The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1894-10-04
took luncheon with her. We sat by


an affair-twenty couples in all, some
of the best people from the neighbor-
ing railroad town having driven over
We promptly discovered that Miss Ro-
han could not dance; at least, her
way was not our way. She went
around in circle. which was enough
to make even 4 soldiers head swim;
but then She took it SO chcerfully and
swcetly when she stepped on our pat
cnt-leathcr pumps, and informed us so
honestly that she guessed she never
had been much at dancin'," that we
were only too anxious to assure her
that She was 4 perfect fairy. In course
Of time she came to believe it.
She had one habit which was de-
lightful, it was so old-fashioned and
quaint, She said: "Ycs'm' and Nom,
"Yessir' and ''Nosir," always, Capt.
Grant said it was like a servant girl, but
then he had just been on leave and
was engaged to an eastern girl.
We thought She was very good com
pany, and so did the garrison children.
They took Il violent fancy to her. She
played tag and prisoners base with
them; she climbed fences and wood
piles; She sat on the top of the barns;
and she rode bare backed horses AROUND
the post. And then she was such thor
oughly gool-hearted girl, generous to
the last degree, and such cook!
For long time Bayurd and Blake
divided the honors. Miss Bohan and
fate smiled on both equally. But Miss
Rohan was Il girl with considera Bile
natural tendency 10 aim high; more
over, her married sister had an eye to
the main chance. If there was one
thing more than another that She
hoped for, it was to see the girl Kate
Bayard.
Here is the case stated plainly:
/ Given lieutenant of tycrty-six, who
/ is born with a fondness for feminine
society. who has not had ANY of it for
| at least a year-that is. not any Young
feminine society: given also two wom-
en-. one of them married and deter
mined, the other unmarried and not
unattractive. Ii needs 40 great wis
! dom to see the natural outcOmr. Had
/ Bayard, just then, had Ole redceming,
wOmanly influence. had he broken
away for a month aut gone back
among his equals. or had one of his
equals come to him he W ould have been
/ saved. As it was, ne was left alone
with his ambition and this girl.
He fell in love; rherefO he lost mis-
reasoning powers, otherwise lac would
have been bound to sec that this wonl-
an and ambition could not both be in
! his life He fell III love, and he mar
ried her then and there. She wore the
! diamonds of the stately old mother. as
| she sat on the porch at guard-mount-
ing with her manicure set.
The first intim2tion we had Of the
way the wind blew in that family was
/ when the young Mrs. Bayard sat one
| day on the front steps and read copy
/ of "Don't,' which She told us that
my husband" had bought for her.
She was very much pleased with the
| gift. and took much pleasure in read
ing it. We noticed after that that she
| was most careful about breaking,
| biting, and cutting her bread at din
ner brcakfa and luncheon, but
Don't" evidently did not include any
reference to anicure-sets. | think
Bayard told h,r about them. though,
/ after a time, for she ceased making
her appearance in public with it, but
! She bit her rails nervouSly
| went away on leave about this time.
! When c;,me back. there was a little
Bayard, which promised to look very
like its mamma. There had been a
great quarrel as to the naming of the
child. There were a good many quar-
rels now, anyway. Mrs. Bayard had
liked the name of kathleen-She said
it was her mothers name, and. for my
part, it seemed that it was very must
cal and pretty-but the father was de
termined upon Beatrice, with the ac-
cent on the second syllable. The child
was baptized Kathleen.
When | had gone east on my leave,
Bayard had begged me to give my at
tention and what personal influence |
had to his promotion as captain and
commissary at Washington. He want
ed it even worse than he did foreign
ttache-ship.
| saw the turn affairs had taken
that madam was growing stouter, ugly,
and untidy; that she neglected even
lHc EllHlCute-ScI lOG IIle very NOISY ana
unprepossessing baby; that poor Bay
ards spick-and-span clothing and APP
pearance We're thing of the past: that
, he looked worn and did not seem to
! feel at ease among his brother officers
So | carried to him some encouraging
news with regard to his erst-whilc de-
| sired appointment. | told him that |
knew it to be sure thing; that the
enviable post in Washington would
soon be his; that ere long he would
again be in his native air.
An uneasy look came into his fine
brown eyes. He shranll back as his
wife and the baby came into the room.
For an instant his glance rested on
them.
THANK you, old fellow he said.
II think shall be content to pass the
rest of my life on the frontier, far
from the maddcning crowd you
know he added, with 4 choking
laugh.
Poor Bayard! And this was the end,
But | knew he was righte and | went
away, leaving him with his future and
with his wife. -ttwendolen Overton, in
San Francisco, Argonaut