The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1862-01-15
A WIFE AND A DUCKINls.
A RECRUITING ADVENTURE.

4 ~ n ~
RECRUITING ADVENTURE.
1t was one of the most beautiful night.
in August that our mess was seated befor.
the quarters Of Fort Corcoran, courting tn,
muses. and recounting tales Of food anC
frld OBJ. had related laughablc story
about
| sThe holy ground
| OF potheen aud potatoes"
| W threw us into Mysteries with Larry
M'iIale,' when with one accord, the boys
appealed to R for something senti-
mental.
| R-was handsome young fellow Of
about twenty four, and as fond Of the girls
, as duck, combined with a spice Of dcvel
try, fine voice, natural talent for music,
and IA good pair Of legs made general
! iavor.c with the gentcr sex; and il he
| took Il little advantage Of this fact, it is ex-
| cusable on the ground that all is fair i'm
time of love and war; If modesty was
one Of his inherent characteristics, its de
vel"pment has been sadly Neglected, so,
without further in.lucement, he related the
| following, which, as near as recall, give
! in his own language:
"You see, boys, before | was transferred!
to this prison house, was in charge Of as
awkward a set of raw recruits as ever shoul
| ,lcred Il nuSket OF wore uniform. They
had rushed with willing hearts and sturdy
arms from workshops and field to the dc.
fence of constitutional liberty, knowing as
much about military tactics as an elephant
about rope walking. Morning, noon and
night, | naneuvercd these fellows until
dr.H became a regular bore. just as they
had obtained respectable proficiency, and
| was ready to enjoy the satisfaction w"ich
accompanies all good works, the following
order was placed in my hands:
HEAD QuARrEs, ARMY OF THE PoroMac.
Lieut. R will prepare for particu-
lar service and report for instructions at
head quarters. By order of
Brig. Gen. MCDOWELL,
Commanding.
A. A. SMITH, Military Sec'y.
1.-THE routine of camp lif. had quite
taken the romance out Of soldering, and
hailed with delight any change from its
dull monotony. So, after a hasty break.
fast, donned my best clothes, mounted
my pet pony, and rode up the head quar-
i
lention 10 my duties in camp for several
months having much gratified my Col, by
his request, was temporarily relieved from
active service, and ordered to nor r.hern New
York, there to superintend the enlistment
and forwarding OF recruits to the seat of
war.
Bowling my thanks with as much calm
ness As ! could command, backed out Of
the presence Of my superior officers, re-
mounted my horse, rode off to tell the mess
Of my good luck, and packed up my traps
and left on the first train to l., pleas.
ant town on the Hudson, and not thou.
sand Mies from Troy. My instructions
amounted to a little less than furlough,
the superntendence consisting in riding
about t. several recruiting stations to 0rer.
lvUk the business.
vi necessity, the entrance Of dashing
drag ION. all booted and spurred, somewhat
disturbed The repoSe Of -, and more
than one pair of bright eyes glstened thro'
the bowed shutters, as | rode up to the
Phoenix ESQ called. suppose, because it
arose from its ashes, gave my horse to the
groom, and entered my -Lieutenant
r., U s. Ain Haring characters on
the II gisttr.
1t r,qurcd but short 'ime for scion
Of Uncle Sam, .re>h from the seat of war,
to make him n.eli acquainted; and the second
atterno"n found me in company with Char
ly -, &. fine fellow who is,,', but ought
to be, s"ldier,) in presence Of three as
agreeable young ladies' AS one might wish
to pass an evening with There is a fatali-
ty in my existence; it nver rains but it
pours. The desire to have Irritation was
supreme, but how to choose from three
equally attractive and pleasant was difficult
How Yer, what decision failed to bring
about, chance accomplished; and in less
than three days Emma, Q drop the Miss,
AS merely cOnventionaD and myself were
skirmiShing with our light artillery Of
glanc,s, occasionally varied on my part BY
throwing in u few volleys Of tender speech
cs, all supported by reserve force OF sighs
whose import vas unulistakablc. In the
mean time, Mary was by no m. ans negl Ct
ed ami as she lived in another part of the
town, the two nDaires de coeur seldom con-
ficted while Jenny who manifested
m0therly interest in all Of US, looked par.
ticularIy to the welfare Of Emma, her cousin
and visitor.
riil-IilcS, uTiVeS, SalIS anu surprise par
ties assisted old Father time to travel with
unusual rapidity, and bigan to realize that
my holiday was drawing to close. The
frequent. indeed tn, almost constant associ-
alton with Emma, had excited in the heart
something more than transitory interest,
although was hardly willing to concede,
even to myself, that was fairly caught in
the net woven for her. That she did not
dislike me, | was convinced, but nothing
had ever escaped her, which gave me much
ground for hope; while, on the other hand,
Mary was as att ntive and engaging as o
miss Of sixteen, and evidently in no wise
displ.ased with my show Of devotion. To
be the victim Of unreqsited affection was a
little more than my instructions called for,
and my recruiting expedition seemed likely,
50 far as sweetheart was concerned, to be
a failure But recalled tho faint heart
never won fair lady adage, and determined
at least to make the attempt. Veni, eitlj,
and | didn't feel disposed to abandon the
field without the pici.
AS = preliminary, projected screnade,
and, with Charley for companion, pro.
cssdsd, one magnificent night, armed with