The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1863-01-02
AFTER THE BATTLE.
BY VIRGINIA F. TOWNSEND.

III was over at lust. JDe sun, which
had walked slow aud calm through the
long hours of that terrible day, had gone
down in n column of fire beyond the
western hills, and now the stars were
coming out swiftly, like golden petals
scattered over an azure sky.
And the stars looked down on the bat
tle-ficld, as they had come out and look
ed down for scores of years on the fair
young land which had arisen in her
strength and beauty, until amid all the
nations there was none to compare with
heron the great cities were hung like
jewels on her green bosom-on the broad
harvest fields that waved their tresses for
| Joy through her golden summers-on the
houses whore the dwellers thereof sat
p acerul and happy under their own vine
and fg iree-on all this had the stars
which came up night by night to the
watch towers of the sky looked, until at
last there came change; and now
where the harvests had waved their locks
in the summer winds, was that most ter.
rible sight which the sun and the stars
ever bcheld-the sight Of battlefield.
The conflict had ragged hot and terrible
that dby.
The hearts of the distant mountains
had shuddered with the thunder OF can
non, aud the Garth had drank in blood as
in autumn she drinks the equinoxtial
rains; hut at last the days awful work
was done, and the night winds lifted the
gray banners of smoke from the battle
field.
The air was full Of the heat and smell
of powder; the dead lay thick together,
with stark, ghastly faces oil the tram.
Piled grass, the wounded lay thicker, fill
ing the air with moans--rderless hor-
ses rushed terrified over the field; and
the dying daylight and the solemn stars
watched over all. a little way from the
battlefield ran u small stream, making Il
blue fold in the dark grass, and two
wounded men had erawled to its banks to
slake their thirst.
And when the two men crGw ling along
the banks, looked up and met each 9TH
ers faces, they knew they were enemies,
and they knew, too, that few hours
ago each had aimed his rifle at the other
and that aim had made the ghastly wound
little way from the heart, which had
drank the life-blood of each, and each
glared desperately on his adversary a
moment before he fell.
But there was no fierceness in the eyes
of those men now, as they sat face to
face on the bank of the stream; the
strife and the anger had all gone now,
and they sat still, dying men, who few
hours before aud been deadly fees sat
still and looked at each other. At last
one Of them spoke:
1--WE haven't either chance to hold
cut much longer, | judge"
''No," said the other with little mix
ture Of sadness and reckless ness. "You
did that last job Of yours well, as that
bears Witness" and he pointed to u
wound little above his heart from which
the lile-blood Of the poor fellow was slow
ly oozing.
"Not better than you did yours" re.
piled the other, with a grim smile, and
he pointed to a wound little higher up,
larger and more ragged-a deadly one.
And then the Two men gazed on each
other again in the dim light, for the
moon had come over the hills now, aud
stood among her stars like a pearl oe
great price. And as they looked, soft
er feeling stole over the heart of each to-
ward his fallen foe; feeling of pity for
the strong, manly life laid low, a feeling
of regret for that inexorable necessity Of
war, which made each man the slayer of
tho other; and at last one Of them spoke:
"There's some folks in the world
thatll feel worse, | 'spose, because you
have gone out ofit!" t.
a spasm of pain was on the bronzed,
CHASTITY features. f.. -Ilf-
eyes," said the man in thick tones
'there's one woman with little boy
and girl, away up among the New Hamp-
shire mountains, that il will nigh kill 10
hear Of this" and then The man groaned
out in bitter anguish, "Oh, God, have
pity on my wife and children!' ..t
AAd the other drew closer to him and
said, se .i.s..Issn n s..s.r e .-..i
Away down among the cotton fields
of Georgia, there's woman and little
girl whose hearts will break when they
heal what this day mas done" and iher
the. cry wrung itself sharply out Of his
heart, "oh, God, have pity on my wife
and childt' ls.as 9 d sassr.a-a
And from that moment the Northern.
er aud the Southerner ceased TO be foes
The thought OF those distant homes OF
Il ha fl.a l. ..,.. ~. f.II I.a..