The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-04-08

I
to the DEVILS Oven with her, and sat ana
talked for hours about Spencer and MilI
and Chopin and RuShin, it was rather for
the sake of the deep-set, dark eyes OF tho
Sibyl in that curious cave and the waves
of brown hair that curled down over her
dark forehead than for any wisdom that
| might proceed from my niece CIc9ly S
pretty mouth, that turns down so delicate
" at tae corners like tho old simile OF a
Cunid's bow.
There was q small garrison at Sackett's
| harbor then. | do not think there Is now,
and as it was just around the corner, as
| one may say, of the river and the lake,
which meet at Cape Vincent, the officers
were forever running down 1.-The bay" 10
see their friends among the summer Wis
| itors.
Among them was a young Lieutenant of
| infantry, Blankenburg think, by name, a
| nice Young barbarian, whom Clcely had
met in Washington, and whose simple
nature she greatly enjoyed for expert
| mental purposes. he had had a campaign
| against the Piutes or the Apaches, or some
| other OF the red barbarians, whom white
barbarians like this young Lieutenant
chase around that uuintcre sting Western
country every summer. As a consequence
| he had as many tales as Otbello, and moth
! ing suited INV niece CiceiT better, after
| she lad settled the artistic tendencies Of
| the age with Robert i'll the afternoon at
| the Devils Oven, than to relax her MUD
| by listening TO the young LiauJenant's
stories about the death of his Major, the
| tremendous strategy of General Crook al
| tbs affair OF Lei Horse Canon and the real
reasons, plagiarized by artful Lieutenant
Blaukenburgh from Captain McInnesS,
formerly of the Papal ZOuaves, why Gus
ter's command was lost at the Big Horn.
These seanceS took place at evening, in one
corner of the thiri-s5Orv veranda, while
the band crashed ont WaltZeS on the ball
room floor ben aath, and the lights of Harris
and Titusvilie across the steamboat chan
mel threw crimson fire upon tle dark water.
During them nay sIster-in-!aw would
descant in my browsing ears upon the de
teriOratiOn of the assemblies since the
first one she attended in the year lS51,
young Blankenburg would appropriate al
the experiences OF mis- arm OF the service
ii order to keep his stream of anecdotes
strictly personal for my niece's benefit,
and Robert Martin would glover il the
dark
Cicely never paid any attention to him
on these occasions. The Lieutenant had the
field in the evening, and i'll the afternoons,
as she told mo at the time, she would ana
lyze ais character to Robert in the Devils
Oven. They held long debates over the
LieutenaDt'S character. she said, just as IL
it were a piece of antique arm0r. They
assigned it sometimes to the fifteenth and
sQpaetimeS to the sixteenth century, again
putting it clear back into mid-medISRYallsn
and again fading some similar specimen of
military bric-a-brac among the Hishia::iGrS
of Dundee'S time. Despite thcSo daily
revengeS, Robert rowed off to his yacht
across the crimson bars on the rivers
breast every night in very bad humor.
Robert and some friends of his had hired Z
cabin sloop to Toronto, and were making
tour of tae upper river and lower lakes.
The thing had gone on, l think, for i've
mi ph WI lIanlon4nt Rlnn
mourned for the third time in that period
the loss to the service in the death of Cen
eral Candy in the lava beds, closing for the
third time also by dilating upon that
gallant officers bravery. When the recital
was finished saw ebuilient symptoms III
Robert, and kicked him. Il was no use.
1T seems to me" he said in coldly criti-
cal tone Of voice, as much as possible as the
Saturday RegjeU would talk if it had tongue
instead of type, that in our era we should
look for very different outward Manifesto
tionS of what is called bravery than in any
past era. Don't you think SO, Miss Draper:'
Ny Sister-in-law had gone into her room,
which was just behind where we were sit
ting. and lighted the gas to look for a shawl.
The ight shone very clearly on Cicely's
face, and saw her broad, white forehead
contract in frown. She did not like the
notion, as thought to myself, Of Roberts
breaking in upon her study of the Lieuten-
ants character Besides, being clever
girl, of course she knew that something I'M
pleasant was coming. Il think you are
talking little over our heads" she an
swered; but perhaps you can bring your
self down to our plane of thought DO you
think he can, Lieutenant."
IF he can show me how bravery is any
different now from what it was hundred
years ago he is a pretty good lawyer" said
the gallant warrior. 81 believe you are
lawyer amt you, Mr. Martini"
"a lurf cd i,ot
we leave rows and rumpuScS and riots to
policemen and that sort of people nova
DAYS. We pay taxes for them to fight for
US. don't lay claim to the slightest de
gree of physical courage myself; neither
does any sensible man | know of. If WAS
foolish enough to get into a fight | hope
should be sensible enough to run away by
the time it got fairly started. People to-
day see that mans body is merely q case
full of valuable and perishable goods, and
think him worse than fool to go out and
get it stove in and smashed up in any way,
and thus let its contents be lost TO the
world Now, what call true courage is
this: l have little tailor at home VINO
makes nv clothes. He used to have a shop
on Thirteenth street. This spring ne looked
the thing over, took ill all the points for
and against his grand strategy, and put
every cent he had into the rent and stock
of big shop on Chestnut street.
He CHANGED the savings of lifetime
when he signed that lease, and | was in his
shop when the lawyers clerk brought it
down, and saw his hand tremble when he
aid sign it. That was true courage"
Il q Canadian bomb had come screaming
across from one of the hartello towns i'll
Kings.on Bay, and pumped down on the
parapet at Sackett'S Harbor during guard
mount. Lieutenant Blankenburgh would
not have been moro surprised. What he
thought, however, of being claSSed with
= i
tailors. we ns~er knew. The last whistle
of the boat for Cape Vincent blew at that
moment, and, making hurried adieux to
every body but Robert, ne rushed for the
stairway, and moment later we saw him
leap across the space between the dock
and the steamer where the gang plank had
Just been drawn in.
NV niece Cicely rose when the Lieutenant
had left, and swept grandly away, her
splendid shoulders thrown ma jestically
back and the tail of her long white gown
sweeping the floor with an angry rustic like
the train of an outraged queen. She
vOuchSafed no more attention to Robert
than had the officer.
You have done very nicely, young
man. l said in what l pride myself on as
my most satirical tone, after the young
woman had gone. you preach
sermon on the pacific tendencies of the age,
and in doing SO you insult an army officer
in the presence of a lady, and descend
pretty nearly to personal abuse in doing
so. Yes, you have acted with that philoso-
phic consistency which is the most chaste
bit of Yirtu in the mental furniture of
gentleman of the ninetsenta century"
l thought that this was a pretty good
speech. I think so now, or else would no5
be able to remember it.
Il don't care" snaried my young friend.
II wish he would take some notice of il in
the way he'd like 70, and I'd show him how
far my principles agree with my practice.
Good heavens, man, is some Western cow
boy, whom ranchero Congressman has
laSsoed and corTaied at West Point, going
to come into the society of gentlemen and
ali