of
ladies, there were but three in the fort, all of whom were officers' wives;
staid matronly women, with the simplicity of the habits of middle life,
singularly mixed in their deportment, with their notions of professional
superiority, the rights and duties of caste, and the etiquette of rank. The
other women were the wives of non-commissioned officers and privates, Mabel
being strictly, as had been stated by the Quarter Master, the only real
candidate for matrimony among her sex. There were a dozen other girls it is
true, but they were still classed among the children, none of them being yet of
an age to elevate them into objects of legitimate admiration.
    Some little preparation had been made for the proper reception of the
females, who were placed on a low staging of planks, near the immediate bank of
the lake. In their vicinity the prizes were suspended from a post. Great care
was taken to reserve the front seat of the stage, for the three ladies and their
children, while Mabel, and those who belonged to the non-commissioned officers
of the regiment, occupied the second. The wives and daughters of the privates,
were huddled together in the rear, some standing and some sitting as they could
find room. Mabel, who had already been admitted to the society of the officers'
wives, on the footing of a humble companion, was a good deal noticed by the
ladies in front, who had a proper appreciation of modest self-respect and gentle
refinement, though they were all fully aware of the value of rank, more
particularly in a garrison.
    As soon as this important portion of the spectators had got into their
places, Lundie gave orders for the trial of skill to proceed, in the manner that
had been prescribed in his previous orders. Some eight or ten of the best
marksmen of the garrison now took possession of the stand, and began to fire in
succession. Among them were officers and men, indiscriminately placed, nor were
the casual visiters in the fort excluded from the competition. As might have
been expected, of men, whose amusements and comfortable subsistence equally
depended on skill in the use of their weapons, it was soon found that they were
all sufficiently expert to hit the bull's eye, or the white spot in the centre
of the target. Others, who succeeded them, it is true were less sure, their
bullets striking in the different circles that surrounded the centre of the
target, without touching it.
    According to the rules of the day, none could proceed to the second trial
who had failed