The sunlight had left the tops of the
hills; the river slept in the gathering grey shadows, soft,
tranquil, reposeful. Before I got to the hotel, I had quite
made up my mind that my cousin's eccentricities were of no
consequence.
They recurred to me, however, and were as puzzling as ever. I
had no key at the time.
The next afternoon was given to a very lively show: the light
artillery drill before the Board of Visitors. We sat out under
the trees to behold it; and I found out now the meaning of the
broad strip of plain between the hotel and the library, which
was brown and dusty in the midst of the universal green. Over
this strip, round and round, back and forth and across, the
light artillery wagons rushed, as if to show what they could
do in time of need. It was a beautiful sight, exciting and
stirring; with the beat of horses' hoofs, the clatter of
harness, the rumble of wheels tearing along over the ground,
the flash of a sabre now and then, the ringing words of
command, and the soft shrill echoing bugle which repeated
them.
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