The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1892-06-30

!M@H/|Dg s sn:: b; o'sS h Z
members of the Porter family, old
and young, big and little, they were
patriotism and the martial instinct. Old
';randpa Porter had fit 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 a youth of very tender
years. went, however. with Taylor,
and also fought through the rebellion
and earned a colonel's eagles for his
big shoulders. He married il soldiers
daughter also, SO it is small wonder
that their family of nine. girls as we'll
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 colors
squea|td 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
or boys, after a course at a private mil
itary school, were sent, each in turn. to
West Point. and the two younger ones.
while they never took to ar1uS as Il pro-
frs>i"n. were 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 (othcrwise
known as "Hahv J. the ffteen-ycar-old,
insisted that they would do likewise
1t so happened, however. that the
young man who was devoting all his
spare time -probab l V more--to Worship
ing at the fair Dorothy's shrine didn't
care Il snap for soldiers or soldering.
real or otherwise. He was physician.
and Il very nice chap, indeed. who hau
the approval of all the family, and was
devoted to Dorothy. This approval,
however. was qualified by disapproval
Of his diSta>t" 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
Portcl> 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-hedged Pri-
waite Hull, he got not a step higher,
despite the fact that a number of va
cancies occurred in one way and an
other in the commissioned and non
commissioned ottices-and private is
hardly gorgeous enough for the t.stc Of
fastidiou> 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 colonies, and
majors. and captains, and licutcnants.
while she would have to content herself
with a modest private, and very little
of him; because d private often has
duties to perform when his superior Of
fcers are having good time.
The more she thought of it, the
angricr 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 a
young person who resented any effort
to question her Withstand she had a
great many Of thcm--and DR.. Phil was
very much in love, and somewhat in
- ~,
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 a glittering staff; the brigade
commander arrived, accompanied by
more brass buttons and gold lace; like
wise the regi1nental commanders, with
their compliments Of staff officers; and,
besides, there were the field officers.
Such glittering array, and not enough
girls to go around.
''lf Phil were even first sergeant, "
thought Dorothy. bitterly, lit would be
a little better, because they have almost
as many privileges as the lieutenants:
but a Pr rate-Ugh! how horrid!''
But Dorothy was not the girl to miss
all the fun just on account OF an lnSlg'
niticant private: and, even were she SC
inclined, there were too many of those
lovely staff officers to permit such q
sacrifice. So, for three days, while
poor Phil was undergoing discipline anc
the miseries of camp routine, she man
aged to enjoy herself pretty thoroughly
assisted, to large extent, by Col. Viii
lis, of the governors staff, who was
palpably smitten.
OF course, Phil saw her several times
generally, however, when he and his
'fellow-slaves" were undergoing com
pany drill, with lot of giggling girls
and Sinking staff officers looking on
and the real and fancied Sights ranked
deeply, but he was helpless.
There had been great preparations
for the celebration of the Fourth. II
was to be sort of cooperative cele bra
ton. In the forenoon there was to be
big parade and sham battle at Fair
1eld; in the afternoon, speeches and