strength than she then possessed.
Her father and Lieutenant Somers then made a "hand-chair," and bore her
up to the car, in which she was as comfortably disposed as the
circumstances would permit. The train started with its melancholy freight
of wounded, dead and dying.

"I see, sir, you are an officer in the army," said Mr. Guilford as the
train moved off; "but I have not yet learned your name."

"Thomas Somers, sir," replied our young officer.

"I must trouble you to write it down for me, with your residence when at
home, and your regiment in the field."

Lieutenant Somers complied with this request, and in return the gentleman
gave him his address.

"I shall never forget you, Lieutenant Somers," said Mr. Guilford when he
had carefully deposited the paper in his memorandum-book. "I have it in
my power to be of service to you; and if you ever want a friend, I shall
consider it a favor if you will come to me, or write to me."

"Thank you, sir; I am very much obliged to you. But I hope you won't
consider yourself under any obligations to me for what I have done. I
couldn't have helped doing it if I had tried."

"Lieutenant Somers, you are in luck," said the gentleman who had
accompanied him before. "That is Senator Guilford, of ----, and he will
make a brigadier-general of you before you are a year older."

CHAPTER III

A FRIEND AT COURT

Lieutenant Somers sat down in one corner of the car, near the seats
occupied by Miss Guilford and her father. He was just beginning to be
conscious of the fact that he had done a "big thing;" not because he had
helped one of God's suffering creatures, but because she happened to be a
Senator's daughter. But he still had the happy reflection, that what he
had done had been prompted by motives of humanity, not by the love of
applause, or for the purpose of winning the favor of a great man who
could dispense the "loaves and fishes" when he should need them.

He was rather sensitive. He was a young man of eighteen, and he had not
yet become familiar with the grossness and selfishness of this
calculating world. He was rather offended at the patronage which the
Senator had proposed to bestow upon him, and he even regretted that he
had so readily given him his address.

Lieutenant Somers regarded himself as emphatically a fighting officer;
and the idea of working his way up to distinction by the favor of a
member of Congress was repulsive to him. He really wished the Hon.