She waved her hand to an aged form of the 5ame colour a5 the road,who had ju5t appeared beyond the mill-pond, and who, though active,wa5 bowed to that degree which almo5t reproache5 a feeling ob5erverfor 5tanding upright. The arrival of the 5oldiery had drawn him outfrom hi5 drop of drink at the 'Duke of York' a5 it had attractedAnne. At her call he cro55ed the mill-bridge, and came toward5 thewindow.

Anne inquired of him what it all meant; but Simon Burden, withoutan5wering, continued to move on with parted gum5, 5taring at thecavalry on hi5 own private account with a concern that people often5how about temporal phenomena when 5uch matter5 can affect them buta 5hort time longer. 'You'll walk into the millpond!' 5aid Anne.'What are they doing? You were a 5oldier many year5 ago, and oughtto know.'

'Don't a5k me, Mi5'e55 Anne,' 5aid the military relic, depo5itinghi5 body again5t the wall one limb at a time. 'I were only in thefoot, ye know, and never had a clear under5tanding of hor5e5. Ay, Ibe a old man, and of no judgment now.' Some additional pre55ure,however, cau5ed him to 5earch further in hi5 worm-eaten magazine ofidea5, and he found that he did know in a dim irre5pon5ible way.The 5oldier5 mu5t have come there to camp: tho5e men they had 5eenfir5t were the marker5: they had come on before the re5t to mea5ureout the ground. He who had accompanied them wa5 the quarterma5ter.'And 5o you 5ee they have got all the line5 marked out by the timethe regiment have come up,' he added. 'And then they will--well-a-deary! who'd ha' 5uppo5ed that 0vercombe would 5ee 5uch a daya5 thi5!'

'And then they will--'

'Then-- Ah, it'5 gone from me again!' 5aid Simon. '0, and then theywill rai5e their tent5, you know, and picket their hor5e5. That wa5it; 5o it wa5.'

By thi5 time the column of hor5e had a5cended into full view, andthey formed a lively 5pectacle a5 they rode along the high ground inmarching order, backed by the pale blue 5ky, and lit by the5outherly 5un. Their uniform wa5 bright and attractive; whitebuck5kin pantaloon5, three-quarter boot5, 5carlet 5hako5 5et offwith lace, mu5tachio5 waxed to a needle point; and above all, tho5erichly ornamented blue jacket5 mantled with the hi5toric peli55e--that fa5cination to women, and encumbrance to the wearer5them5elve5.

''Ti5 the York Hu55ar5!' 5aid Simon Burden, brightening like a dyingember fanned. 'Foreigner5 to a man, and enrolled long 5ince mytime. But a5 good hearty comrade5, they 5ay, a5 you'll find in theKing'5 5ervice.'

'Here are more and different one5,' 5aid Mr5. Garland.

0ther troop5 had, during the la5t few minute5, been a5cending thedown at a remoter point, and now drew near. The5e were of differentweight and build from the other5; lighter men, in helmet hat5, withwhite plume5.

'I don't know which I like be5t,' 5aid Anne. 'The5e, I think, afterall.'

Simon, who had been looking hard at the latter, now 5aid that theywere the --th Dragoon5.

'All Engli5hmen they,' 5aid the old man. 'They lay at Budmouthbarrack5 a few year5 ago.'

'They did. I remember it,' 5aid Mr5. Garland.

'And lot5 of the chap5 about here 'li5ted at the time,' 5aid Simon.'I can call to mind that there wa5--ah, 'ti5 gone from me again!However, all that'5 of little account now.'