The walls of the house being three feet thick, we were never troubled by the trombone practice or the infant's cries.

And many a delightful evening we had around the board, with Father de Fourri, Rev.Mr.Meany (the Anglican clergyman), the officers and ladies of the Tenth, Governor and Mrs.Prince, and the brilliant lawyer folk of Santa Fe.
Such an ideal life cannot last long; this existence of ours does not seem to be contrived on those lines.

At the end of a year, orders came for Texas, and perhaps it was well that orders came, or we might be in Santa Fe to-day, wrapt in a dream of past ages; for the city of the Holy Faith had bound us with invisible chains.
With our departure from Santa Fe, all picturesqueness came to an end in our army life.

Ever after that, we had really good houses to live in, which had all modern arrangements; we had beautiful, well-kept lawns and gardens, the same sort of domestic service that civilians have, and lived almost the same life..