Page:The woman in battle .djvu/178

156 The welcome which was extended to us was all that could be desired in the way of cordiality, the girls, especially, evidently being delighted to have three dashing officers take part with them in the frolic. It was not a great while, therefore, before each of us had a young lady in charge, and were doing our best to be as agreeable as possible. I had, perhaps, rather the advantage of the colonel and the captain at the start, for I figured as one of those nice little fellows who, for some unaccountable reason, seem to be admired by many women in a greater degree than are more manly-looking men; and as I exerted myself to be as fascinating as possible, my two companions were speedily thrown in the shade, and I found myself the special object of the adoration of the Parisian damsels, very much to my amusement.

The colonel and the captain, however, had the best of me in the long run, for, as I was only playing a part, I was not able to keep up the competition with as much animation as they did; and although the first successes were mine, I was tired out, and ready to retire from the field some time before they showed any disposition to give up. I think that both of my friends perceived that I was trying to outshine them with the Paris girls; but as they did not understand the situation as I did, they were, of course, unable to see exactly where the laugh came in. Could they have but known who I really was, they would, undoubtedly, have been intensely amused, and would have enjoyed the whole performance immensely. The serious business of hog-killing and corn-shucking was supplemented by a feast, at which the viands were chiefly winter apples and cider, and the frolic concluded with a dance in the school-house, which lasted until morning. My two friends and myself were in great demand as partners, and we nearly danced the breath out of our bodies before the affair wound up; which it finally did about daybreak, very much to my satisfaction, for I was nearly used up, having found waltzing all night much harder and more exhausting work than campaigning. The affair, however, was a right merry one, and I enjoyed myself immensely.

When day began to dawn, we took our girls home, and then