hope
that it would soon reach its destination.

Early in the evening he rejoined Dalton at the house of the Lanhams and
they found that Mrs. Lanham had done wonders with their best uniforms.
When they were dressed in them they felt that it was no harder to charge
the Curtis house than to rush a battery.

"You young men go early," said Mr. Lanham. "Mrs. Lanham and I will
appear later."

They departed, daring to practice their dance steps in the street to the
delight of small boys who did not hesitate to chaff them. But Harry
and Dalton did not care. They answered the chaff in kind, and soon
approached the Curtis home, all the windows of which were blazing with
light.

The house stood in extensive grounds, and lofty white pillars gave it an
imposing appearance. Guests were arriving fast. Most of the men were
military, but there was a fair sprinkling of civilians nevertheless.
The lads saw their friends of the Mosaic Club pass in just ahead of them,
all dressed with extreme care. Generals and colonels and other officers
were in most favor now, but these men, with their swift and incisive wit
and their ability to talk well about everything, fully made up for the
lack of uniform.

Harry and Dalton, before passing through the side gateway that led to the
house, paused awhile to look at those who came. Many people, and they
ranked among the best in Richmond, walked. They had sent all their
horses to the front long ago to be ridden by cavalrymen or to draw
cannon. Others, not so self-sacrificing, came in heavy carriages with
negroes driving.

Harry noticed that in many cases the clothing of the men showed a little
white at the seams, and there were cuffs the ends of which had been
trimmed with great care. But it was these whom he respected most.
He remembered that Virginia had not really wanted to go into the war,
and that she had delayed long, but, being in it, she was making supreme
sacrifices.

And there were many young girls who did not need elaborate dress.
In their simple white or pink, often but cotton, their cheeks showing the
delicate color that is possessed only by the girls in the border states
of the South, they seemed very beautiful to Harry and George, who had
known nothing but camps and armies so long.

It was the healthy admiration of the brave youth of one sex for the fair
youth of the other, but there was in it a deeper note, too. Age can
stand misfortune. Youth wonders why it is strick