But for the forthcoming "solemn" march past, the men now made a final effort to pull themselves together. The officers almost besought their subordinates to strain every nerve for this final proof of their endurance and discipline. "Brothers, for the honour of the regiment, do your best. Save yourselves and us from disgracing ourselves before the General." In this humble recourse on the part of the officers to their subordinates there lay--besides much else that was little edifying--too, an indirect recognition of their own faults and shortcomings. The wrath aroused in such a great personage as the General of the regiment was felt to be equally painful and oppressive to officers and troops alike, and it had, to some extent, a levelling effect, so that all were, in an equally high degree, dispirited, nervous, and apathetic. "Attention! The band in front!" ordered Colonel Shulgovich, in the far distance. And all these fifteen hundred human beings for a second suppressed their faint inward murmurings; all muscles were once more strained, and again they stood in nervous, painful expectation. Shulgovich could not be detected by any eye, but his tremendous voice again rang across the field-- "Stand at ease!" Four battalion Captains turned in their saddles to their respective divisions, and each uttered the command-- "Battalion, stand at----" after which they awaited with feverish nervousness the word of command. Somewhere, far away on the field, a sabre suddenly gleamed like lightning in the air. This was the desired signal, and all the Captains at once roared-- "---- ease!" whereupon all the regiment, with a dull thud, grounded their rifles. Here and there was heard the click of a few unfortunate bayonets which, in the movement, happened to clash together. But now, at last, the solemn, never-to-be-forgotten moment had arrived, when the commander of the regiment's tremendous lungs were to be heard by the world in all their awful majesty. Solemnly, confidently, but, at the same time, menacingly, like slow rumblings of thunder, the strongly accentuated syllables rolled across the plain in the command-- "March past!" In the next moment you might hear sixteen Captains risking their lives in mad attempt to shout each other down, when they repeated all at once-- "March past!" One single poor sinner far away in detail of the column managed to come too late. He whined in a melancholy falsetto: "March pa--!" The rest of the word was unfortunately lost to the men, and probably drowned in the oaths and threats of the bystanders. "Column in half companies!" roared Colonel Shulgovich. "Column in half companies!" repeated the Captains. "With double platoon--hollow!" chanted Shulgovich. "With double platoon--hollow!" answered the choir. "Dress-ing--ri-ight!" thundered the giant. "Dress-ing--ri-ight!" came from the dwarfs.