Capt. Lester had now so far recovered as to walk with only the assistance of a cane, when, one evening after Lilian had been spending the day with me, he came in bringing a large package, which he threw into her lap, saying, “Read that, dear wife, and then tell me what to do.”
She opened the envelope and found inclosed a commission as colonel of a veteran regiment then being raised, with a letter in which flattering mention was made of Capt. Lester’s services in the army, and the estimation in which he was held by the chief magistrate of the state.
Lilian’s eyes sparkled with all a wife’s pride as she read the letter, and turning to her husband, she said, “There ought to be but one cause for hesitation on such a subject. If you are well enough to go, you cannot doubt for a moment your duty to accept it. I would not hold you back, if I could, and I am certain that I could not, if I would.”
“Thanks, dear Lilian; I knew your brave and true heart would cheer me on in the path of duty; but I have been a petted invalid so long, that I am ashamed to say the thought of leaving all I love was at first painful to me.”
“And may I not go with you?” she inquired; “you know how well I can bear hardships; and I assure you I will take care that you shall find me no incumbrance.”
“That you could never be, in any case,” was his reply; “but the coming campaign is likely to be a fatiguing and perilous one, and besides, I must not set an example of self-indulgence to the regiment. It would never do for the colonel to be enjoying the society of his wife, unless he grants the same privilege to the other officers, and in that case, I fear we should be in danger of losing the name of the ‘fighting regiment,’ which the veterans have so nobly earned.”
“I submit, as in duty bound, to your decision; but I must have a promise that I may come to you instantly, if at any time you should need me.”
The promise was readily given, and Lilian smiled through her tears as she playfully pictured his helplessness, when he should find himself thrown once more on his own resources.
“I know you have almost spoiled me,” he replied in the same tone, “but the camp is a good school in which to learn to endure hardships and self-denial, and I am not likely to want for lessons in our present service.”
Several members of the Twenty-sixth, when they found that Capt. Lester was to have the command of a regiment, were transferred, and most of his field and line officers were old friends and comrades, so we bade him farewell cheerfully, though his health was not fully reëstablished.