Whims, who has been so long at his
trade that he has got to take a strange pleasure in it."

"In killing?"

"No; only in the chance of----. But I will not cast an unnecessary
shadow over your bright soul. There will be shadows enough over it soon,
without my help."

"What do you mean?"

"That you, and thousands more as delicate, if not as fair as you, will
see, ere long, what the realities of human life are; and in a way of
which you have never dreamed."

And he murmured, half to himself, the words of the prophet,--"'Thou
saidst, I shall sit as a lady for ever: but these two things shall come
upon thee in one day, widowhood and the loss of children. They shall
even come upon thee,'--No! not in their fulness! There are noble
elements beneath the crust, which will come out all the purer from the
fire; and we shall have heroes and heroines rising up among us as of
old, sincere and earnest, ready to face their work, and to do it, and to
call all things by their right names once more; and Queen Whims herself
will become what Queen Whims might be!"

Valencia was awed, as well she might have been; for there was a very
deep sadness about Campbell's voice.

"You think there will be def--disasters?" said she, at last.

"How can I tell? That we are what we always were, I doubt not. Scoutbush
will fight as merrily as I. But we owe the penalty of many sins, and we
shall pay it."

It would be as unfair, perhaps, as easy, to make Major Campbell a
prophet after the fact, by attributing to him any distinct expectation
of those mistakes which have been but too notorious since. Much of the
sadness in his tone may have been due to his habitual melancholy; his
strong belief that the world was deeply diseased, and that some terrible
purgation would surely come, when it was needed. But it is difficult,
again, to conceive that those errors were altogether unforeseen by many
an officer of Campbell's experience and thoughtfulness.

"We will talk no more of it just now." And they walked up to Penalva
Court, seriously enough.

"Well, Scoutbush, any letters from town?" said the Major.

"Yes."

"You have heard what has happened at D---- Barracks?"

"Yes."

"You had better take care then, that the like of it does not happen
here."

"Here?"

"Yes. I'll tell you all presently. Have you heard from head-quarters?"

"Yes; all right," said Scoutbush, who did not like to let out the truth
before Valencia.

Campbell saw it and sig