"Oh," he said, "the men are first rate. There's nothing lost by admitting that. They will probably hold out to the end, in face of all hope, for honour's sake."
"And you'll be one of the first to do so," said Miquel.
"Just like everyone else. It's in our blood. I see our line of resistance on the Loire, then on the Garonne. The wretched government will have to move house again."
"How you run on! And Paris?"
"It's lucky they didn't bear straight down on it. They'd be entering it at this very moment."
"Perhaps they had some reason...."
"Bah!"
"All our armies on their flank."
"Our poor armies! A lot there is left of them!"
"Really? Look at our regiment. Is it at full strength? Have its numbers been made up to what they were at the start? Yes. Well, it's the same thing everywhere. All the depôts have supplied men. As we fell back we recuperated our reserves while, as long as their communications go on extending, their front loses in density. They are no longer so immensely superior to us in numbers as they were at the beginning, and their movements are anything but free. Maubeuge was not taken yesterday."