Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-02-01

4 AAAANN was -'Co llpuli, VI L4c I'll
artillery. We We're classmates an,
dear friends. He was not handsome
Even |, who loved him, will acknowl
! edge that. But he was as straight a:
| a Dart, with the brightest eyes an(
| sunniest smile that ever lighted A plair
! face. As cadet he was Il fayoritt
! among the men, who would often come
TO him for advice, and take it from
him. too, with good grace. | well re
member reproof he administered tf
! one of the boys who laughingIy re
lated how he had the evening be
fore, on the dark end of the hotel
piazza, put his arm about the waist
Of the daiSiest' little girl!
And, by Jove, she didn't mind ii
bit. I don't believe fellow ever
tried that kind of thing on her be
fore. She's awfully young, you know.
Most of the fellows laughed; some
few sneered. Rathbun did neither. but
his countenance Wore an expression
that made the fresh youth squirm.
:" Well. old sober-chopS.' he said.
with seeming lightness, and what have
you 10 say about it?
"' l was wondering said Rathbun.
why you did it
- For fun, of course. Come. Ned,
you're no saint yourself. and YOU like
Lark as we'll as the rest of us
Yes. But | would hesitate long
before making a sweet young girl hate
me-
>" Hate me! Why, she likes mer
Now, perhaps she does. She is,
as you say, only a child. When she
knows life better she will hate YOU
for taking such a liberty with her.
1t is hard thing for "a woman to
forgive the man who has ever made
her lose one jot of her self-respect,'
The boy flushed holly, but not an
grily.
80 Upon my word, I never thought
of it in that way! only did it for fun
Rathbun laid an affectionate hand
on the youths shoulder.
81 know it, old man! ONLY when
you want to have "fun'' let it be with
a woman of the world, not with a
little girl who knows mem so little
that she trusts them all implicitly
And there he dropped the subject,
once and forever"
''Rathbun and l We're stationed at
Fort Monroe at the same time, and oc-
cup1ed the same caSemate. Somehow
his quarters were always CHEEKY and
homelike. Some of the officers COM
planned of the dear old fort, called it
damp, and all that sort of thing. But
we loved it, The parade ground, the
live oaks, the useless mOat and the
salt air come back to my mind even
now, and strike me with a homesick
thrill. The routine of guard mount
ing and dress parade took on an add
ed interest for us when the benches
on the edge of the parade ground were
occupied by bellies from the Hygeia,
who, with their chaperons. made it
the fashion to be on hand at these
exhibitions of the pomp and circum-
stance of glorious war;
TT was then and there that Rathbun,
in spite of his reputation as staid
and invulnerable old bachelor. fell In
love. Miss Daintree was a New York
girl and as dainty and pretty as a
Dresden china figure. It would have
taken all the rosy-tipped taper digits
on her two shapely hands to enumer-
ate all her admirers at Old Point She
was there in the midst of the season,
when there was no lack of attractive
girls, but she was the favorite.
fancy that it was not so much her
beauty as her tact and ability to place
every one with whom she came in
contact at his very best.
Somehow. Lawrence Rathbun
cOnfided to me- she brings out all
that is good in a man. I find myself
talking better to her than to any other
woman I ever met
''This remark was made at the be-
ginning of their acquaintanceship. AS
time went on, and Rathbun fell more
desperately in love with each passing
day, he spoke little of her. To quote
his own language. it went too deep
/. watching him, wondered with a
clutch at my heart what would hap
pen if the devotion of such a heart
L
Miss Daintree liked him was evident
but she also liked Miller OF the til
Cavalry, who was her very ardent
admirer He was a good fellow, and
so open-hearted as to be loquacious
on the subject of his divinity. He
would often run into our casemate
and, sitting by our fire, talk about
the beauty of her figure, the brtllian
cy of her eyes, until I marvelled that
Ned, with his intense and silent ma
ture, could retain from calling the
! man fool. But we all liked Miller
and he and Rathbun had been goOd
friends for years. Only once did the
loyal fellow mention to me his ole
chum's freedom Of speech. Miller had
spent an hour with us talking, as
usual, of Miss Daintree's charms an6
accomplishments. AS he rose to &c
+ he said, half-jestingly: