St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1864-03-17

4S>@rA 1OVts
driven % from on me, ,bat, heah Cody ashtint,q
out their ,delivsrsaos' agin -$oa and your
hardesl"o Bill ad t1E .ta4' 9y.a>
/ '"come, " said softly, ,''lsts rs lay ,th!ese
things aside TO night: Return, 10 better
days and themes You have still = spark
Of regard for the good old Uaion.2 Have
yQn forgotten The p>amx tine. Of '76, when
South and North stood shoulder to should
or IT. 7Seosde,oga".- a1y11373.a LHaU !
|'i7l stopped in mute astonishmeent. At the
iteration ofths last word, d.athly pallor
came cvsr the old gentleman !; lis chin
dropped upon his bosom. and hi, hand.
hung ner!easly ~ SIPon hi. chair. From
bold naniacal, deaanee, W .hsd ;ehaat.ed
to cowed, tremslous, denented silence
Suddenly ard mechanically 'he rose, erop.
ed BY way Of th, wall to st.ipeGse, and
sdh'uf1ing hut like man in dream disappeared
saw no more Of him that might. The
girls. scarcely less agitated, also imrhsdi
ately retired and Was left alone With
the cripple, astosndsd 1t tho eject Of my
orstory, and csrtsin- that had fallen into
. house Of lunstics =. ..:j, ra.'
I had been previously acquainted with
bitter Southern .partisans, but the auimosi-
y OF this family wae altogether savage and
nnaprsee1 1snsttdd:~ Mere was certainly the
extenuating circumstance, Of the younger
Lightfoots' connection with the Confeder.
ate service; and the irritabilify Of old .re
might have been intensified BY losses Of
negroes, livestock, and prroetVisndder. The
people were likewise, a. could see, rude.
ignorant, and perhaps wicked. In this
~ay.1 could account for their passion ::
but the moro appalling evidences Of fear
and suspicion remained unexplained. A.
l sat absorbed in review Of the occurren-
ces Of the evening, I looked casually across
the room At the cripple, who had been for
soppe minutes sitting silently upon the aoor.
The freight revealed his face, though his
body was ,bethedi in shadow, and l saw
that he was leering darkly upon me. Out
Of all patience With the fellow, I called to
hfntIi In; no very aniable voi:e: ...hy. nan
lkaEyen't you face in your ,,epereotre less
devilish than that you are wearing. to-
night!" ,-.r -. D.. ,...,., 49,
Hs grinned contemptuously, but did not
speak. -. ". H.. ....---.-.--.- H..
s fhsa Rsl n S;1f ysaf fac: : presently. 50 you
had bet, er remove out of distance"
+ He rose from his place, limped to, the
stairway aud /. heard his heavy unequal
tread overhead for some time, when finally
It ceased, and the house was given over to
silence. Having emptied the pail Of cider,
and supped plenteously, threw myself
upon the spread in the corner, and resum.
ed my contemplations. Why were these
people out Of their beds at so late an hour !
Had they expected visitors! WHY had
they alternately shuddered and vaunted =,
Had some great remorse with them blend
ed !; With Il !,s' some, yet more wicked purpose
Might. not their fanaticism mean more
than it had seemed! Was l, in short, safe
iR the Adnse, avel-worn, disarmed, soli-
taay and asleep! Pshaw! . cripple. two
girls, and garrulous old dotard. What
were these Ritted &sA sAinst vigilant, active
soldier, close to camp, and prepared for
any emergency! '1had unnamed myself
thrice tonight; should become again a
prey to childish terrors 7 .u,.,r @'>.'
1tossed my sword contemptuously upon
the table, spurned my hvlsters with my
foot, and leaning my head upon my..rp,
studied the bare door, the huge chimney,
the beamed and whitewashed ceiling, the
square and rope.seated chairs. A few
coarse pictures hung upon the wall-a
trotting horse, . popular preacher, Cou-
ffederats general, . hesd Of Washington.
Opposie. tn :, door and two windows; : 1t
MY feet, s:daos,, ,,aand ,heass looked out upon
the two porohes., A rough .nanaetriece
surmounted the chimney, ornsmented with
: stuffed ooon.skin and = pair Of unsightly
candlesticks. contrasted the boorish
deni.ens Of this place with my own family
and those Of my friends in the North :; l
thought Of the plain frook and pretty fs.-
lures Of the younger girl, whose name, As
I had heard, was that OF my own at,aiaaoed
Martha and, touching this theme, 1fold.
my arms upon my breast and dropped in
to feyerish 9slesp.' II might have been
the strange influences and events Of the
evening" or more directly the drslghts ol
whisky and cider that troubled me, Il any
rte, my 'slambers w.s broken by dreams
and quick awakenings $, and curioasly
enough, the old we'll ID the yard REQUIRED
asain and again among these fancci,es.. T.. Il
my visions turned. during; I any j., ! moments,
upon the companions Of my mess, tho -.
soci.te. Of my; boyhoed, tho incident, {; 81
my night journey. the aff.nSed Of ny love
they failaed ala d ae.stese . return to the a..
aisnt we'll. At one time, it seemed, the
hinge shaft had fallen upon my heart. and
'tgi bruised i most cruelty .gain;I had fallen
into int the well, and climbing TO- the surface,
found that had been swimming in blood
and, In tho end, both shaft and we'll had
resolved themselves into the hideous Grip: