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

54 MILITARY LIFE.
mirror ;
I wish to make a fair soldier of myself, for I want to
please her." When the boots were polished
he seized his
clothes brush, then the comb, then dove into the knapsack
again, drew out a little round glass, opened it, and looked at
himself. . . . When the soul is
deeply moved by a strong
and lovely affection, and the mind quite full of sunny thoughts
and fancies, the eyes and smile assume such an impress of the
sweetness of that affection and the serenity of
those thoughts,
that even the plainest face, at such a moment, is lighted
up by a ray of beauty ;
so the good soldier, in looking
in the
glass and seeing his soul shining on his
face, smiled with satisfaction.
At that instant he heard a quick step on the stairs ;
listened
attentively ;
the sound was approaching ;
it was the corporal
of the guard ;
he entered, looked about, saw our young man.
" See here," he exclaimed, in catching sight of him, and calling
him by name,
" there is a woman at the door who is
looking
"
for you !
" "
My mother ! shouted the son, running rapidly through
the dormitories ;
he dashed down the stairs, across the court, into
the vestibule ; caught a glimpse of the woman, sprang toward
her. She opened her arms, he fell on her breast, and both of
them uttered a cry. The son placed his hands on his mother's
temples, passed them through her gray hair, bent back her head,
looked into her eyes, then pressed that dear head against his
shoulder, covered it with his arms, and fastened his lips upon
her hair, from which the handkerchief had fallen. The good
woman stifled her sobs against the shoulder of her son, and
seizing him around the waist, passed her thin hands over
the rough jacket, which for her, at that moment, was worth a