coachman's. Both the lads went to draw at the same time, both
drew low numbers. The substitute system was still in force, but, just at
that moment, there was a war-scare--not without foundation--and
substitutes reached high prices. It would not have mattered much to the
rich man. Unfortunately, he was tight-fisted, and the mother pleaded in
vain. The wife was just as extravagant as the husband was mean; she had
no savings, and she cudgelled her brain to find the means of preserving
her darling from the vile contact of his social inferiors without
putting her hand in her pocket--which, moreover, was empty. She went a
great deal into society, was very handsome, clever, and fascinating. By
dint of ferreting, she got to know the probable composition of the
conseil de revision--barring accidents. History does not say how, but
she wheedled the surgeon-major into giving her a distinct promise to do
his best for her dear son. Of course, in order to do some good, the
surgeon had to see the young fellow first; and there was the difficulty,
because madame had made the acquaintance of the officer under peculiar
circumstances, and could not very well introduce him to her home:
besides, just on account of the war-scare, the authorities had become
very strict, the practices of many officers were suspected, and it would
never have done for the gentleman to give his superiors as much as a
loophole for their suspicion by visiting the lady. Time was getting
short; the acquaintance had ripened into friendship very quickly,
because, three days before the time appointed for the sitting of the
council, madame had never seen the surgeon, and on the eve of that
sitting the final arrangement had been concluded. It was to this effect:
that madame's son would pretend to have hurt his hand, and appear with a
black silk bandage round his wrist. The thing is scarcely credible, but
the coachman's son, an engine-fitter, had hurt his wrist, and put a
strip of black ribbon round it. The coachman's family name began with a
_B_, the lady's name with a _C_. The coachman's son was taken for the
other, and declared unfit for military service by reason of his chest,
to his great surprise and joy, as may be imagined. But the surprise,
though not the joy, of the examining officer was greater still when, in
the next batch, another young fellow appeared with a strip of black
ribbon round his wrist. To ask his name was an impossibility. The
surgeon was afraid that he