BILLY- BOY AND BELLE. 



i ' 



my companion for an hour or more 

 each morning. Many are the nooks, 

 knolls, woods and pasture-hills 1 be- 

 came acquainted with through her 

 chaperonage. A well-known writer 

 has truly said : 



" Almost everything in life depends 

 on our point of view, * * * the 

 wor.d is instantly changed when one 

 mounts a horse * * * and the 

 most familiar by-ways are created 

 anew for him." 



This partly explains the elation of 

 riding, to which can be added the 

 fact that a vast amount of animation 

 and vitality is communicated from 

 animal to rider. Cycling is good; 

 sailing with a stiff beam wind, and a 

 yacht, heeling well over, is better; 

 but for a mixture of health and hap- 

 piness supreme, give me a good 

 mount in the country. 1 fancy it must 

 be next in order after flying, as I al- 

 ways feel a bit nearer heaven in my 

 Whitman, than when walking or driv- 

 ing in the regular beaten paths. 



C , who as adjutant of the 



Infantry was using Billy-boy at camp 

 and confining himself strictly to duty 

 during the day, had arranged for a 

 twilight trip around the lake. On a 

 certain day I was to ride over to camp 

 W. in time to witness evening parade 

 and wait for him to join me after 

 guard-mounting, the day's last as 

 well as first ceremony — for at this 

 camp, Gen. R. in command of the 

 brigade, fur purposes of better in- 

 struction in sentinel duty, had re- 

 duced the "tour" from twenty-four 

 to twelve hours, thus necessitating 

 evening as well as morning guard- 

 mounting. 



Belle was in excellent condition 

 for a good time; so was her rider; 

 and now, too, as I rode forth, I real- 

 ized " there are others," fur appar- 

 ently all of nature's summer boarders 

 were out exchanging pleasantries. I 

 distinguished among these a com- 

 plete quartette — nature's troubadors. 

 The meadow-lark's three plaintive so- 

 prano notes, were seconded by a fair 

 contralto in the night-hawk's swoop. 

 At intervals, from a thick clump of 

 elder-bushes, came the robin's tender 



tenor; and what more effective for bas- 

 so-profundo than the bull-frog's inter- 

 mittent lower G. Presently these were 

 accompanied by the Katydid's inces 

 sant drumming — quite castanet-like. 

 They had begun early to-day. Sun 

 set had not yet closed the clover's 

 trefoils, for during this loitering gait 

 1 espied, amidst a large clump oi 

 these leaves, a monstrous iour-lea\ ed 

 Good-luck, with the horse-shoe in 

 distinct silver markings on each leaf. 

 Naturally, it being out of reach. 1 de- 

 sired it, the more so the farther be- 

 hind I left it, until meeting sometime 

 after Farmer A.'s cows returning 

 from pasture, I retraced the entire 

 distance that the boy might gather it 

 for me. Its unusual size and bright 

 green were effective against the dark 

 green of my habit. Now I felt quite 

 ready for camp. Music being audi- 

 ble long before sighting the white 

 village, i concluded that parade was 

 " on," and I would miss it; at brigade- 

 headquarters, too, the pity of it ! Su 

 much for following an impulse and a 

 clover-leaf. 



"Boom!" sounded the sunset gun 

 with the last notes of " retreat," and 

 simultaneously from the flag-staff at 

 general headquarters dropped " Old 

 Glory." Evidently the troops were 

 now leturning to quarters. Entei ing 

 the grounds, I made for the head- 

 quarters of " Ours," where the guard 

 was lined up in front of the tents, 

 and my adjutant was conducting 

 guard mount. Wishing to be an un- 

 observed observer, I changed my 

 course to the alley, or spate in rear 

 of the tents. Our band, stationed to 

 the ri<rht of the line and facing in my 

 direction, was waiting for the com- 

 mand — "Sound Off." 



The director, Prof. S . spoke t<- his 

 men and when the order was given 

 they began playing tin- gavotte by 

 Slavin, "Little Irish Queen." Ik-w 

 lovely! I recognized the compli- 

 ment. At a previous camp he had 

 played it at my request, and, in tact. 

 it was a general favorite for mount- 

 ing guard, with its stirring melody 

 and marked precision of time. 



But, whatever was the matter with 



