Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1851-09-10

checkered light: the pleasant yeltoU and
orange of early joy-of her I looked upon
in childhood's love, and thought the earth
was brighter for her presence, and hallowed
by her step-of him, the playmate brother,
and the Handicapped friend; then, min
Cling in splendor, come the blue and
purple Of grander "reminiscences, telling Of
awe and majesty-the priest in holy
church-the judge-the soldier in his gala
dress and nodding plumcs-earth's ermine
and lawn and blue; the streaming green
of early hope, ambition, honor, loye-all
but content But stay! upon the chancel,
flooding altar and cross, in ruddy reflection
from column and cornice, pours in u deep
red ray-crimson, Jlood-coIor: alas ! 1t
has its memories too, vivid and clear, and
grievous to be borne and as l gaze upon
its changing touches, the plaintive, search
ing tones of the ''Kyrie Eyeison, Giriste
Eleison !!'-Oh Lord, Oh Christ haze
mercy!-come pealing in from the phan-
tom gallery of that old cathedral of the
heart. In that ray, upon that air, seem
to see and hear ye once again-ye who
bore your soldiers hearts SO nobly forward
upon the maddest wave of battle, and laid
them down, in wreck and night, for your
country's honor!
Ay de mi lying upon unplaned boards,
stark and grim, that weary night, were
Burke, and Capron, and Hoffman; not
far of was the body of Johnstone, and the
handsome and gallant Irons was graphing
with mortal wound five, in twenty-four
hours, from our little regimental circle.
They were gone!-young and lusty, proud
and hoping, clever and boon-they were
gone. What was the feld-what its glory
and its laurels-what was Mexico, the city,
the territory, the whole peninsula-what
were they all worth, when weighed against
those gallant hearts?
1 threw my arms around the neck of a
classmate, and shed bitter, because una
vailing tears. But the fountain was soon
dried pride and naauvaise honte came to
my relief, and l sat modify gazing upon
our dead, and "bitterly thought of the
morrow" that was to consign them to their
warriors rest. We cut lock from each
head, emptied the pockets and removed
the rings and watches, and left them under
a guard of honor until the morning.
And then, Tor the first time thought
of myself. From the morning OF the 18th
to the night of the Goth, was almost
without my rest; my feet were cut and
bruised by the rocks of the pedregal; had
been twice wet through, and now that the
excitement was over, could scarcely move
While in this state Of mental and phys
ical depression, disinclined to speak or act,
pert little mcustachio-twisted Mexican
officer approached US, and waving his hand
with an air of great Importance, ,accosted US
by introducing himself Oapitan --,
serdicor de vu"-(Captain So-and-so, your
servant;') of which no one of US deigned
to take the slightest notice,
"Quisiera saber," he continued, raising
his voice, ''lo que Sc ha dispuesto tocaate al
aBasteciimiento de los priisioneres Bi,cn Sc soJe
que no 10 pOdep'Os pasar san tcber y conner"
"What does he say, Caspar?"
Gle says that he wants to know what
We are going to do about the prisoners
rations; and he adds" said |, "most i'm
pertinently as l think, that it is an axiom,
that men must eat and drink"
"The devil he does ~ said another
We had no rations ourselves; we were in
the very sackcloth and ashes of our grief,
and his errand and manner were ill-timed
to degree. His fippaney and contempt
would have amused us at any other time,
as ebullitions of spleen and modification
at being prisoner; but thinking upon our
desolation, and feeling something of the
hatred of Cain for the whole race, our first
speaker arose, and taking out pistol, said
in kissing tone, as he cooked it, Look
you, amigo, you eowardly young puppy, if
you favor this party with any further OBJ
servations on any subject whatsoever, II
blow YOUR brains out ~
He understood that English, if he never
did any other, for he bowed himself preci-
pitately into the back ground, and whether
he starved that night or not, L never heard.
1t is to be hoped he did.
/ slept soundly in the convent-yard that
night found in the morning that it had
rained in torrents. left perfect iataglio
in the mud and felt decidedly relieUo when
| got to the smoking side of a blazing fire
where Gen. Twiggs was drying himself.
Soldiers are great sinners, everybody says;
but they do terrible penance, sometimes. Ye
who have neither the temptation nor the
hardship, drop veil upon their faults and