My Memoirs, Vol. III, 1826 to 1830Dumas, Alexandre
General
My Memoirs, Vol. III, 1826 to 1830
Dumas, Alexandre
Dumas, Alexandre, 1802-1870
After the French campaign and the Treaty of Vienna, Constantine was
made Viceroy of Poland. It was just the post for him. Here, placed at
the head of a warlike nation, whose whole history is one long struggle,
his military tastes grew with redoubled energy; unfortunately, he
substituted lawless encounters for the bloody struggles in which he
had just taken part. Summer or winter--whether living in the palace of
Bruhl or residing in the palace of Belvédère--he was up and equipped in
his general's uniform by three in the morning, without the assistance
in his toilet of any valet. He would then seat himself before a
table covered with regimental lists and military orders, in a room
wherein every single panel on the walls was painted with different
regimental costumes; he read the reports that had been drawn up the
day before, either by Colonel Axamilovisky or by Suboividsky, the
Prefect of Police, signifying his approval or disapproval of them in
a side note. With the exception of letter-writing to some members of
his family, these were the only occasions he handled a pen. This work
generally took him until nine in the morning, when he partook of the
hasty breakfast of a soldier. He then went down to the parade ground
to inspect a couple of regiments of infantry or a squadron of cavalry.
The band saluted him as he approached, and the review immediately
began. The platoons marched past the viceroy, a little way off, with
mathematical precision--a sight that always filled him with childish
joy, and moved him as much as though the men were marching to a real
battle. He would stand on foot watching them pass by, attired in the
green uniform of the Light Infantry, his cap, which was decorated
with cocks' feathers, posed on his head in such a manner that one
of the corners touched his left epaulette, whilst the other pointed
heavenwards at an alarming angle. Below shone, like two carbuncles,
eyes that seemed more like a jackal's than those of a human being, set
below a narrow forehead, which was furrowed with deep lines, indicating
constant and anxious preoccupation; and his thick long eyebrows were
crooked from habitual frowning. In his moments of extreme happiness,
the strange vivaciousness of the czarovitch's expression, coupled with
the snub nose that looked like a skeleton's, and his protruding lower
lip, gave a very savage appearance to his head. His neck, which he
could push out and withdraw at will, came in and out of his collar just
like a tortoise's from below its shell. As he listened to the music
and saw the men he had trained and heard the measured tramp of their
feet, his whole being expanded with delight, until he looked feverish
with excitement: the flush would come into his cheeks, his arms would
stiffen against his body down to his elbows, his rigid, tightly clasped
fists would nervously open and close, while his restless feet beat
time, and his guttural voice every now and then, between his harshly
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