llows various
and conflicting emotions.

The _reveil_ sounds at six o'clock. The great operation of shedding
citizens' garments and assuming the uniform is at hand, and is one of
the most amusing in the life of the caserne. The captain of the company
oversees it with the utmost care. "He has to verify everything, see
everything. In the exact terms of the regulations, he is the father of
the company. His _role_ is of capital importance. No detail of the
instruction, of the _tenue_, of the discipline, should escape him. Two
hundred men are confided to his care, for whom he is responsible to the
colonel and the _chef de bataillon_, who, to reward or to punish, govern
themselves by his notes. At every moment he is called upon to dispense
justice, for in a family of two hundred members the conflicts are
frequent. He can inflict only two weeks in the _salle de police_, or a
week in prison, but his decrees are brought to the knowledge of the
superior authority, which takes upon itself to increase their severity.

[Illustration: THE FRENCH ARMY OF TO-DAY. ARRIVAL OF A RICH CONSCRIPT.]

"The captain is not only a judge, a father, an instructor, he is also
an administrator. To his paternal duties are added maternal ones. The
nourishment, the clothing, and the care of the men depend upon him.
Certain funds are allowed him which he uses at his discretion. The
material and moral comfort of a company depend absolutely upon the skill
and the character of its captain, who is seconded in his delicate
functions by the lieutenant, the sous-lieutenant, the sous-officiers,
and the corporals. The _perfectionnement_ of the whole of this
organization concerns him. The captain is, in a word, the keystone of
the vault of the military edifice. Everything depends upon him. It is
not then surprising that the smallest details interest him. It is
specially on the occasion of the arrival of the _bleus_ that he
multiplies himself.

"I was very much surprised, on arriving at the regiment, at the
attention which the commander of the company gave to the selection of
the shoes. At every moment he could be heard exclaiming;

"'_Chaussez-vous large, chaussez-vous long_ [get your shoes long and
wide]!'

"When we were shod, he passed us in review, causing all our foot-gear to
be felt by a sergeant kneeling to assure himself that they were of a
sufficient length, and this is the little speech with which he gratified
us:

"'My children, there are no goo