On inspection-days we did squadron duty after "Stables," having neither drill nor school, and those Volontaires who were not undergoing punishment were at liberty to go out of barracks until 8 P.M. The troopers who had twenty-four hours' leave were allowed to quit the barracks after evening stables and remain away until the next Monday at 5 A.M. After stables the regimental orders for the day were, as usual, read out to us, as well as the punishments. Those were numerous, and included two days' confinement to the room, for a Lieutenant, for being out in civilian clothes the previous afternoon; Salle de Police for three Sergeants as a result of the inspection, while about twenty men were punished similarly, getting from two to eight days, their outfit having been found short, or their clothes soiled. Among the troopers punished with Salle de Police were three Volontaires, and, finally, came Titi's name, with a sentence of eight days' prison by the Captain "for having introduced a newspaper into barracks, and having obstinately refused to give the name of the trooper from whom he had obtained it."
That evening, I was, as usual, taken to the Salle de Police, where I was much astonished to find Titi lying on a straw mattress rolled up in a blanket. He called out to me as soon as the non-commissioned officer had locked us in, "Come here, old chap," he said; "I'll make some room for you, old Decle, and we'll share my mattress and blanket."
Although a scoundrel, Titi was at the bottom of his heart a kind fellow, and I felt most grateful to him for sharing his rough bedding with me, especially when a little later on he produced his inevitable candle, and I saw that in order to let me lie down comfortably he was lying himself on the bare boards, his back only resting against the mattress.
I inquired from him how it was that he was undergoing his prison in the same lock-up as the one used for men punished with Salle de Police, and I expressed astonishment at his being privileged to enjoy a mattress and a blanket. He explained to me that the only difference between prison and Salle de Police was that the men punished with the former, instead of doing duty in the daytime remained in the Salle de Police day and night. They had, however, to do two hours' punishment drill in the morning and again in the evening, and during the remainder of the day they were employed on fatigue duty, having to carry water about, to make ditches and earthworks, and to do all the dirtiest work. On the other hand, they were allowed a straw mattress and one blanket, and were not called upon to work at the pump in the middle of the night. On the whole, it struck me that prison was a far milder punishment than Salle de Police, and I found this undoubtedly to be the case when later on I became personally acquainted with the former punishment.
FOOTNOTES:
[34] As may have been noticed, my Christian name was a puzzle to every one.
[35] It is strictly forbidden to read newspapers in French barracks, and any infringement of this regulation is severely punished.