East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1863-11-11
Army Chanlains.

have met three dozen men whose sym
Dol is the Cross, and of that number,
two should have been in the ranks,
two in the rear, one keeping the tenn
pcrancc pledge, one obeying the third |
commandment be brief about it,
five rcpenting and eight getting COM
mon sense. The rest were efficient,
faithful men. Not one Chaplain in
fifty, perhaps, lacks the paving stones
of good intentions, but the complex
complaint that carries off the greatest
number is Ignorance of human nature
and want of common sense. -Four
cardinal questions, / think, will OK
haust the qualifications for chaplain
cy Is he religiously fit? is he physi-
cally fit? Is he acquainted with the
animal, "man ~ Does he possess hon
est horse sense? Let me give two or
three illustrative pictures from life;
Chaplain A. has r'dteying demon he
is forever not letting things alone
Passing a group of boys he hears one
oath, stops short in his boots, hurles q
commandment Mt the author, hears
another and reproves it. receives a
whole volley and retreats panied and
discounted. Now, Mr.. A. is a good
man, anxious to Go his duty, but that
habit Of his, that darting about camp
like devils darning needle with a
stereotype reproof in his eye, and
pellet OF robuke on tho tip OF his
tongue, bolts every heart against him.
< Chaplain b. breaches sermon-reg-
I ular army fare, too-on Sunday, but
tons his coat UP snugly under his chin
all the other days of the week, draws
thousand dollars and is content
Chaplain G. never forgets that he is G..
"with the rank Of Captain" perfumes
like civit cat, never saw the inside OF
dog tent, never quito considered the
rank and file fellow beings. OF the
three, the boys hate the first, despise
the second, and d---n the third
"Dcmoralize" has become about as
common thing in the army as bay
onct, though the boys do not always
get the word right. One of them--
tone of 'em" in couple Of senses
was talking Of himself one night
maybe YOU wouldn't think it, but |
used to be a regular, straight-laccd
sort of fellow, but since | joined the
army have got damnably decOnposed"
Now, a drunken General and a "de-
composed" Chaplain arc about as use
les lumber as can cumber an army.
There is Chaplain ID. well equipped
with heart, but with no head "to speak
Of" and, with the purest intentions, q
perfect provocative to evil. 1t was
next to impossible for man to put
the best-side out when he was by; a
curious two-footcd diaclylum plaster,
he drew cverybody's infirmatics to the
surface. l think the regiment grew
daily worse, and where he was, words
, were sure to be the dirticst, jokes the
Z coarscst, deeds the most unseemly. =
) the regiment hadesigned, almost to a
man, a paper inviting him to resign,
, but on the day of the battle he threw
off his coat and carried water to the
, men all day. In the hottest places
there was Chaplain ID. water here, wa
ter there, assisting the wounded, aid
ing tho Surgeons, very minister of
mercy. ! need not add that the ain
vitation' lighted the fire under some
body's coffee kettle on Monday night.
The Chaplain had struck the right
vein last; the boys had found some
thing TO respect and 10 love in him,
and the clerFyman's future usefulness
was insured. The bond between
Chaplain and men was sealed on that
field with honest blood and will hold
good until doomsday.
One noble Illinois Chaplain, who
died in the harness, used to 60 out at
night, lantern in hand, among the
blended heaps of the battle field, and
as no went you could hear his clear,
kind voice, "Any wounded here ?''
And so he made the terrible rounds.
That man was idolized in life and be-
walled in death. No man can honest
! ly misunderstood what have written.
The ohaplaincy, at best, is an office diff
iicult aud thankless. 1t demands the
best men you have to fill it well and
worthily, mon whose very presence and
bearing put soldiers "upon their hon
or;" and it is safe to say that he who
is fit to be a Chaplain is fit TO rule
people. How nobly many of them
have labored in the Army of the Cum
berland / need not testify; ministers
of mercy, right hand men of the Sur
geons and the Nightingales, bearers of
the cup of cold water and the word of
good cheer, the strong regiment may
be the Coloneps but the wounded brig
ade is the Chaplain's. TO mingle
with the men, and share in their frol-
les as well as their sorrows without
losing self-respoct to be with them
and yet not Of them to get at their
hearts without letting them know it
these are, indeed, tasks most delicate
difficult, requiring tact man must
be born with and good, honest sense
that can never be derived from ellis
"body of divinity" How do you like
I Chaplain S. ! asked, of q group of
Illinois boys one dav. "We'll .Crecze
to him, every time" was the charact-
elistic reply, and not unanticipated, for
i had seen him dressing a wound,
helping out laundering boy whose
fingers were all thumbs, with his let
ter TO 'the girl no left behind him."
playing ball, running a race, as well
as heard him making prayer and
preaching n sermon. The Surgeon
and the Chaplain are co-workers. I
said the former should report to the
women, and i half believe that tho
Chaplain should do likewise.
Mr.. Lincoln's last story is about his
early farm experiences, from which he
draws lesson of political wisdom
He had once to pillow with u lazy old