84 CHICEAMAUaA. 



gone the rounds once than it started again ; 

 for meanwhile every man had thought of 

 something else that he wanted to look at. 

 They were above concealing their delight, 

 or affecting any previous acquaintance with 

 such a toy, and probably I never before 

 gave so much pleasure by so easy a means. 

 I believe I was as happy as if the blue-wing 

 had sung a full hour. They were rough- 

 looking men, perhaps, at least they were 

 coarsely dressed, but none of them spoke 

 a rude word; and when the last moment 

 came, one of them, in the simplest and gen- 

 tlest manner, asked me to accept three relics 

 (bullets) which he had picked up in the 

 last day or two on the hill. It was no great 

 thing, to be sure, but it was better : it was 

 one of those little acts which, from their 

 perfect and unexpected grace, can never be 

 forgotten. 



A jaunt through the woods past the Kelly 

 house, after luncheon, brought me to a 

 superfine, spick-and-span new road, like 

 the new government " boulevard " on Mis- 

 sionary Ridge, of which it may be a con- 

 tinuation, following which I came to the 

 Brotherton house, another war-time land- 



