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and south doors, where the Renaissance appeared. All three, very ornate but not excessively so, were charming in their delicacy and vigor.* (p. 105) He was remarkable for his penetrating observations. Recording the death of one of his comrades he wrote: 'Half his face hung like a shutter whose hinges no longer held, and one could see inside the almost empty cranial box. I covered the horrible wound with a handkerchief to keep it hidden from my men. Peasants and workers, whom one expects to be uncouth, are often remarkably sensitive.' (p. 140)
He also showed extreme sensitivity in describing the brutalities of war. (pp. 84, 89-91, 94, 96,102,140-41)'.. . On the way, we saw people abandoning their village in haste. Men, women, children, furniture, bundles of linen... were piled on their wagons. These French peasants fleeing before an enemy against whom we could not protect them left a bitter impression, possibly the most maddening that the war has inflicted on us. We were to see them often during the retreat, poor refugees crowding the roads and village squares with their wagons. Wrenched from their homes, disoriented, dazed, and bullied by the gendarmes, they were troublesome but pathetic figures.* (p. 84)
Lastly, Bloch*s comment on military courage is very interesting. 'Military courage. . . often it is the result of effort, an effort that a healthy individual makes without injury to himself and which rapidly becomes instinctive. I have always noticed that by some fortunate reflex, death ceases to appear very terrible the moment it seems close: it is this, ultimately, that explains courage. Most men dread going under fire, and especially returning to it. Once there, however, they no longer tremble. Also, I belive that few soldiers, except the most noble or intelligent, think of their country while conducting themselves bravely; they are much more often guided by a sense of personal honor, which is very strong when it is reinforced by the group.* (p. 166)
ATLURY MURALI Department of History School of Correspondence Courses Delhi University, Delhi