Connecticut western news., 1895-05-23
TWO AMBITIONS.

The chief and first tendency of the army, individually and collectively, is to love all new arrivals. The second and lasting one is to pick them to pieces and to backbite them.
 We loved Miss Rohan with true Christian spirit when she first came to the fort. It being the headquarters of the regiment and we having band at our disposal, we gave her serenade upon the night of her entrance upon military soil. The style of the serenade was largely in what our colonel called 70 minor," being his way of express ing ultra classic" The programme had been arranged before we had had the pleasure of seeing Miss Rohan, and when we realized how entirely it was unsuited to her style there was no time to change.
 We called on her in . body the night of the day that she came, which is the barbarous custom at mill tary posts, like a lot of savages crowd ing about . newly arrived runner who brings news of the outside world. It is meant we'll. Most of the inane and an- noying things that we do in the social body are meant well, which is their only excuse. Nobody stops to think that the travel stained wanderer would like time to rid herself of the rubbed in ooal soot and the alkaM powder of tho plains; that she would like the first impression to be Q favorable one.
 We sat within the tawdry little par for while the band played symphonies and andantes under the window, and we watched the drop of new blood in our stagnant veina It was not blue blood in the least. It was hearty and red and strong, but 1t was the better ap- preciated on that account
 We were four, the bachelor officers I mean in the room-and one of us was doomed to become the prey of this young person. Which of us heaven had set it's mark upon was not then to Ee guessed. Miss Rohan smiled on all alike. It was . generous smile, which showed two rows of teeth rather heavily upholstered in gold They sug- gested that she had eaten good deal of taffy and piokled Times in her very youthful days. As I see it now. in the light of cool reason, she would have made an ideal milkmaid. for she was plump and fair. her nose was crimson from exposure to the Arizona sun, her hair was an undecided blond, and her eyes were blue-real Irish blue; also, seen in the cool light of reason. her gown was more intricate than graceful She had on a skirt ruffled quite to the waist, fashion. it seems among stout women, 8 very large founce, if that is the name for it, falling from the shoul- der and sleeves. which were simply huge. She was very much laced, too, which may have had something to do with her horid skin. One is pretty apt to notice a woman's feet. Hers were short and broad and cased in red slip pers As for her hands, they were dumpy. and the tips of her fingers were square. I learned afterward that her hands were her pride. She would sit on the front porch every morning at guard mounting and manicure them. There was no hesitation in her manner nor in her voice-in fact, she spoke loudly and not always quite grammatically.
 Then looked at my three compan- ions. There was Blake, who was tall. fair and hanteome-the kind of man that women fall head over ears in love with, who stood and looked deep into their eyes as if he read therein the story of his life. He was the son of New
 England farmer of the kind called
 "good, plain people, and he was about as manly and whole souled fellow as
 the cavalry held.
 Then there was Thomas, who was small and trim. He had enough conceit for Q much bigger man, but then con- ceit is usually in inverse ratio to man 8
 proportions He was of the cavalry,
 too, and he rode the largest horse in the
 garrison. As to his ancestors, they were
 Philadelphians, and, he led one to be-
 lieve, of good old Quaker stock
 Also there was Bayard. Now, he was
 what any man with his name should be
 -we all know the old motto. And he
 was 90 blue bloodedi His people were
 the very best that the United States af-
 lords. His mother-stern, refined, high
 souled old lady-was dead and had left
 to him her diamonds for his future
 wife It did not oven occur to her that
 he could marry beneath him, 30 she
 gave him no deathbed warnings His
 father, a tall and stately old general. with huge white mustache and fond.
 ness for good wines, still lived in Wasb-
 ington. where he sat in the war depart
 ment all day and at the Army and Navy
 club all night
 Now Bayard had not much beauty of
 feature, but he was we'll built and re-
 fined to the last degree. His ambition
 was something unbounded. He was negt.
 mental adjntant now and oould have
 had almost any detail or appointment
 he chose to ask for. There was for him
 one aim--to rise as high as an officer
 may. He would have graced any rank, too, better than good many others. For myself need no description, for was out of the race from the first. We had Welsh rarebit and some beer before we left. Miss Rohan liked beer. but think she was disappointed in the rarebit.
 She came upon the porch the next morning to see guard mounting. and she brought her manicure set with her. If you can get used to 1t, a woman real. ly looks fascinating when she sits before the world in broad daylight and "does'' her nails, more especially if you happen to be one of several lone bachelors who have not looked on the face of yount woman for six montha
 After guard mounting she went for ride with Blake and Bayard. She ga
 her horse splendidly, although she dit hold the reins in both hands, but tha | was habit she had picked up from rid ing hard mouthed cart horses, she sweet l ly explained. Blake and Bayard tool luncheon with her. We sat by ant | bet on the outcome.
 In honor of the young lady's arriva | we had . hop that Aght It was quit | m affair--9O couples in all, some of tn