A Soldier of Virginia

A Soldier of Virginia

The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Soldier of Virginia , by Burton Egbert
Stevenson
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: A Soldier of Virginia
Author: Burton Egbert Stevenson
Release Date: November 16, 2003 [eBook #10094]
Language: English
Chatacter set encoding: ISO-8859-1
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A SOLDIER
OF VIRGINIA ***
E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Mary Meehan, and the Project
Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team

A SOLDIER OF VIRGINIA
A TALE OF COLONEL WASHINGTON AND BRADDOCK'S
DEFEAT

BY BURTON EGBERT STEVENSON
1901

TO THE MEMORY OF THE GALLANT MEN WHO FELL WITH
DUST OF FAILURE BITTER ON THEIR LIPS THAT OTHERS
MIGHT BE TAUGHT THE LESSON OF THE WILDERNESS

CONTENTS
I. LIEUTENANT ALLEN GROWS INSULTING
II. THE STORY OF FONTENOY
III. IN WHICH I INTRODUCE MYSELF
IV. THE ENDING OF THE HONEYMOON
V. THE SECRET OF A HEART
VI. I AM TREATED TO A SURPRISE
VII. I DECIDE TO BE A SOLDIER
VIII. A RIDE TO WILLIAMSBURG
IX. MY FIRST TASTE OF WARFARE
X. THE FRENCH SCORE FIRST
XI. DREAM DAYS AT RIVERVIEW
XII. DOROTHY MAKES HER CHOICE
XIII. LIEUTENANT ALLEN SHOWS HIS SKILL

XIV. I CHANCE UPON A TRAGEDY
XV. WE START ON A WEARY JOURNEY
XVI. THE END IN SIGHT
XVII. THE LESSON OF THE WILDERNESS
XVIII. DEFEAT BECOMES DISHONOR
XIX. ALLEN AND I SHAKE HANDS
XX. BRADDOCK PAYS THE PRICE
XXI. VIRGINIA BIDS US WELCOME
XXII. A NEW DANGER AT RIVERVIEW
XXIII. THE GOVERNOR SHOWS HIS GRATITUDE
XXIV. A WARNING FROM THE FOREST
XXV. I FIND MYSELF IN A DELICATE SITUATION
XXVI. A DESPERATE DEFENSE
XXVII. I COME INTO MY OWN
XXVIII. AND SO, GOOD-BY

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
"I DO NOT LOVE HIM, TOM"
"FOR SHAME, GENTLEMEN!"
"STEWART, LISTEN!"

THE SAVAGES POURED OVEB THE THRESHOLD

A SOLDIER OF VIRGINIA
CHAPTER I
LIEUTENANT ALLEN GROWS INSULTING
It was not until he sneered at me openly across the board that I felt my
self-control slipping from me. "Lieutenant Allen seems to have a poor
opinion of the Virginia troops," I said, as calmly as I could.
"Egad, you are right, Lieutenant Stewart," he retorted, his eyes full on
mine. "These two weeks past have I been trying to beat some sense into
the fools, and 'pon my word, 't is enough to drive a man crazy to see
them."
He paused to gulp down a glass of wine, of which I thought he had
already drunk too much.
"I saw them this forenoon," cried Preston, who was sitting at Allen's
right, "and was like to die of laughing. Poor Allen, there, was doing his
best to teach them the manual, and curse me if they didn't hold their
guns as though they burnt their fingers. And when they were ordered to
'bout face, they looked like nothing so much as the crowd I saw six
months since at Newmarket, trying to get their money on Jason."
The others around the table laughed in concert, and I could not but
admit there was a grain of truth in the comparison.
"'Tis granted," I said, after a moment, "that we Virginians have not the
training of you gentlemen of the line; but we can learn, and at least no
one can doubt our courage."
"Think you so?" and Allen laughed an insulting laugh. "There was that
little brush at Fort Necessity last year, from which they brought away
nothing but their skins, and damned glad they were to do that."

"They brought away their arms," I cried hotly, "and would have
brought away all their stores and munitions, had the French kept faith
and held their Indians off. That, too, in face of an enemy three times
their number. The Virginians have no cause to blush for their conduct
at Fort Necessity. The Coldstreams could have done no better."
Allen laughed again. "Ah, pardon me, Stewart," he said
contemptuously, "I forgot that you were present on that glorious day."
I felt my cheeks crimson, and I looked up and down the board, but saw
only sneering faces. Yes, there was one, away down at the farther end,
which did not sneer, but looked at me I thought pityingly, which was
infinitely worse. And then, of course, there was Pennington, who sat
next to me, and who looked immeasurably shamed at the turn the
dispute had taken. He placed a restraining hand upon my sleeve, but I
shook it off impatiently.
"Yes, I was present," I answered, my heart aflame within me, "and our
provincial troops learned a lesson there which even the gentlemen of