’And，bytheordersoftheWarOffice，Iamtoexertoverthem(that’sthegovernmentword)exertoverthemfullauthority；andifanyonebehavestowardsmewiththeleastimpropriety，orneglectsmyorders，heistobeconfinedandreported。’
’Itisreallyadignifiedpost，’shesaid，with，however，areserveofenthusiasmwhichwasnotaltogetherencouraging。
’AndofcoursesomedayIshall，’stammeredthedragoon——’shallbeinratherabetterpositionthanIamatpresent。’
’Iamgladtohearit，Mr。Loveday。’
’Andinshort，MistressAnne，’continuedJohnLovedaybravelyanddesperately，’mayIpaycourttoyouinthehopethat——no，no，don’tgoaway！——youhaven’theardyet——thatyoumaymakemethehappiestofmen；notyet，butwhenpeaceisproclaimedandallissmoothandeasyagain？Ican’tputitanybetter，thoughthere’smoretobeexplained。’
’Thisismostawkward，’saidAnne，evidentlywithpain。’Icannotpossiblyagree；believeme，Mr。Loveday，Icannot。’
’Butthere’smorethanthis。Youwouldbesurprisedtoseewhatsnugroomsthemarriedtrumpet-andsergeant-majorshaveinquarters。’
’Barracksarenotall；considercampandwar。’
’Thatbringsmetomystrongpoint！’exclaimedthesoldierhopefully。’Myfatherisbetteroffthanmostnon-commissionedofficers’fathers；andthere’salwaysahomeforyouathishouseinanyemergency。Icantellyouprivatelythathehasenoughtokeepusboth，andifyouwouldn’thearofbarracks，well，peaceonceestablished，I’dliveathomeasamillerandfarmer——nextdoortoyourownmother。’
’Mymotherwouldbesuretoobject，’expostulatedAnne。
’No；sheleavesitalltoyou。’
’What！youhaveaskedher？’saidAnne，withsurprise。
’Yes。Ithoughtitwouldnotbehonourabletoactotherwise。’
’That’sverygoodofyou，’saidAnne，herfacewarmingwithageneroussenseofhisstraightforwardness。’Butmymotherissoentirelyignorantofasoldier’slife，andthelifeofasoldier’swife——sheissosimpleinallsuchmatters，thatIcannotlistentoyouanymorereadilyforwhatshemaysay。’
’Thenitisalloverforme，’saidthepoortrumpet-major，wipinghisfaceandputtingawayhishandkerchiefwithanairoffinality。
Annewassilent。Anywomanwhohasevertriedwillknowwithoutexplanationwhatanunpalatabletaskitistodismiss，evenwhenshedoesnotlovehim，amanwhohasallthenaturalandmoralqualitiesshewoulddesire，andonlyfailsinthesocial。Would-beloversarenotsonumerous，evenwiththebestwomen，thatthesacrificeofonecanbefeltasotherthanagoodthingwasted，inaworldwheretherearefewgoodthings。
’Youarenotangry，MissGarland？’saidhe，findingthatshedidnotspeak。
’Ono。Don’tletussayanythingmoreaboutthisnow。’Andshemovedon。
Whenshedrewneartothemillerandhermothersheperceivedthattheywereengagedinaconversationofthatpeculiarkindwhichisallthemorefullandcommunicativefromthefactofdefinitivewordsbeingfew。Inshort，herethegamewassucceedingwhichwithherselfhadfailed。Itwasprettyclearfromthesymptoms，marks，tokens，telegraphs，andgeneralbyplaybetweenwidowerandwidow，thatMillerLovedaymusthaveagainsaidtoMrs。Garlandsomesuchthingashehadsaidbefore，withwhatresultthistimeshedidnotknow。
Asthesituationwasdelicate，Annehaltedawhileapartfromthem。
Thetrumpet-major，quiteignorantofhowhiscausewasenteredintobythewhite-coatedmaninthedistance(forhisfatherhadnotyettoldhimofhisdesignsuponMrs。Garland)，didnotadvance，butstoodstillbythegate，asthoughhewereattendingaprincess，waitingtillheshouldbecalledup。Thustheylingered，andthedaybegantobreak。Mrs。Garlandandthemillertooknoheedofthetime，andwhatitwasbringingtoearthandsky，sooccupiedweretheywiththemselves；butAnneinherplaceandthetrumpet-majorinhis，eachinprivatethoughtofnobrightkind，watchedthegradualgloryoftheeastthroughallitstonesandchanges。Theworldofbirdsandinsectsgotlively，theblueandtheyellowandthegoldofLoveday’suniformagainbecamedistinct；thesunboreditswayupward，thefields，thetrees，andthedistantlandscapekindledtoflame，andthetrumpet-major，backedbyalilacshadowastallasasteeple，blazedintherayslikeaverygodofwar。
Itwashalf-pastthreeo’clock。Ashorttimeafter，arattleofhorsesandwheelsreachedtheirearsfromthequarterinwhichtheygazed，andthereappeareduponthewhitelineofroadamovingmass，whichpresentlyascendedthehillanddrewnear。
Thentherearoseahuzzafromthefewknotsofwatchersgatheredthere，andtheycried，’LongliveKingJarge！’Thecortegepassedabreast。Itconsistedofthreetravelling-carriages，escortedbyadetachmentoftheGermanLegion。Annewastoldtolookinthefirstcarriage——apost-chariotdrawnbyfourhorses——fortheKingandQueen，andwasrewardedbyseeingaprofileremindingherofthecurrentcoinoftherealm；butasthepartyhadbeentravellingallnight，andthespectatorsheregatheredwerefew，noneoftheroyalfamilylookedoutofthecarriagewindows。Itwassaidthatthetwoelderprincesseswereinthesamecarriage，buttheyremainedinvisible。Thenextvehicle，acoachandfour，containedmoreprincesses，andthethirdsomeoftheirattendants。
’ThankGod，IhaveseenmyKing！’saidMrs。Garland，whentheyhadallgoneby。
Nobodyelseexpressedanythankfulness，formostofthemhadexpectedamorepompousprocessionthanthebucolictastesoftheKingcaredtoindulgein；andoneoldmansaidgrimlythatthatsightofdustyoldleathercoacheswasnotworthwaitingfor。Annelookedhitherandthitherinthebrightraysoftheday，eachofhereyeshavingalittlesuninit，whichgaveherglanceapeculiargoldenfire，andkindledthebrowncurlsgroupedoverherforeheadtoayellowbrilliancy，andmadesinglehairs，blownastraybythenight，looklikelacqueredwires。ShewaswonderingifFestuswereanywherenear，butshecouldnotseehim。
BeforetheylefttheridgetheyturnedtheirattentiontowardstheRoyalwatering-place，whichwasvisibleatthisplaceonlyasaportionofthesea-shore，fromwhichthenight-mistwasrollingslowlyback。Theseabeyondwasstillwrappedinsummerfog，theshipsintheroadsshowingthroughitasblackspiderssuspendedintheair。WhiletheylookedandwalkedawhitejetofsmokeburstfromaspotwhichthemillerknewtobethebatteryinfrontoftheKing’sresidence，andthenthereportofgunsreachedtheirears。
ThisannouncementwasansweredbyasalutefromtheCastleoftheadjoiningIsle，andtheshipsintheneighbouringanchorage。Allthebellsinthetownbeganringing。TheKingandhisfamilyhadarrived。
Asthedayswenton，echoesofthelifeandbustleofthetownreachedtheearsofthequietpeopleinOvercombehollow——excitingandmovingthoseunimportantnativesasaground-swellmovestheweedsinacave。Travelling-carriagesofallkindsandcoloursclimbedanddescendedtheroadthatledtowardstheseasideborough。
SomecontainedthosepersonagesoftheKing’ssuitewhohadnotkeptpacewithhiminhisjourneyfromWindsor；otherswerethecoachesofaristocracy，bigandlittle，whomnewsoftheKing’sarrivaldrewthitherfortheirownpleasure:sothatthehighway，asseenfromthehillsaboutOvercombe，appearedlikeanant-walk——aconstantsuccessionofdarkspotscreepingalongitssurfaceatnearlyuniformratesofprogress，andallinonedirection。
Thetrafficandintelligencebetweencampandtownpassedinameasureoverthevillagers’heads。Itbeingsummertimethemillerwasmuchoccupiedwithbusiness，andthetrumpet-majorwastooconstantlyengagedinmarchingbetweenthecampandGloucesterLodgewiththerestofthedragoonstobringhisfriendsanynewsforsomedays。
AtlasthesentamessagethattherewastobeareviewonthedownsbytheKing，andthatitwasfixedforthedayfollowing。Thisinformationsoonspreadthroughthevillageandcountryround，andnextmorningthewholepopulationofOvercombe——excepttwoorthreeveryoldmenandwomen，afewbabiesandtheirnurses，acripple，andCorporalTullidge——ascendedtheslopewiththecrowdsfromafar，andawaitedtheeventsoftheday。
Themillerworehisbestcoatonthisoccasion，whichmeantagooddeal。AnOvercombemaninthosedayswouldhaveabestcoat，andkeepitasabestcoathalfhislife。Themiller’shadseenfiveandtwentysummerschieflythroughthechinksofaclothes-box，andwasnotatallshabbyasyet，thoughgettingsingular。Butthatcouldnotbehelped；commoncoatsandbestcoatsweredistinctspecies，andneverinterchangeable。Livingsonearthesceneofthereviewhewalkedupthehill，accompaniedbyMrs。GarlandandAnneasusual。
Itwasaclearday，withlittlewindstirring，andtheviewfromthedowns，oneofthemostextensiveinthecounty，wasunclouded。Theeyeofanyobserverwhocaredforsuchthingssweptoverthewave-washedtown，andthebaybeyond，andtheIsle，withitspebblebank，lyingontheseatotheleftofthese，likeagreatcrouchinganimaltetheredtothemainland。Ontheextremeeastofthemarinehorizon，St。Aldhelm’sHeadclosedthescene，theseatothesouthwardofthatpointglaringlikeamirrorunderthesun。InlandcouldbeseenBadburyRings，whereabeaconhadbeenrecentlyerected；andnearer，Rainbarrow，onEgdonHeath，whereanotherstood:farthertotheleftBulbarrow，wheretherewasyetanother。
NotfarfromthiscameNettlecombeTout；tothewest，DogberryHill，andBlack’onneartotheforeground，thebeaconthereonbeingbuiltoffurzefaggotsthatchedwithstraw，andstandingonthespotwherethemonumentnowraisesitshead。
Atnineo’clockthetroopsmarchedupontheground——somefromthecampsinthevicinity，andsomefromquartersinthedifferenttownsroundabout。Theapproachestothedownwereblockedwithcarriagesofalldescriptions，ages，andcolours，andwithpedestriansofeveryclass。Attentheroyalpersonagesweresaidtobedrawingnear，andsoonaftertheKing，accompaniedbytheDukesofCambridgeandCumberland，andacoupleofgenerals，appearedonhorseback，wearingaroundhatturnedupattheside，withacockadeandmilitaryfeather。(Sensationamongthecrowd。)ThentheQueenandthreeoftheprincessesenteredthefieldinagreatcoachdrawnbysixbeautifulcream-colouredhorses。Anothercoach，withfourhorsesofthesamesort，broughtthetworemainingprincesses。
(Confusedacclamations，’There’sKingJarge！’’That’sQueenSharlett！’’Princess’Lizabeth！’’PrincessesSophiarandMeelyer！’
etc。，fromthesurroundingspectators。)
Anneandherpartywerefortunateenoughtosecureapositiononthetopofoneofthebarrowswhichrosehereandthereonthedown；andthemillerhavinggallantlyconstructedalittlecairnofflints，heplacedthetwowomenthereon，bywhichmeanstheywereenabledtoseeovertheheads，horses，andcoachesofthemultitudesbelowandaround。Atthemarch-pastthemiller’seye，whichhadbeenwanderingaboutforthepurpose，discoveredhissoninhisplacebythetrumpeters，whohadmovedforwardsintworanks，andweresoundingthemarch。
’That’sJohn！’hecriedtothewidow。’Histrumpet-slingisoftwocolours，d’yesee；andtheothersbeplain。’
Mrs。Garlandtoosawhimnow，andenthusiasticallyadmiredhimfromherhandsupwards，andAnnesilentlydidthesame。Butbeforetheyoungwoman’seyeshadquiteleftthetrumpet-majortheyfelluponthefigureofYeomanFestusridingwithhistroop，andkeepinghisfaceatamediumbetweenhaughtinessandmerebravery。Hecertainlylookedassoldierlyasanyofhisowncorps，andfeltmoresoldierlythanhalf-a-dozen，asanybodycouldseebyobservinghim。Annegotbehindthemiller，incaseFestusshoulddiscoverher，and，regardlessofhismonarch，rushuponherinaragewith，’Whythedevildidyourunawayfrommethatnight——hey，madam？’Butsheresolvedtothinknomoreofhimjustnow，andtosticktoLoveday，whowashermother’sfriend。Inthisshewashelpedbythestirringtoneswhichburstfromthelattergentlemanandhissubordinatesfromtimetotime。
’Well，’saidthemillercomplacently，’there’sfewofmoreconsequenceinaregimentthanatrumpeter。He’sthechapthattells’emwhattodo，afterall。Hey，Mrs。Garland？’
’Soheis，miller，’saidshe。
’TheycouldnomoredowithoutJackandhismenthantheycouldwithoutgenerals。’
