The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1892-07-02

mem bers OF the Porter family, old
and young, big and little, they were
patriotism and the martial instinct. Old
Grandpa Porter had "ft in the war of
1872" and his greatest sorrow in life
was that caused by the authorities when
they refused to permit him to enlist
during the war with Mexico. "Pa"
Porter, then Il youth of very tender
years, went, however, with Taylor,
and also fought through the rebellion
and earned colonel's eagles for his
big shoulders. He married a soldiers
daughter also, so it is small wonder
that their family Of nine, girls as well
as boys, inherited taste for gunpowder
and brass buttons
AS soon as the boys were old enough
to walk they began wearing soldier
caps and carrying wooden or tin swords
and guns and fought mock battles on
the lawn, while their sisters, beating
drums and waving the national coIors,
squealed with nervous delight from
their safe place of observation on the
front porch
And not one of them ever outgrew
these tendencies, either. The two old
er boys, after course at private mil
itary school, were sent, each in turn, to
West Point. and the two younger ones,
while they never took, to arms as pro-
fcssion, We're both leading members of
''crack" militia companies.
The two older girls married into the
army; and Dorothy, aged eighteen, Mar
jorie, aged sixteen, and Beth otherwise
known as "Baby'), the fifteen-ycar-old,
insisted that they would do likewise.
1t so happened, however, that the
young man who was devoting all his
spare unexpectedly more-to worship
ing at the fair Dorothy's shrine didn't
care a snap for soldiers or soldering,
real or otherwise. He was a physician,
and a very nice chap, indeed, who had
the approval of all the family, and was
devoted to Dorothy. This approval,
however, was qualified by disapproval
of his distaste for things military.
In order that he might be entirely
satisfactory, Dorothy had, few months
since, induced him to Join the militia
company in his own village, which was
several miles from Fairfield, where the
Porters lived; but, somehow or other,
this did not prove entirely satisfactory
to either herself or the doctor. For, al
though, after several weeks of torture,
Recruit Hull became full-aedged Pri-
vate Hull, he got not step higher,
despite the fact that number of va
oancies occurred in one way and an
other, in the commissioned and nom
commissioned offices-and private is
hardly gorgeous enough for the taste of
fastidious daughter of Eve, especially
one who has two brothers in the reg
ular army, another who commands a
swell militia company, and yet another
who is adjutant of the best regiment in
the state. And the annual encampment
was to take place the first week in July!
1t made Dorothy's blood boil to think
how all the girls in her "set" would be
Swelling around" with colonels, and
majors, and captains, and lieutenants,
while she would have to content herself
with modest private, and very little
of him; because a private often has
duties to perform when his superior Of
icers are having a good time.
The more she thought of it, the
angrier Dorothy became, and the harder
she made it for poor Phil, who didn't
understand, at all, what was the mat
ter. For, be it known, Dorothy was q
young person who resented any effort
to question her Withstand she had a
great many of them-and Dr. Phil was
Very much in love, and somewhat in
awe of his pretty sweetheart.
July first came, and with it the jolly
militiamen belonging to the three regi'
ments which annually ''camped" with
the First The governor came, and
with him II glittering staff; the brigade
commander arrived, accompanied by
more brass buttons and gold lace; like
wise the regiInental commanders, with
their COMPLIMENTS of staff officers; and
besides, there were the field officers,
Such glitteriug array, and not enough
girls TO go around!
''If Phil were even first sergeant
thcaght Dorothy, bitterly, sit would be
ali.tle better, because they have almost
as many privileges as the heutenants
but n prtrdte-Ugh how horrid!''
But Dorothy was not the girl to miss
all the fun just on account of an insig
nifcant private; and, even were she sc
inclined. there were too many of those
lovely star officers to permit such q
sacrifice. So, for three days, while
poor Phil wnsundergoipg discipline anc
the niseries VI camp routine, she man