Unsuccessful Search for Thief at Noyons
The narrator pursues the thief to Noyons, arriving faint with weariness and hunger, only to find no trace of the Capuchin. He reveals his deplorable situation to the innkeeper, who expresses sympathy but offers no practical assistance, merely recommending patience before attending to other guests.
Desperation After Denied Local Aid
While standing dejectedly at the inn, the narrator encounters a richly dressed young gentleman and explains his predicament. The gentleman asks pointlessly, “Well, monsieur, what would you have me do?”—a question that shames the narrator. When ordered to leave by the innkeeper, he suffers a nosebleed from grief and anger. He wanders into the fields, collapsing exhausted under a tree, reflecting bitterly on his misfortunes and questioning divine justice for allowing him to face famine in a foreign land.
Enlistment in Regiment of Picardy
The narrator hears a violin and discovers soldiers dancing with their families. Despite their gaunt, ragged appearance, they welcome him cordially. He joins their feast of bread, onions, and cheap wine, then dances with them. The sergeant charms him with descriptions of military life, and weighing his desperate circumstances, the narrator enlists in the Regiment of Picardy—one of Europe’s oldest corps. He is fitted with clothes, arms, and accoutrements, sells his livery suit, purchases linen, and applies himself to learning drill, quickly becoming a competent soldier.
Harsh March Conditions to Germany
Orders arrive to march into Germany to reinforce Marshal Duc de Noailles, who is watching an Anglo-Hanoverian-Austrian-Hessian force under the Earl of Stair along the River Main. The narrator endures extreme hunger, thirst, and fatigue. His plump constitution proves a disadvantage—his thighs and legs become raw and skinned from heat and friction, while his leaner comrades remain unbothered. This physical torment makes him irritable and mortified to see weaker soldiers bear these hardships with apparent ease.
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