au sien = à son fils

45. 7. vingt-troisième de marche. A "régiment" or a "bataillon de marche" is the name given to a corps of troops formed in time of war from soldiers belonging to différent armies or not belonging to the regular army at ail. The son Sauvage had enlisted as a volunteer.

45. 9. Non, bas su, bas savoir tu tout, German pronunciation for Non, pas su, pas savoir du tout, which in correct French would be: Non, je ne sais pas, je ne sais pas du tout.

soins, hère : services.

d'ailleurs, hère : in f act.

chair a canon (see note to p. 44, 1. 14), "cannon's méat," a fréquent familiar term for "soldier." Maupassant has protested several times against the barbarity of war. See the passage quoted in our Introduction, which is taken from his volume "Sur l'eau."