loyalty. There was no taint in it of self-interest, nor of
snobbishness. He believed, for instance, in the divine right of kings;
and from what he let fall we could see that he had given the most
remarkable devotion not only to every cause for which he had fought,
but to the individual who represented it. That in time each of these
individuals had disappointed him had in no way shaken his faith in the
one to whom he next offered his sword. His was a most beautiful
example of modesty and of faith in one's fellowman. It was during this
week, and because of these midnight talks with him around the
campfire, that I came to look up to him, and love him like a son.

But during that same week I was annoyed to find that many of our men
believed the version which Aiken had given of my conduct at Santa
Barbara. There were all sorts of stories circulating through the
Legion about me. They made me out a braggart, a bully, and a conceited
ass--indeed, almost everything unpleasant was said of me except that I
was a coward. Aiken, of course, kindly retold these stories to me,
either with the preface that he thought I ought to know what was being
said of me, or that he thought the stories would amuse me. I thanked
him and pretended to laugh, but I felt more like punching his head.
People who say that women are gossips, and that they delight in
tearing each other to pieces, ought to hear the talk of big, broad-
shouldered men around camp-fires. If you believe what they say, you
would think that every officer had either bungled or had funked the
fight. And when a man really has performed some act which cannot be
denied they call him a "swipe," and say he did it to gain promotion,
or to curry favor with the General. Of course, it may be different in
armies officered by gentlemen; but men are pretty much alike all the
world over, and I know that those in our Legion were as given to
gossip and slander as the inmates of any Old Woman's Home. I used to