Note 23 — Chapter III

"The youth of the present day are brought up in very different principles: the love of glory, above all, has taken deep root; it has become the distinguishing attribute of the national character, exalted by twenty years of continued success. But this very glory was become our idol; it absorbed all the thoughts of the brave fellows whose wounds had rendered them unfit for service—all the hopes of the youthful warriors who for the first time bore arms; an unlooked-for blow has been struck, and we now find in our hearts a blank similar to that which a lover feels who has lost the object of his passion; every thing he sees, every thing he hears, renews his grief. This sentiment renders our situation vague and painful; every one seeks to hide from himself the void which he feels exist in his heart. He is looked upon as humbled, after twenty years of continued triumph, for having lost a single stake, which unfortunately was the stake of honour, and which had become the rule of our destinies."—Caront's Memoir.