Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-06-10


| where there were five who liked there
these made up in quantity what they
lacked In quality.
To sum up the situation, Lieut..
Doyle's expression was perhaps the
most comprehensive, as giving the
views of the great majority: eff were
his K. O. and this crowd the coort, he'd
"a been kicked out of the service
months ago."
And yet, entertaining or expressing
so hostile an opinion of the laughing
lieutenant, Mr.. Doyle did not hesitate
| to seek his society on many an occasion
when he wasn't wanted, and to solace
| himself at Warnings sideboard at any
hour of the day or night, for Warning
kept what was known as ''open house,
| to all corners, and the very men who
| wondered how he could afford 1t and
| who predicted his speedy swamping in
mire of debt and disgrace were the
| very ones who were most frequently to
be found loafng about his gallery,
smoking his tobacco and swigging his
| whisky, pretty sure sign that the oc-
cupant of the quarters, however, was
absent. With none of their number
| had he eyer had open quarrel. Re-
marks made at his expense and report
| ed to him in moments of bibulous
| confidence he treated with gay disdain,
| often to the manifest disappointment
OF his informant. In his presence even
| the most reckless of their number
| were conscious of a certain restraint.
War1ng, as has been said, detested foul
| language, and had very quiet but eff
| fectlve way OF suppressing it, often
| without so much as uttering word.
| These were the rough days of the army,
| the very toughest it ever knew, the
| days that interviewed between the in
cessant strain and tension of the four
years battling and the slow gradual
resumption of good order and military
1 discipline. The rude speech and man
ners of the camp permeated every gar
I rison~ The bulk of the commissioned
force was made up of hard fighters,
l brave soldiers and loyal servants of
| the nation, to be sure, but as class
| they had known no other life or
language since the day of their muster
| in. Of the line officers, stationed in
L and around this southern city in the
| lovely spring-tide of 1856, of a force
| aggregating twenty companies Of in
| fantry and cavalry, there were fifty
| captains and ieutenants appointed
| from the volunteers, the ranks, or civil
life, to one graduated from West Point
| The predominance was in favor of ex-
| sergeants, corporals or company clerks
good men and true when they wore
the chevrons, but who, with few
marked and most admirable excep-
| tions, proved to be utterly out of
| hai oil tod 10
I higher sphere. The entrance into
their midst of Capt. Cram with his
swell light battery, with officers and
men in scarlet plumes and full-dress
uniforms, was revelation to the SOM
Der battalions whose officers had not
yet even purchased their epaulettes and
had seen no occasion to wear them.
But when Cram and his lieutenants
came staggering about the garrison
croquet ground in natty shell Jackets,
Russian shoulder knots, riding
breeches, boots and spurs, there were
not lacking those among the sturdy
| foot who looked upon the whole pro-
ceeding with great disfavor. Cram had
| two ''rankers" with him when he came,
but one had been transferred out in
favor of Warning, and now his battery
was supplied with the full complement
of subalterns-Doyle, very much out of
place, commanding the right section
las platoon was called in those days.,
Warning commanding the left. Ferry
serving as chief of caissons, and Pierce
as battery adjutant and general utility
man. Two of the officers were gradrt-
.ates of West Point and not yet three
| years out of the cadet uniform. Under
these circumstances it was injudicious
in Cram to sport in person the aiguil-
lettes and thereby set an example to
his subalterns which they were not
slow to follow. With their gold hat
braids, cords, tassels and epaulettes,
with scarlet plumes and facings, he and
his officers were already much more
gorgeously bedecked than were their
infantry friends. The post commander,
old Rounds, had said nothing, because
he had had his start in the light artil-
lery and might have lived and died q
captain had he not pushed for a voluh-
teer regiment and fought his way up
| to a division command and a Heuten-
ant colonelcy of regulars at the close
of the war, while his seniors who stuck
| to their own corps never rose beyond
the possibilities of their arm of
the service, and probably never will.
But Braxton, who succeeded as post
commander, knew that in European
armies and in the old Mexican war
days the aiguillette was ordinarily the
distinctive badge of general officers or
those empowered to give orders in
their name. 1t wasn't the proper thing
for Inesman-battery, cavalry or foot
to wear, said Brax, and he thought
Cram was wrong in wearing it, even
though some other battery officers did
so. But Cram was just back from
Britain.
"Why, sir, look at the life guardsl
Look at the horse guards in London!
Every officer and man wears the
aiguillette." And Braxton was Briton
by birth and breeding, and that ended
tat least so nearly ended it that
Grams diplomatic invitation to come
up and try some Veuve Clicquot, extra
dry, upon the merits Of which he de-
sired the colonel's opinion, had settled
it for good and all. Braxton's officers