Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1861-04-25

e '
noble servants OF the deep-yoced cannon, and
men were wanted to hand out the shells from
cart he had himself brought up, replenished,
to a breast work. He called in some of the
linesmen. One of them stood by him loot to
foot almost or actually III contact. They
were handing ammunition from one to another
as men do fire Buckets when fires are blazing
in a street. He leant in one direction to pass
on the load he had just taken from tile soldiers
hand; the soldier was bending towards the
next man i'll the chain, a Russian shell came
bounding with a whirr, then burst and scat
tered its deadly fragments with terrific force.
One of its great iron shreds passed-there was
just room tor it-between his leg and the sol
der's that stood next to him. They looked
each other in the face
GA near shave that sir - said the man.
"Nearer than you think Tor, perhaps" he
answered Tor he had felt the roundcr surface
OF the fragment actually bruse him as it pass
ed whereas lis ragged edge had shaven, with
marvellous noatness, from his trowser part
OF the broad red stripe upon the outer seam
l venture to give these minute details be-
cause they may help other civilians, as they
helped me, TO ''realize," as they call it nova
days, more wildly the risks OF day OF bat
tie, and the large drafts they drew upon a
mans fund for nerve and composure Just as
he stands, without coming into any close en-
counter.
But at last the firing was done; and bare
headed, as | have said, lie turned and rode
back towards the camp.
1t was before the famine period there and
though there was no superiority Of food, there
was food to be had, and that long days fight
ing men were in sore need of it.
1t was dusk, and he was lighting candle to
sit down TO his meal, when the voice of a
French soldier called something like his name
from the outside. He was himself perfect
master of that language, as the "Sotddt-du
tram who stood outside found to his great
relief upon his first utterance of inquiry.
The Frenchman held mule by the bridle
and across the creatures back lay something
which looked like heavily filled parti color
sack. 1t was far otherwise CHASTITY burden.
The body OF an officer, stripped bare all but
the trowsers, the dark clothed legs hanging
one way, the fair skinned naked shoulders
and arms the other, the face toward the
ground.
81 was directed, mon officer, 10 bring this
poor gentlemans corpse t. you they say
you were a friend of his-his name is Captain
x"
Even at that early stage of the campaign
such shocks had lost the startling effect OF
novelty; nevertheless, there were few names
among those OF his friends and comrades which
it could shock and grieve him more to hear
pronounced under such circumstances. The
light was fetched He raised the poor body /;
then, with Il SIGH let once more gently down.
There was a small round hole in the very
centre of the forehead, whereat the rifle ball
had darted into the brain Of his ,hapless
friend
BE called an orderly, aud directed him to
accompany the Frenchman to the dead man S
tent. He would himself soon follow and see
to his receiving soldiers obseq les. His
WEAKNESS and exhaustion were such as to rem
der it imperatively necessary that he should
first take his food, to which lie returned, with
what increased weight at heart, who shall
rightly tell? 1t needs not that the tension OF
mans nerves should have been strung tight
by the hand of battle, for him to know, from
his own experience, what is the strange, and
awful, and weird feeling of the first relaxation
of them i'll the early hours of responsibility
danger, or important crisis of decision Ii APP
partitions and visions of things unearthly be
indeed mere fctions Of mans brain, such after
hours are just those wherein the mind is rea
diest TO yield to the power OF Illusion Illu
sion or reality more startling, more unaccount
able by far than it? Whether of tile two wa.
this
There entered at the curtain of his tent thC
dead man, toward whom, in some few minute,
more, he should lave been showing the las
ed kindnesses. The light fell full and clea