Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1862-11-26

caped the great war, are gathered round
the board. and all are merry and happy
and the feast commences. A blessing
from the parson-he of course Is invited
All are happy. Yes, but-but look IN
the matron's face. There's tear in heI
eve, as she turns to a vacant seat mo-
ment's sadness, and it is wiped away by
her clean check apron. She could not
help it. Her thoughts were OF the tar
away-far away beyond the ken of hui
man vision gone from the battlefield to
heaven. The eye of her husband fell up
on her, and he read her thoughts. 1t was
but struggle with him, a mere choking
in the throat, and like brave man, he
mastered the feeling and cheered on the
feast. Poor Henry was not forgotten,
though.
The feast went on merrily There was
wine upon the table, and punch, too; and
even cider for those who preferred it,
And all this was seasoned with anecdote
and adycuture, and the soldier fought
his battles Ger again" You may bevery
certain II was a merry and brave day at
Squire Holton's-that first Thanksgiving
day. 1t was an old fashioned feast, tho
it ran wellinto the evening, andwhen the
party rose from the table they adjourned
to the upper ROOM" and left the frag-
ments and the dishes to the care of the
old Aunt 'Rina, the black cook, and Tow
ser, the dog.
The boys all day, about the village, had
made the best of their time, and the girls
had their romps. Charles Holton, fresh
from the bloody wars-he had fought side
by side with his father-and his mother
and sister had helped to fit them out
Charles had won all the great prizes of
the day. He had won FIVE turkeys and
a pair of chickens; he had jumped the
furthest, and won the wrestling match !:
and thus being victor, he of course was
rewarded with the smiles and the bushes
of all the fairest maidens in the village
But it brought him no envy-for every
4 body loved him, and nobody old or young,
lad or lass, but would have given their
right hand to have served Charley Hol-
ton; for they had all heard of his brave
ry, and many of them had been witness
to it on several occasions, and he was not
the man to harbor guile of any one, or
commit an act that might create an un-
favorable impression of himself. But our
praises of Charley Holton must not lead
though you shall hear more of him anon
There wasa happy party in the 'Squire's
upper ROOM" 1t was q large, old-fash-
ioned room, full twenty feet square
| There was no carpet on the floor, which
was as clean and white as the pine table;
the walls were wainscotted as high as the
back of the chair, and in the fireplace
wide as barn door-blazed a most cheer
ful fire supplied by at least half cord of
wood, and a backlog that required two
men to roll it into the house. There was
plentiful supply of chairs and benches,
and seated round large table was a par
ty with music books and instruments,
''vexing the dull ear of night" with choice
selections of psalmody. High perched
and conspicuous, sat the Squire, with his
big fiddle, while before him lay outspread
volume of sacred music. a neighbor
on his left played the flute, while anoth-
er opposite made wheezy noise with the
clarionet Those who choose to sing, pip
ed away with their voices, and altogether
they secured a concert perfectly satisfac-
tory to themselves and the company, and
won the applause of their beloved pastor,
the leader. Many an old-fashioned air,
now out of date, was played and sung,
nor was Old Hundred forgotten, nor the
"Ode to Science" then comparatively
new. We doubt if many of our readers
ever heard of it; but it was always at
that day, sung at Thanksgiving. Wecan
at the present only call to mind but little
of it but we do remember these lines,
which were always sung with peculiar en-
phasis;
The British yoke the CALLING chain
Were thrust upon our neeks IN vain;
All naughty tyrants we disdain,
| And shout long live America"
Amerikay-that is where the great accent
fell. and made it the more impressive
EVERYBODY seemed happy, and all joined
in the musical part of the entertainment
with the exception of Charles and his
mother, and they sat little apart from
the rest of the company Ill the most ear
nest conversation together. Mistress Hol-
ton was not very well that evening, tho
she assumed as much as possible an as
pect of cheerfulness, and Charles sat IN
| front of her, holding her cold, thin hands
in his own. He had been telnng her OF
his perils and suferings in the camp
with the brave soldiers he had fought side
by side with-of Washington, Lafayette,
of Kosciusko, and other brave and heroic
men.
The conversation became interesting,
and one by one the singers left the table,
and drew near to listen, and at length
the music entirely ceased, and all became
attentive as Charles went on with his mar
ratiye-ahl so glowingly he told 1t, we
can scarcely give but faint transcript,
and so patiently and wonderingly the
mother dwelt upon his every word, though
| it was evident at times she struggled with
a painful thought, that caused visible
shudder to thrill through her wholeframe.
sAlasl alas = she exclaimed, interrupt
ing him in one of his descriptions, these
are indeed sufferings that wiring the
heart
And then at Valley Forge he contin-
ned. oh, mother, dear, it was dismal
camp. and would have grieved your hon
est heart had you but known the strife
twixt want and discipline. From tent to
tent. begging for bread, the shoeless sol
dier trod, with bleeding feet, through
snow and biting frost. Despair was IA
miliar face; and many who closed their
eyes with painful sleep at even, neer
onened them to the morn-so slept forey-
or And many a soldier when the cold,
long night fell with its gloom around him,
and the wind, tapping the tattered tent
brushed his damp hair, stretched his un-
blanketed and meagre limbs upon the
frozen ground, and prayed for rest while
our great leader through the general
camp passed like guardian spin, the
hopeless imparting hope, and to the suf-
fering, aid l.end, by his side, champing
his lit so proudly, pranced the war horse
of the gallant Frenchman. A dismal
camp-the camp at Valley Forge. What
miracle preserved us, when a foe with
thrice our numbers, clothed and proyls-
ioned. lay but days march from US, Hea-
ven best knows.
May it forgive at the great judgement
day the bad promoters OF tins cruel war
I have been robbed of half my cherished
wealth. poor woman as l am, and for my
Ioss have not cause for bitterness? All,
TT,r- ba lid his dutV nObly p