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

60 MILITARY LIFE.
cent we receive is spent at a bookseller's for a sheet of colored
soldiers ;
and all that which belongs to soldiers, weapons, uniforms,
galloons, feathers, trinkets, and sash,
of our most ardent desires and our dearest hopes ;
becomes the object
so much so
that we feel that, despite any sacrifice or any opposition, we
shall enlist as soldiers when the proper time arrives ; yes, soldiers,
soldiers, even if the world falls ;
mamma will cry, papa
growl out in that deep voice which he reserves for the most
daring escapades : no matter ;
the matter is
decided, we will be
soldiers.
Here the mania for arms begins, and we search, prowl about,
dive into every thing to see if there is not even- a cane, stick, or
leg of a broken table in the house, which, having been shaped
by the blade of our penknife, may not serve, for a longer or
shorter length of time, as a rapier, dagger, or gun. Who of us
has not passed long hours astride a chair, with his breast against
the back, working his legs as if spurring on a horse, waving
aloft the handle of a broom, and holding forth in a certain
slow, deep, solemn tone, like a general who is
commanding a
division ? Who does not remember the first sword which he
received from an uncle, godfather, or some retired officer, an
old friend of the family, on his birthday, or as a reward for
good conduct at school ? But let it be understood, not one of
those ordinary wooden swords, bound in silver paper, mere
playthings for children, which do not even frighten flies ;
but a
real sword, a genuine blade, such as they use in war. . . .
Oh ! the first sword is a great source of delight
!
Then those beautiful spring mornings (which take away the
desire for books, and put a fever into one's legs, as Giusti says)
when, seated at the table, yawning and dozing over a fable of