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Castle Nowhere;: Lake country sketches (The American short story series, v. 86)
Castle Nowhere Lake country sketches - The American short story series, v. 86 Author:Constance Fenimore Woolson Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: . JEANNETTE BEFORE the war for the Union, in the times of the old army, there had been peace throughout the country for thirteen years. Regiments existed i... more »n their officers, but the ranks were thin, — the more so the better, since the United States possessed few forts and seemed in chronic embarrassment over her military children, owing to the flying foot-ball of public opinion, now "standing army pro," now " standing army con," with more or less allusion to the much-enduring Cæsar and his legions, the ever-present ghost of the political arena. In those days the few forts were full and much state was kept up; the officers were all graduates of West Point, and their wives graduates of the first families. They prided themselves upon their antecedents ; and if there was any aristocracy in ' the country, it was in the circles of army life. Those were pleasant days, — pleasant for the old soldiers who were resting after Mexico, — pleasant for young soldiers destined to die on the plains ofGettysburg or the cloudy heights of Lookout Mountain. There was an esprit de corps in the little band, a dignity of bearing, and a ceremonious state, lost in the great struggle which came afterward. That great struggle now lies ten years back; yet, to-day, when the silver-haired veterans meet, they pass it over as a thing of the present, and go back to the times of the "old army." Up in the northern straits, between blue Lake Huron, with its clear air, and gray Lake Michigan, with its silver fogs, lies the bold island of Mackinac. Clustered along the beach, which runs around its half-moon harbor, are the houses of the old French village, nestling at the foot of the cliff rising behind, crowned with the little white fort, the stars and stripes floating above it against the deep blue sky....« less