When he was still a child, the sight of certain dragoons of the 6th, in their long, white cloaks, and helmets adorned with long crests of black horsehair, who were returning from Italy, and whom Julien saw tying their horses to the barred window of his father's house, drove him mad with longing for a military career.
Dès sa première enfance, la vue de certains dragons du 6me, aux longs manteaux blancs, et la tête couverte de casques aux longs crins noirs, qui revenaient d’Italie, et que Julien vit attacher leurs chevaux à la fenêtre grillée de la maison de son père, le rendit fou de l’état militaire.