It does not take long for two veterans to get acquainted and the exchange of a few words revealed the fact that we had been members of the same regiment. In fact it was none other than “Pete” Boyle, a member of our old 2d heavy drum corps. One of the first things “Pete” said was, “Do you remember that Maryland fair?” I certainly did and will try and tell the readers something about it. It was just a town fair and not on a very large scale either, but it was held in a beautiful and prosperous settlement a few miles from Washington and the people all turned in and made the most of it and had a glorious time. The drum corps of the 2d New York was engaged as one of the star attractions. It all came about because our adjutant married a daughter of Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth, the famous writer of those old-time fascinating Ledger stories, such as the “Hidden Hand,” “Ishmael,” etc., etc. Her home was in Georgetown and she, having friends out in the country, where the fair was to be held had told marvelous tales of the dandy drum corps of the 2d and as a result we were excused from camp duties and allowed to go to the fair, drink red lemonade and dance with the pretty country maidens. We thoroughly enjoyed the respite from camp life and made the most of our two days’ stay with the Marylanders. Did you ever go out into a peach orchard in the early morning and eat the luscious fruit that had dropped off in the night? “No?” Well, then you have never tasted the true flavor of a peach. The house where we were quartered was flanked on three sides by a peach orchard and we got up in the morning, went out and sat under the trees and stowed away peaches enough to stock a fruit stand. Pete Boyle was the largest boy of the drum corps and he was a born swell. His home was New York. He had been a newsboy in the Bowery district. He was a clog and jig dancer equal to many of the professionals and when it came to sparring and wrestling he was the champion lightweight of the regiment. After Pete had taken part in one “Virginia reel” which gave him the opportunity to show off some of his fancy steps he could have had anything he wanted from those Maryland farmers, and the girls, why they were just falling over each other to get a chance to dance with him. As I have stated, Pete was a swell and would never wear government clothes without having them cut over and made to fit, and he would not hide his shapely No. 5 foot with a government brogan. The girls were all watching Pete from out of the corners of their eyes, but it was noticed that one in particular was his favorite and that he danced with her quite frequently, which was not looked upon with favor by her Maryland escort who was big enough to eat Pete up. The morning of the second day while we were out in the peach orchard a darkey approached our party and asking for “Mistah Boyle” handed Pete a note which after looking over, Pete read to us. It was in substance as follows: “Mr. Peter Boyle: