The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1853-06-29
WE CLEAVE TO TRUTH, WHEREVER
SHE LEADS THE WAY"


but countenance pleasing even in death :
broad forehead, marked eyebrows, but
the eyes are sunken in their sockets. the
cheeks hollow, the lips chill and coIoress
This wreck Of a man is Lieutenant Ar
thur Cleveland. A few months before
his now death-like countenance glowed
and sparkled in all the pride of youth -
Could you have seen his noble form in all
It's majesty of statue could you have seen
his gallant bearing-the flashing eve, the
intrepid heroism displayed before the walls
of Montery, when the battle ragged thick
and heavy-and could you have seen him
still a few months previous, when he left
his home on the broad Mississippi-tllat
manly form SO blooming in ali its outlines
as he received the farewell blessing of
fond and doting mother, as he clasped to
his heart his beautiful and weeping sister,
and imprinted upon her pale brow the last
kiss of fratemal affection-could YOU have
seen him then, and behold him now, dy-
ing amid strangers in foreign land-wouid
you not feel the melancholy contrast in
all its terrible details Think YOU no,
that the reality Of scene like this. is
enough to chill the heart of the brayest
man that ever dared death on the field of
battle ..-
There is but one other in the tent be-
side the dying man. This form, moulded
in the outline of physical power, softened
by the gentler proportions of manly grace.
presents an imposing appearance; with a
manner that marks him out from the mass
of common men. lie wears the uniform
Of colonel, and is older, perhaps by five
or six years than his dying companion
His forehead, high and pale, is impressed
with the indelllble lines Of thought, which
with his melancholy bearing, impresses
the observer with the idea that some bitter
disappointment Of early youth, had swept
athwart the surface Of his soul.
The Colonel is bending over the lowly
couch, or ths-~.nae;a..-I Lie....---.. Ono.
knee is resting onthc ground and supports
his body, while upon the other is resting
a small portfolio, on which he is writing
the low and feeble words rs they are die
tated by the sufferer, and frequently the
writer puts his ear to his dying lips to catch
the broken, and scarcely articulate sounds
that issue from them.
At length the letter Is finished, folded.
and when the writer assures the youthful
officer, that it shall be sent to his home
by the earliest opportunity, his features as
sumo a calm and resigned expression,
whilst their livid hue is illumined by ewes
that seem to shine moro brightly as the
night Of death draws near. The brave
young Colonel watches his last moments
with fearful eyes; tits fearful silence as
the living and the dying gaze steadily into
the faces Of each other the cold and clam
my hands of the dying man resting in the
palm of his lonely friend! At length the
former family spoke
any dear Colonel, am almost gone
but while spark of life remains, let me
thank you in my own name, and in the
name Of my mother and sister-who will
bless you for the act-for your kind and
brotherly affection for me, in this the try
ing hour of leath ~
The Colonel pressed his hand, while q
tear was trickling down his manly cheek.
The other continued:
IL have last word to say to yoa-it is
Of friends, of home"
Speak! if you have a message I will
fulfill it."
"Thank you, have those who long for
my return, who love me more than life
it would be consolation for them to know
how my last moments were spent-and
there are little triaes in my possession
memcntoes OF the past, which my mother
my sister" He gasped for breath,
and WAS interrupted by his solitary COM
panion -
"Say no more, my friend promise
you 10 this solemn hour, that if | ever
roach our happy country again, l will seek
those you love, and tell them that your
last thoughts were OF them. Ii shall all
be as you WISH"
The young man opened his mouth, but
no sound escaped his lips his eyes spoke
the grateful emotions Of his soul. A few
more struggles, as the spirit seemed both
to leave its mortal tenement; few more
abrupt heayings of the chest, and Arthur
Cleveland had passed through the valley
Of death
Time wore on, and the gallant Colonel
figured in many battle somewhere all
were brave, he won imperishable renown.
First in the storm, foremost in the charge,
the most tireless in pursuit; he fully sus-
tained the reputation Of being the braysst
among the brave.
At length the dismal blasts Of war, gave
place to the cheering notes Of peace. The
army is disbanded, and the last request Of
the dying Lieutenant, win be fulfilled by
the solitary friend who stood BY him 10
death
CHAPTER xI.