Military life in Italy : sketches - Societa italiana di storia militare

A NOCTURNAL MARCH. 147
our heads, think, grow sad ;
those shadows seem to weigh on
our chests, cut off our breath ;
we look and look again at
the sky to see if it is growing light and in that ; melancholy
wandering of the fancy, it seems as if we would gladly go to
sleep for ever, could we only see
once more our mother or the
sun. . . .
The regiment
is outside the village. The same darkness
and wind continue. Nothing more is said of the lights, all
of which have been extinguished for some time. Well then ?
Shall we follow the regiment to the station in this cold and
gloom, to witness the repetition
of the scenes that we have
already described ?
Any one may follow who pleases. I '11
let him take his way, hoping that he may find a good camp,
and eat a luscious orange, enjoy a long and quiet sleep, because,
to tell the truth, these poor
soldiers need and deserve
'*: \yell.