BERGOTTE AND DONCIERES 71
Perhaps, however, the chief immediate influence upon his life
which Proust encountered at this time in Mme Arman's salon was
that of a person who was not there, her son Gaston. It can hardly
be a coincidence that the military service of Gaston Arman, whom
so far he had never met,' was immediately followed by that of
Proust. Every Wednesday at Mme Arman's (for her day was the
same as Mme Verdurin's) he would hear the latest news of Gaston
in the army: his life in barracks at Versailles, the practical jokes
for which he was so frequently confined to those barracks, the
horrors and heroism of his route-marches and billeting in barns
in the country of the Loire. He would see the photograph of
Gaston on leave, standing in the sunlight on the balcony of 12
Avenue Hoche, fierce and resplendent in his artillery-man's
uniform, the image of a rather portly Saint-Loup. Proust heard,
admired and envied: why should he not do the same? He joined
the army of his own free will, for with his father's influence he
could easily have obtained exemption on the grounds of ill-
health; and exemptions were also freely granted to those taking a
university education. But' it is true that unless he was either to
spend three long years in military service or evade it altogether,
the time was now or never.
The period of compulsory military service since 1872 had been
five years, but for volunteers only one year. In practice, for more
than half the total number of recruits, the full period of five years
was not insisted upon, since it would have meant an intolerable
strain upon finance and manpower.^2 Nevertheless, the only way
in which one could be sure of serving only one year was to have
parents rich enough to pay I,50() francs (£60) for one's uniform
and maintenance, to have been educated up to baccalaureate or
equivalent standard, and to volunteer. Such volunteers served in
1 So he said, more than thirty years later. But it seems certain that Gaston
Arman was at Condorcet a year above Proust, for in her letters to her son,
though she never names his school, Mme Arman mentions Elie Halevy,
Leon Brunschwicg and Jacques Baigneres as rus schoolfellows. Proust must
have known him there, but perhaps only by sight. Cf. also the entry for
Gaston de Caillavet in Qui etes-vous?, 1910-1 I.
111 The class of each year was about 240,000 men: if each had served his full
time the army, including 100,000 officers, N.C.O.s and long-service men,
would have numbered 1,300,000 men. In fact, exemptions were numerous,
many others were sent on indefinite leave after one year, and only about
~OO,000 were under arms at a time.