'All that is essential is that France should
live, that she should be victorious.'"
Marcel Drouet, who has just been mentioned, was much younger. He was a
native of the invaded department of the Ardennes, and had not
completed his twenty-sixth year when he was killed in the trenches of
Consenvoye, in the Woevre, when he was taking part in the outer
defence of Verdun. He seems to have been distinguished by a refinement
of spirit, which is referred to, in different terms, by every one who
has described him. He leaves behind him a volume of poems, "L'Ombre
qui tourne," and various essays and fragments. The journal of the last
days of his life has been edited by M. Maurice Barres, and is a record
of singular delicacy and courage. We see him facing the dreadful
circumstances of the war, made the more dreadful to him because the
horrors are committed in the midst of the familiar scenes of his own
home, and we find him patiently waiting for the signal to lead his men
into action while he holds a volume of Chateaubriand open upon his
knee. The reflections of Marcel Drouet differ in some respects from
those of his most enthusiastic companions.
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