Guy de Maupassant 
Complete Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant 
Ten Volumes in One

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. For many days now the fag~end of the army had been straggling through the town. They were not troops, but a disbanded horde. The beards of the men were long and filthy, their uniforms in tatters, and they advanced at an easy pace without flag or regiment. All seemed worn-out and back-broken, inca pable of a thought or a resolution, marching by habit solely, and falling from fatigue as soon as they stopped. In short, they were a mobilized, pacific peo ple, bending under the weight of the gun; some little squads or. The alert, easy to take alarm and prompt in enthusiasm, ready to attack or to flee; and in the midst of them, some red breeches, the remains of a division broken up in a great battle; son e somber artillery men in line with these varied kinds of foot soldiers; and, sometimes the brilliant helmet of a dragoon on foot who fol lowed with difficulty the shortest march of the lines. Some legions of free-shooters, under the heroic names of Avengers of the Defeat, Citizens of the Tomb, Par takers of Death, passed in their turn with the air of bandits.