ommission. I am ready to give my
son, as I gave my husband, to the king; and when Walter becomes a man, he
too must go, if duty demands it; but for the present, assuredly there is
no reason why such a boy should mix himself up in this unhappy struggle.
Besides, if aught befalls you, it is to him that his mother will have to
look in the future. There are hundreds and thousands of strong and active
men in Ireland, and the necessity has not yet come for boys to take the
field."

So Walter, to his intense disappointment, was refused the cornetcy of the
troop, but his father, who fully entered into his feelings, finally told
him that, when the troop took the field, he should accompany him.

"You are not to carry arms, Walter, or to mix yourself up in any way with
it. You will be a sort of camp follower, you know; but you will see all
that goes on, and will be able to prepare yourself to take your place in
the ranks, if the war should, unhappily, go on for any time."

With this Walter had to be satisfied; and, indeed, although somewhat
disappointed at not being, at once, allowed to join the troop, he felt
sure that it would not be very long before his father, once away from the
influence of his wife and mother, would allow him to join.

"May I take Larry with me, father? He would look after my horse, and
would be useful to you for running messages, and all sorts of things. He
wants to go very much. You see, his uncle and two or three of his cousins
have joined the troop, and he would have joined, too, if you had not
thought him too young."

"The worst of you and Larry is, that you are always getting into some
scrape together," Mr. Davenant said, with a smile.

"But I should not get into scrapes on such a business as this," Walter
said indignantly. "This is a serious affair, and of course, going with
you, I should be very particular."

"Yes, as long as I was close by, Walter. However, I don't mind your
taking Larry. He would, as you say, be useful, and you will want somebody
to look after your horse and act as your servant. We may be separated,
sometimes, for the troop may be sent on detached service, when I could
not take you with me."

The permission to take Larry quite reconciled Walter to the downfall of
his hopes of going as cornet, and, in high spirits, he hastened down to
the village, to tell Larry that his father had consented to his
accompanying him.

All through January, Mr. Davenant was busy drilling his t