The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1899-08-31

for captain and second lieutenant, said
some Of the others, but serenely indif-
ferent to what others said, the two kept
on their way,
Thought you were goin to wear
mournin for Lawrence the rest of your
natural life, Brayton, AID here you are
tyin to Barclay as if Lawrence had |
never lived,'' said Mr.. Bralligan only
day or two before Lawrence's return,
and Brayton started almost as though
stung. What Bralligan said was not
half as i'll grounded as most of his state
ments, and Brayton was conscious Of
something akin to guilt and self re-
proach. In common with most Of the
regiment, he had felt very sore over
Lawrence's going He had been much
attached to that gallant and soldierly
captain, but now that another had taken
his place and he could compare or con-
trast the two the youngster began to
realize with something like a pang Of
Distress as though it were disloyal to
think SO, that in many ways Barclay
was "head and shoulders" the superior
man. Lawrence never rose till o'clock
| except when in the field. Lawrence
rarely read anything but the papers and
interminable controversies over the war.
Lawrence, despite the claims of Ada and
little Jimmy, often spent an evening at
the club and always stopped there on
his way from stables. Lawrence never
studied and off the drill ground never
taught. Indeed almost all the drills the
troop had known for months and months
Brayton himself had conducted. No
wonder the boy had wasted hours of
valuable time. No wonder there was
little game going On among the young
sters in Brayton's "back parlor'' many
a day. He had simply been started all
wrong.
But even before Barclays books were
unpacked the new captain had found
means to interest the young fellow in
professional topics that Lawrence had
never seemed to mention. Barclay had
evidently been taking counsel with pro-
gressive soldiers before joining his new
regiment, had been reading books of
their choosing and, among others, was
a valuable treatise on the proper method
Of biting horses, and he found that here
was a matter that Lawrence and Bray,
ton had never thought Of and that Bray
ton said was never taught them at the
Point, which was strictly true.
To the amaze and unspeakable indig.
nation Of Denny Sullivan, who was
soon to be overhauled Oh graver points,
the doughboy had taken his lieutenant
from horse to horse in the troop as they
stood at rest during drill and shown
him at least 20 bits out of the 45 il
line that were no fit at all. He showed
him some that were too broad from bal
/ to bar and that slid to and fro in thu
tortured creatures mouth; others tina
5 hung too low, almost "fell through >
others whose curb chain or strap, in
stead of fitting in the groove, bore say
: agely On the delicate bones above it ant
l tormented the luckless charger ever.
time his rider drew rein. Barclay CAV
l the boy his own carefully studied hand
s book. Not another cavalry officer thel
at Worth had read it, though severa
! had heard Of it. The youngster was Sc
3 to work fitting new bits by measure
l ment to the mouth of every horse in tn
l troop
!. Then Barclay drew him into the dis
9 cussion of the cavalry system of SAD
!. ding as then prescribed-the heav
u tree set away forward close to til
Q withers-and Brayton could only sa
that THAT was tactics and the wa
l. they'd always done it. But Galaha
,. pointed out that the tactics then in us
were written of foreign dragon sac
y die with long fiat bearing surface.
,. was all very we'll for that to be set q
u far forward as it would 60, becaus
even then the center of gravity Of til
h rider would be we'll back on the horst
10 "But,' said he, "you take this sho1
s. Mcclellan tree, place that away TO-
e ward, and then set man in it. 81
center Of gravity will rest in front (
h the center of motion of the horse-wi
g. throw the weight on the forehead an
t. use up his knees and shoulders in 1
y time" This, too, set Brayton to stud
ing and thinking, while Mullane al
Fellows declared Sir Galahad Gran
and even Brooks and Blythe, wedde
p to tradition, thought him visionar
& unpacked, and just where the poker t
in BILE used to stand it stood now, but
d, was covered with beautiful maps
or Alsace and Lorraine, and Galahad
III desk with pamphlets sent him fro
I'd abroad, the earliest histories Of tt
or memorable campaign about Metz al
r. Sedan.
IN The next thing Brayton knew he W
lis as deeply interested as his captain, all
en- 10, other men came to look and wond
til and go off shaking their heads-tho
he of them who were Of the Mullane pc
on suasion sneering at those "book ge
or erals" while others, like Blythe, pull
be up a chair as invited and followed t.
be junior captain through his modest e
ia PLANTATION with appreciative eyes. Tho
to were days when there was all too lit
le- time for study and improvement, than
ly to the almost incessant Indian scouti
ay required, but here was Worth, h
nd post, and here was a four troop batt'
I'D Ion with a gentleman and not b
zee soldier at it's head. and it had not