While the drawing goes on, the fathers and mothers, brothers and
sisters, and their friends, wait outside in the greatest anxiety.
There are cheers and joyful greetings when a boy with a "good" number
comes out, and groans of pity for those who have been unlucky. And
when the drawing is done, and everyone knows his fate, they all go off
to the public-houses. Those who have drawn lucky numbers get drunk
from joy, while those who have to serve in the army try to forget
their sorrow in drinking. Very often their families and friends do the
same, and so it comes to pass that every February there are horrible
scenes--men and women, boys and girls, reeling about the streets,
shouting, singing, quarrelling, and behaving in the most disgraceful
way. It is quite different from Germany, where every boy knows he must
be trained to defend his country, and where almost everyone is proud
of being a soldier.
If, however, the father of a boy who has drawn an unlucky number is
rich enough to pay for another to take his place, he may do so. This
system is called the _Remplacement_, and almost every father buys his
son off if he can afford it.
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