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

34 MILITAR Y LIFE.
One of the group begins to cough another sneezes
; ;
a
third coughs harder a fourth makes
; ready to expectorate,
and, turning toward the band, spits with a rattling sound,
which ends in a burst of incontrollable laughter all the
;
others clap their hands. The small boys whistle, scream, and,
instigated by the larger ones, slowly approach the soldiers.
The latter continue to march without giving any sign of having
noticed any thing. The former approach nearer and walk
beside the soldiers, looking them in the face with an expression
intended to "
say I defy you." One of them : begins to
imitate quite grotesquely their regular step, crying in a nasal
tone, as he does " "
:
One, two !
one, two ! Another mimics
the gait of the soldiers bent and limping under the weight of
the knapsacks. A third, urged on by one of those at the rear,
seizes the hem of the corporal's cloak, gives a tug, and runs off.
The corporal turns and raises his hand as if to give him a box
on the ear.
" Eh ! eh !
"
they shout all around.
" Now we '11 see.
Give a blow to a boy Shame ! ! The time of the Croats has
passed You must ! try other methods now ! A blow to a
"
boy Try again ! !
One of the soldiers, on hearing these words, bites his finger,
planting his teeth well in, and uttering a groan of rage. At
that point he feels his canteen struck a hard blow ;
the blood
rushes to his head ;
he turns and gives a hit on the shoulder of
the gamins who had struck him, throwing him back several
paces.
" Here !
"
Here ! breaks out menacingly from the crowd.
" Here are the ruffians ! Worse than the Croats ! Worse than
the bailiffs. Now we '11
give them a lesson ;
we '11 make you pay,