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

50 MILITARY LIFE.
cheerfully
and with a calm face, but with a burning fever and
agitated heart. He tapped the pavement with his feet, bit his
lips,
passed and repassed his hand over his heated brow, asked
all around what the hour was, looked from his head to his
feet every moment to see if he was neat and had every thing in
order. Finally the desired mid-day arrived. Desired, because
his mother, in leaving home at nine o'clock as she had said in
her letter, ought to arrive in the city between noon and one
o'clock, taking into account the distance
that she had to come
and the slowness with which, poor woman, she could accomplish
it.
Just at that hour the soldiers had to leave their quarters and
go to the single-stick school. 1
Our good young fellow, by using
his mother's letter, obtained a release from that exercise. The
soldiers went out, the dormitories were deserted, he ran up the
stairs, flew to his bed, placed his hand upon it, stood still for a
moment, for he felt as if his legs refused to hold him, and
panted.
A little" while thereafter he seated himself on the bed ;
planted his elbows on his knees, rested his face on his hands,
fixed his eyes on the "
floor, and thought
: She is
coming she
;
is
coming here to the barracks "
And ! laughing hysterically
"
he rubbed his forehead with both hands. It is four years
"
since I have seen her ! Four years
! Then he counted four
on his " "
fingers. How long they have been !
And then he
went over in his mind all his fits of melancholy, discouragement,
and past sufferings. "Oh!" he exclaimed in a low tone full
of loving pity, clasping his hands, shaking his head gently, with
his eyes fixed upon a point on the wall, as if to say : " Poor
1
A species of fencing with sticks instead of foils, now no longer in vogue
in the Italian army.