this is not the first time he has insulted our country and disgraced his own.’
‘Maybe he will die this time,’ another voice said. Then the man in the gutter opened his eyes and began to laugh, or tried to, choking at first, trying to turn his head as though to clear his mouth and throat of what he choked on, when another man thrust through the crowd and approached him—an old man, a gaunt giant of a man with a vast worn sick face with hungry and passionate eyes above a white military moustache, in a dingy black overcoat in the lapel of which were three tiny faded ribbons, who came and knelt beside him and slipped one arm under his head and shoulders and raised him and turned his head a little until he could spit out the blood and shattered teeth and speak. Or laugh rather, which is what he did first, lying in the cradle of the old man’s arm, laughing up at the ring of faces enclosing him, then speaking himself in French:
‘That’s right,’ he said: ‘Tremble. I’m not going to die. Never.’
‘I am not laughing,’ the old man bending over him said. ‘What you see are tears.’
END
EDITORS’ NOTE
American English continues to fluctuate; for example, a word may be spelled more than one way, even in the same work. Commas are sometimes used expressively to suggest the movements of the voice, and capitals are sometimes meant to give significances to a word beyond those it might have in its uncapitalized form. Since standardization would remove such effects, this volume preserves the spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and wording of the text as established by Noel Polk, which strives to be as faithful to Faulkner’s usage as surviving evidence permits.
The following notes were prepared by Joseph Blotner and are reprinted with permission from
1
2
3
4
5 expletive … legend.] French general Pierre-Jacques Cambronne, commander of the Imperial Guard at Waterloo, was said to have replied “Merde” in response to a British demand for surrender.
6 ‘Gil Blas,’] A picaresque romance by Alain Rene Lesage (1668– 1747).
7
8
9 K.R. and O.] King’s Regulations and Orders.
10 Sandhurst] Village in England, site of the Royal Military Academy.
11 Mons … bar] The Mons Star medal was given to those who served in France and Belgium before November 23, 1914. The Military Cross is a decoration for bravery awarded to officers; the bar indicates that it has been awarded a second time.
12 Cox’s] Cox and Co., Bankers and Army Agents.
13 R.T.O.] Railway Transport Office.
14 A.S.C.] Army Service Corps.
15 lo … dead] Cf. Christopher Marlowe (1564–93),
16 archie] Anti-aircraft artillery.
17
18 ’Change … windy] The stock exchange. Windy is slang for afraid, nervous, alarmed (from “got the wind up”).
19 long vac.] The long vacation, as in the Oxford and Cambridge academic year.
20
21 Pip Emma] Signaling code for P.M.
22 Vickers … Lewis] On the S.E. fighter aircraft, a belt-fed Vickers machine gun was mounted on the fuselage in front of the pilot’s cockpit and synchronized to fire through the arc of the propeller without hitting its blades. A drum-fed Lewis machine gun was mounted on the top wing; in its normal position it fired forward over the propeller arc, but it could be elevated to fire upwards.
23 Aldis] A gun sight.
24 napoo] Finished, done, nothing doing, end of argument (from
25 p.b.i.] Poor bloody infantry.
26
27 D.C.M.] Distinguished Conduct Medal.
28 d’Artagnan] Hero of
29 espada] Matador.
30 p.c.] Signaling code for post of command.
31 Ack Emma] A.M.
32 Antipas] Herod Antipas (21 B.C.–A.D. 39).
33 St Cyr] See note 52.10–11.
34
35
36 No heel taps] A toast, like “Bottoms up!” (from the heel tap shape of the residue of liquor left at the bottom of a