CHAPTER IV.
Rondelet found General Ruysdale sitting on the shaded porch, watching a passing procession. The elder man greeted him pleasantly, saying,—
"Ah, Rondelet, I was hoping to see you to-day! Do you know we have been in this house just sixty days, and in that time seventy-nine processions have passed before this door?"
"Yes, we are fond of parades here."
"It is such an extravagance. How much better to expend the money devoted to paying those marching musicians in improving the city and carrying on the public charitable institutions, which seem to depend mainly upon private subscription."
"I am not sure about that," Rondelet objected. "It is a great gain to keep the people amused and good-natured. What should we be without our gayety and good-humor? Remember how little we have, poverty-stricken as we are. As to the charities, I hold that the rich and poor are brought in nearer and closer sympathy when they are directly dependent upon
