Page:The woman in battle .djvu/177

Rh me, ere a great while, in Kentucky, to demonstrate my value either as a soldier or as a spy, for some heavy fighting was undoubtedly about to begin, that I determined to defer going East for the present, thinking that Fortune would favor me where I was. So I remained, and began to look about for a good place to commence operations in again. As there was evidently nothing to be had at Columbus that I wanted, I decided to try what could be done at the other end of the Confederate line of operations, at Bowling Green. For Bowling Green I accordingly started, my travelling companions being Colonel Bacon and Captain Billingsley. They were both genial, pleasant gentlemen,—gentlemen in every sense of the word,—and I enjoyed their society greatly during the journey.

Soldiers are generally fond of taking a hand in anything in the shape of a frolic that is going on, more especially as a uniform-coat is tolerably sure to be a passport to the favor of the ladies; consequently, when on reaching the little town of Paris, we found that there was some sport in progress in the shape of a hog-killing and corn-shucking festival, we concluded that the best thing we could do- would be to stop and have a bit of fun. Well, it was genuine fun, of a downright hearty kind, and all three of us enjoyed ourselves immensely, although, I am afraid that the captain and the colonel appreciated the thing more than I did; for they were both great ladies' men, and this was such a chance as did not present it self every day for them to exert their powers of fascination upon the fair sex. I considered that I had a manly reputation to sustain, too, and I consequently resolved not to be beaten by them in the matter of gallant attentions to the girls of Paris. My previous experience in winning the regards of my sex, induced me to believe that I could, with comparative ease, become the hero of the occasion, in spite of their superiority of official rank and superior dignity of manly carriage. This was the first occasion since my assumption of male attire that I had been offered a fair chance to attempt a bit of rivalry of this kind, and I thought that it would be a first-rate notion to improve the occasion. I determined, therefore, on an active campaign for the smiles of the fair one with the captain and the colonel.