e historical museum, across
the court of honor, was--in the years when I spent many fascinating hours
there--extraordinarily rich in personal souvenirs of scores of
illustrious personages.

What it must be now, after the tragic years of a world war, and what it
will become as a treasure house for the years to come, is beyond my
imagination.

It was into this enormously rich atmosphere, pregnant with everything
that conserves France's most glorious military traditions, that Captain
Ferdinand Foch was called in 1885 for two years of intensive training and
study.

VII

JOFFRE AND FOCH

After quitting the School of War in 1887 (he graduated fourth in his
class, as he had at Saumur; he was third at Fontainebleau), Ferdinand
Foch was sent to Montpellier as a probationer for the position of staff
officer.

He remained at Montpellier for four years--first as a probationer and
later as a staff officer in the Sixteenth Army Corps, whose headquarters
are there.

[Illustration: Marshall Joffre, General Foch]

It is a coincidence--without special significance, but interesting--that
Captain Joseph Joffre had spent several years at the School of
Engineering in Montpellier; he left there in 1884, after the death of his
young wife, to bury himself and his grief in Indo-China; so the two men
did not meet in the southern city.[1]

Joffre returned from Indo-China in 1888, while Foch was at Montpellier,
and after some time in the military railway service, and a promotion in
rank (he was captain for thirteen years), received an appointment as
professor of fortifications at Fontainebleau.

Some persons who claim to have known Joffre at Montpellier have
manifested surprise at the greatness to which he attained thirty years
later; he did not impress them as a man of destiny. That is quite as
likely to be their fault as his. And also it is possible that Captain
Joseph Joffre had not then begun to develop in himself those qualities
which made him ready for greatness when the opportunity came.

If, however, any one has ever expressed surprise at Ferdinand Foch's
attainment, I have not heard of it. He seems always to have impressed
people with whom he came in contact as a man of tremendous energy,
application, and thoroughness.

The opportunities for study at Montpellier are excellent, and the region
is one of extraordinary richness for the lover of history. The splendor
of the cities of Transalpine Gaul in this vicinity