Note 71 — Chapter XXXIX
Reading edition
By this contemptuous name his soldiery designated all who had never borne arms. The word dropt once from the lips of one of Napoleon's marshals in the hearing of Talleyrand, who asked its meaning. "Nous nommons pequin," answered the rude soldier, "tout ce qui n'est pas militaire."—"Ah!" said the cool Talleyrand—"comme nous nommons militaire tout ce qui n'est pas civil."