American Republican and Baltimore daily clipper. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1844-1846, 1846-11-14

| TdllDg tne history OF MS youtnlul coInpdhlohs
and the changes that had befallen them IN the
quiet abode. At length, propped up with pill
lows, he said, in feeble voice:
Il have had many troubles, but that which
hath bowed me down inwardly was the sin o
leaving home against the will Of my parents
10 be soldier. | have felt the pain of wounds
but the sting of conscience is sharper. l have
known hunger and thirst, and lain sick in the
prison of foreign land. My disobedience and
ingrattude stood by to reproach me, as lay
sleepless, in dreary, neglected hospitals. Then
| in broken visions, | saw my mother bending
over me so kindly, as she would when had
only headache. Sometimes seemed to see
our father with the great Bible in his hand
ready to read as he used to do, before prayers,
and cried out, Il am no more worthy to be call
ed thy son.
He paused, overcome with emotion; and his
brother fastened TO assure him of the perfect
forgiveness ofhis parents, and that he was dali
ly borne upon thei- supplcations,as The son err
ing yet beloved.
'Ah! those prayers followed me. But for
them should have been reprobate to God
and man.
BY intervals, as his feeble strength permitted,
he told the story Of his wanderings. He had
been in battles on land and sea. He had heard
the deep ocean resound to the lannon's thunder,
and seen earth saturated with the red showers
from the bosoms of her sons. He had served
in the armies of Europe, and risked life for a
foreign power; and pursued the hunted Indian
in his own native cline. He had plunged with
the braVest where dangers thickened, seeking
everywhere the glory that had dazzed his boy
hood-but in vain. He found that it was the
soldiers lot to bear hardships, and dare death,
that others might reap The fame. He saw
what wounds and mutations, what misery,
mourning and death were necessary to purchase
the name of victory. He felt how far the re-
nown ofthe greatest conquerors, falls short of
the good that he perfects, and the sorrow that
be infcts.
Sometimes he said, 'just before rushing
into battle, felt shudderng and inexPressible
horror at the idea of Strengthening my fellow
beings, made in the image of God. But in the
heat of conflict, all human symputhies vanish
ed. Desperate madness possessed me, so that
| cared neither for this life nor the next. haV
been left on the field ofcarnage unable to move,
amid the feet Of trampling horses, my open
gashes stlffening in the chill night air, while
no man cared for my soul. Yet why should
distress you by such descriptions?-you have
always lived under the sweet influences of
mercy, and shrink to give unnecessary pain,
even to an animal. 1t is impossible for you to
realize the hardness ofheart that springs from
life of warfare. The soldier must be familiar
with scenes of violence and cruelty. His NOR
al and religious sensibities are in continual
peril. Profanity and contempt Of sacred things
mingle with the elements of his trade. The
privileges of the Sabbath must be resigned
The precepts Of the Gospel that were impress
ed upon his childhood, are in danger of being
swept away. Still, though sroVe to be reck-
less and hardened, my heart reproached me-
On! that it might be purified by repentance, ere
| am summoned to the bar of judgment, to an
swer for deeds Of blood
His brother and sister still fattered them
selves that by medical skill and careful nursing,
the health of the invalid might be restored,-
They placed reliance on the kind sympathies of
his neighbors and friends, and the bland influ-
eHce ofhis native air.
Yet he replied, 1T can never be. My vital
energies are wasted. know that even now
Death standeth at my right hand. When |
entered this peaceful valley, my swollen limbs
! tottered and began to fall. Then prayed 10
the Almighty, whom had SO often forgotten,
'Oh! give me strength but a little longer that
mag reach the home whore was born, and
die there, and be buried by my father and my
mother
The sick and penitent soldier sought earnest
ly for the hope of salvation. He felt that a
great change was needed in his soul, ere it
could be fitted for the holy employments of a
realm of purity and peace. He prayed and
wept, and studied the Scriptures and listened
to the counsels Of pious men.
Brother, dear BROTHER he would say, you
| bou pboUod bo IF
You have chosen the paths Of peace. You
have been mercful to the inferior creatures
You have shorn the fleece, but not wantonly
destroyed the lanb. You have taken the hon
ey, and spared the laborng bee. But | have
destroyed man, and his habitation-the hive
and the honey--the fleece and the flock, have
defaced the image of God, and crushed Out
that breath which can never restore. You
know not how bitter is the warfare in my
soul, with the prince Of the power Of the air
the spirit that ruleth in the children of disobe.
| dence.'
AS his last hour approached, he laid his cold
hand on the head of his brothers. eldest child
who had been named for him, and SAID family
Little James, obey your parents, and never be
soldier. Sister, brother, you have been an
gels of mercy to me- The blessing Of God be
upon you and your household The venerable
minister who had instructed his childhood, and
laid his parents in the grave, had daily visited
him in his sickness, and stood by his side as he
went down into the valley of the shadow o.
death.
my son, look unto the Lamb of Cod
Yes, father, there is fulness in Him, for The
chief of Sinners the aged man lifted up hi:
fervent prayer for the departing soul. He
commended it to the boundless compositions o.
him who received the penitent, and besought
for it gentle passage to that world, where
there is no more sin, neither sorrow nor cry.
ing. He ceased. The eyes of the dying were
closed. There was no more heaving of the
breast or gasping.
1t would seem that the breath had quilted
the suffering clay. And they spake of him as
ha wing nnssed fore Yer W hare ton nc rn