CHAPTER XVIII

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Marshal Vaillant -- The beginning of our acquaintance -- His stories of the swashbucklers of the First Empire, and the beaux of the Restauration -- Rabelaisian, but clever -- Marshal Vaillant neither a swashbuckler nor a beau; hated both -- Never cherished the slightest illusions about the efficiency of the French army -- Acknowledged himself unable to effect the desired and necessary reforms -- To do that, a minister of war must become a fixture -- Why he stayed -- Careful of the public moneys, and of the Emperor's also -- Napoleon III.'s lavishness -- An instance of it -- Vaillant never dazzled by the grandeur of court entertainments -- Not dazzled by anything -- His hatred of wind-bags -- Prince de Canino -- Matutinal interviews -- Prince de Canino sends his seconds -- Vaillant declines the meeting, and gives his reason -- Vaillant abrupt at the best of times -- A freezing reception -- A comic interview -- Attempts to shirk military duty -- Tricks -- Mistakes -- A story in point -- More tricks -- Sham ailments: how the marshal dealt with them -- When the marshal was not in an amiable mood -- Another interview -- Vaillant's tactics -- "D----d annoying to be wrong" -- The marshal fond of science -- A very interesting scientific phenomenon himself -- Science under the later Bourbons -- Suspicion of the soldiers of the Empire -- The priesthood and the police -- The most godless republic preferable to a continuance of their regime -- The marshal's dog, Brusca -- Her dislike to civilians -- Brusca's chastity -- Vaillant's objection to insufficiently prepaid letters -- His habit of missing the train, notwithstanding his precautions -- His objection to fuss and public honours 351

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