Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1865-03-29

ways an excuse ready to meet any chanc
demand for a like civility; and what per
haps riIed some of us most was that, upOl
the strength of pretty little house i
B., he kept clear of the little expen
sive peccadilloes which beset our paths
and kept his divinity so quiet that
whisper stole among us to the effect tina
the lady in B was delusion.
, He had affected Indifference toward The
heiress at first, and then had quietly con.
centrated his forces and taken up his po.
sition in a manner that would have done
him infinite credit in the field of war as
well as love. At first he made but little
ground; but the summer came, bringing
with it reviews, chance rides, and sketch
ing parties.
The heiress looked amiable. The cap
= tain grew sentimental, talked Of giving
up smoking and the house in town. Our
fellows began to prick up their ears, and
the odds in his favor were freely offered.
The match, from being the talk of the
mess, of course crept out and got into the
gossips' mouths in the town, and soon
conjecture and scandal were at their
height
Meantime Box ate as many dinners as
the bishop offered him, called regularly,
paid court to the maiden aunts who su-
perintended the housekeeping depart
ment, and took all the credit he could
get.
Things were at this pass when lieu
tenant from the til Regiment exchang-
ed into our corps-not prepossessing
youth at first sight, very young and boy
ish-looking, but blessed with quiet, un-
impressible sort of temper, that seemed
proof against all the sarcasms innuendoes,
and even insults, freely lavished under
the cover of practical jokes.
He seemed to have got his first step
very quickly, and though with all the
makings of fine soldier-like man, he was
just at that period an over-grown, loose
limbed boy; with propensity to blush !
when a woman spoke to him, and quiet
manner of getting out of the way thing
not altogetherstrictly decorous was going
on or being canvassed. He was laughed /
at, of course, and many a trap laid to
bring him to the test; but all to no ef-
feet. The laugh made no impression
he went on, quietly and consistently keep
ing his own course with a goodnatured
but perfectly firm Indifference, and ere
long, somehow, most of US began to have
respect for the young hand, and just
enough modesty left to feel little bit
ashamed of the scenes he avoided.
Box seemed to have taken an antipa-
thy to the new lieutenant since the begin
ming, and the consequence was constant
sparring and repetition of jokes perpe-
trated by the captain, who made heavy
wager he would make the regiment too
hot to hold Vincent before the year was
out. Vincent heard of it somehow, and
only laughed in his quiet way, offering
ten to one he would be in the corps long
er than Box. Still, through all this af-
fected carelessness, we who watched clos
est could see how the spirit rebelled, and
how the boys temper boiled under the
prosecutions of the captain, who divided
his time pretty equally between torment
ing Vincent and lOve-making.
The townsfOlk we're already deciding
the settlements; young ladies were spec
ulating who would be asked to be bride
maids; and not few ill-natured remarks +,
we're being raked up as to hirtations, and, !
after the manner of our dear friends, not
a little was hinted about the petty pee
eadilloes of the past.
September, with its turnip-felds and f
partridges; October, with its red woods, 9
pheasants, and long evenings, worked up !
the country hospitality to a pitch there q
was no Withstanding. Dinner invitations .
flowed in galore. The messmans Office II
was well-nigh sineeure, and his pockets "
profting accordingly. The engagement a
was not yet completed but what October G
and the shooting season failed to accom- o.
plish the hunting field gave ample prom Y
se of fulfilling. The heiress was frts- =,
rate horsewoman, andnever missed a meet .,
# she could find lady to second her q,
Accordingly, Box took tripto town and "
1ronght back couple of unters. Our c,
ellOws first opened their eyes and then h
heir mouths; but nothing came of it .,
ave that Box said, with one of his shat e,
,ou-up laughs. "They cost me a cool
hundred apiece, but I'll take three for
he pair" n,
"The deuce you will, muttered Vim "
.ent, and so the subject dropped, the cap k,
ain taking to his pigskin kindly, riding al
veil and straight when he did ride, but to
much following, except after W
Hiss Courtown. N
Vincent turned out hunting man too, Of