Chapter
5
How the Brigadier Took the Field Against the Marshal MillefleursMASSENA WAS A THIN, sour little fellow, and after his hunting accident he had only one eye, but when it looked out from under his c****d hat there was not much upon a field of battle which escaped it. He could stand in front of a battalion, and with a single sweep tell you if a buckle or a gaiter button were out of place. Neither the officers nor the men were very fond of him, for he was, as you know, a miser, and soldiers love that their leaders should be free-handed. At the same time, when it came to work they had a very high respect for him, and they would rather fight under him than under anyone except the Emperor himself, and Lannes, when he was alive. After all, if he had a tight grasp upon his money-bags, th
