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

AT TWENTY. 287
evening a hundred different subjects, from the most difficult
ballistic problems to the immortality of the soul ;
from the
regulation of
discipline to the music of the future, to bursts of
eloquence, to cavils like rascally advocates, to shouts, to cannonades,
to explosions of mortars so that it seemed as if we
;
were in the projectile-car of
left the oxygen retort open.
Jules Verne when Michael Ardan
In this case it was the light wine
of Sicily which was working. From time to time two of the
party would give each other too hard a blow, and these were
ready to fight, to-morrow, this evening, immediately, right there
in the room, between one course and another, and would rise
to go in search of their swords ;
but then, after being begged
to desist, they would consent to finish their
time the cheese was put on the table they
dinner, and by the
were reconciled.
There were some small duels, too, out of the house, just to keep
the hand in, and a little crossing of swords now and then ;
but
every difficulty was adjusted at
table in the midst of the usual
uproar. Little by little, all learned to take jokes manfully
without getting enraged ;
but there was one exception, unfortunately,
a man by the name of Cerraghi, a great, big Lorn*
bardian, a good sort of devil, but rather fiery. But he was
really all the more delightful for this reason.
His forte was history,
especially modern European history ;
he read nothing
else, and cared to talk on no other subject. He remembered
facts, names, and dates in a marvellous manner, and got
passion when any one said any thing
out of the
into a
way, although
he took a solemn oath every day, with a thump of the fist on
the table, that he would allow us
opening his mouth. So
to say what we chose without
of course we amused ourselves by provoking
him without letting him see our purpose.