAPTER XXIII
THE MILITARY REVIEW
The different troops, assembled for review, were massed on the parade-
ground at Vincennes, facing the tribunes.
In the centre, the artillery brigade, surrounded by two divisions of
infantry, was drawn up in two straight columns, connected by
regiments; each division of infantry, in double columns, was connected
by brigades.
These six columns were separated by spaces varying from twenty to
twenty- five metres.
In the background, the cavalry division was lined up in columns;
behind that was its artillery, in the same order of formation.
At a given signal, the troops advanced five hundred metres, and, as
soon as they halted, drums, clarinets and trumpets beat and sounded
from all parts of the field, saluting the arrival of the military governor
of Paris.
This functionary, followed by his staff, in the midst of which group
glittered the brilliant Russian uniform of the aide-decamp General
Leniaeff, rode slowly past the front and the flanks of the massed body,
the troops facing to the left or the right as he passed.
This inspection finished, he took up his stand before the pillars at the

entrance, and the march past began by battalions en masse, in the midst
of the acclamations of numerous spectators who had come to witness
this imposing display, well calculated to stir patriotic pride.
The enthusiasm increased; the Prerolles division marched past after its
artillery, and, as always, the martial and distinguished profile of its
general produced its usual effect on the public.
He rode Aida, his favorite mare, an Irish sorrel of powerful frame, with
solid limbs, whose horizontal crupper and long tail indicated her race;
she was one of those animals that are calm and lively at the same time,
capable of going anywhere and of passing through all sorts of trials.
After its parade, the infantry, whose part in the affair was finished,
retraced their steps and took up a position on the other side of the field
of manoeuvres, facing the north, and in front of rising ground, in
preparation for the discharge of musketry.
During this time the artillery brigade, re-formed in battle array on the
parade-ground, detached six batteries, which advanced at a trot to
within one hundred and fifty metres of the tribunes, where they
discharged a volley. The long pieces were run