purely
owing to military merit. The moment he was chosen, he took the field
at the head of his command. Admiring Bluetown gazed approvingly upon
his swallow-tailed coat, his tall plume, his shining battle blade, his
plated scabbard, worsted sash, and low-heeled, cowhide boots. The
fair, who are ever ready to award their smiles to chivalry, were
unanimous in their approval, and Deacon Dogget's daughter was heard to
murmur, "O, what a pooty soger 'lias makes!" "Upon this hint he spake"
a few days afterwards, and in due time they were married. But enough
of that--our essay treats of war, not love.

In his "first field," Captain Muggs displayed his extraordinary
knowledge of tactics. He it was who first discovered the method of
"dressing" a line, by backing it up against a curbstone. He also
divested military science of many pedantic terms, which tend only to
confuse the young conscript, and dampen the military ardor of the
patriot soldier. He substituted the brief and soldierly words of
command, "haw!" "gee!" and "whoa!" for "left," "right," and "halt."
His spirited "let her rip!" was an infinite improvement on the "fire"
of the Steuben manual. The object of the commander is to make himself
understood readily by his men, and in this Captain Muggs was perfectly
successful.

The greatest commanders have been famous for their terse eloquence.
Napoleon said to his troops in Egypt, "Soldiers, from the summit of
these pyramids twenty centuries look down on you this day." Scott, in
Mexico, said to Smith's brigade, "Brave rifles, you have been baptized
in fire, and have come out steel." And Muggs, at Bluetown, after the
last manoeuvre, said, "Feller sogers, that 'ere was prime--and now
less adjourn to the tavern and likker up at my expense." It is
questionable whether any speech of Napoleon or Scott ever excited more
enthusiasm.

The company adjourned to the tavern, and after plentifully refreshing
with long nines, pigtail, New England, and crackers, departed with
three cheers for the "cap'n." We would fain draw a veil over what
followed. But a strict regard for truth compels us to "speak right out
in meetin'." All great men have their weaknesses. Caesar was not
immaculate. Alexander the Great died of _mania a potu_. There was no
Maine liquor law at the time of which we speak. There was not even a
temperance society in all Bluetown.

Captain Muggs was in the green and salad days of youth. He was flushed
with military success