And then the
members of the old garrison, according to army etiquette, have to
entertain those that have just come, so altogether we are very gay.
The dinners are usually quite elegant, formal affairs, beautifully
served with dainty china and handsome silver. The officers appear at
these in full-dress uniform, and that adds much to the brilliancy of
things, but not much to the comfort of the officers, I imagine.
Everyone is happy in the fall, after the return of the companies from
their hard and often dangerous summer campaign, and settles down for
the winter. It is then that we feel we can feast and dance, and it is
then, too, that garrison life at a frontier post becomes so
delightful. We are all very fond of dancing, so I think that Faye and
I will give a cotillon later on. In fact, it is about all we can do
while living in those four rooms.
We have Episcopal service each alternate Sunday, when the Rev. Mr.
Clark comes from Helena, a distance of eighty-five miles, to hold one
service for the garrison here and one at the very small village of Sun
River. And once more Major Pierce and I are in the same choir. Doctor
Gordon plays the organ, and beautifully, too. For some time he was
organist in a church at Washington, and of course knows the service
perfectly. Our star, however, is a sergeant! He came to this country
with an opera troupe, but an attack of diphtheria ruined his voice for
the stage, so he enlisted! His voice (barytone) is still of exquisite
quality, and just the right volume for our hall.
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