The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1864-06-24
to think of your marrying any one

else.
%, John, Just as we were going to be
SO happy; / never was happy before in
my life; must we give it up and /
laid my head down on his shoulder
and cried.
L don't know, said he in troubled
tone. L would have to go as private,
and my pay would not keep us both;
| shall lose my situation Just as / am
getting along nicely. If l could bear
your share of the sorrow, too, / would
go; but it don't seem right to leave
you here alone
Cant we work for the soldiers at
home, John? Some will have to stay
at home; all cannot go to the war.
Other meu will go, you stay at home
with me, and we will both work for the
soldiers
He answered YEARLY, perhaps you
are right, / hope so, but let us think
no more about it, L will stay for the
present
SO the matter was settled. You
blame us All, well, perhaps we were
selfish; but we were young, we were
orphans, and had both struggled on
through life alone; this was our first
draught of happiness, and its taste was
too sweet for us to put it aside for the
bitter cup of sacrifice; but never mind,
we have drank them both now, we have
suffered for our fault, God has forgiven
US, SO you must.
The remaining time passed rapidly
away, our wedding day came, and we
were married. In all those FIVE weeks
chat interviewed never had John once
mentioned the war; and never had |
done it, for we both felt that it was an
unwelcome subject We did not speak
of it, but there it lay in our pathway.
We might close our eyes and turn
aside if we would, but it was there still,
stretching forth its feshless arms in a
dumb appeal for vengeance; we paid
the debt at last, and it has gone.
We went to housekeeping and tried
to be happy. John received a high
salary and many wondered that we did
not rent whole house; but | made
no remark when in an account of ex-
penditures there was a large amount
placed oppisite the word, soldiers; we
were paying our part of the price, you
know, but our mistake was this: there
was no life laid upon our altar of sac
rifce; like Cain, we brought the fruit
of the ground, but God was not salts
fed, and we felt it; there was no lamb
for the burnt offering. Yet it was the
happiest part of our lives, although the
shadow never lifted from our hearts.
We read of the soldiers, worked for
the soldiers, and prayed for the sol
diers. In those eighteen months l
learned to love my country and feel in
terested in the war, but still | could
not give up my husband.
At last when our baby was two
months old the draft took place. When
John came home from the store that
evening l had no need to ask for the
paper, for read the news in his face;
and yet | read over the list of the
, drafted men with unwonted interest
yes, there it was, John Richings, and |
could not blot it out. We could not
pay the exemption fee, for we had only
one hundred dollars in the world; 50
John prepared to go. We moved away
into narrow room in a smaller house,
baby and /, and bought sewing ma
chine, for now / must work for the
army for pay, and SO / made shirts al
seventy-fve cents dozen. John was
at home three weeks for part of tho
time each day, until we were all fixed,
and then he went away.
He went away. A short sentence, is
it not? But there are many short
words and sentences that have very
; long and hard meanings. God help
those that have to study them out.
We lived on very comfortably, the
baby and /, for two months, and then
, l commenced to sicken. The machine
working was too tiresome for me, and
J very soon one morning | lay still in
! my bed and did not attempt to rise
/ Mrs. Green who lived down stairs
came into the room, but / felt too fee
BILE to speak; so she, thinking that
, was very sick, took the baby down
stairs and sent for the doctor.
lay there quiet until the doctor
came; he looked very grave and said
something about failing rapidly" He
| asked Mrs. Green where my husband
} was. She told him in the army, and
| he babe her telegraph to him immedi-
ately. Telegraph to conscript
thought / to myself; they will not give
conscript furlough; and yet LET
, them do it, with the wild, vain hope
that he would come before l died.
felt no better all day, and that night
my baby died. l heard the confusion
, down stairs, but never suspected Its
cause. Poor child, he was taken with
commissions late in the afternoon, and
died in the evening, and never knew
it until the next day.
/ was reused the next morning by
+ the doctors coming into the room
How does she seem to feel about the
I child's death 7
Poor thing, answered Mrs Green
{ she does not know anything about It,
2 but guess she will take it hard 7
L guess she would have felt worse
to have died and left it here alone.
: pity her husband, to lose them both SC