The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1864-12-22

| the sense OF abandon Is, with which YOU
resign yourself to sleep, after a struggle
against it for length of ti,ne-wken you
have been listening to good long sermon
in hot weather, for instance-and finally
still knowing that you ought not, let your
head sink slow y back against the pewcor.
ner, and relax all your muscles into the
delightful suppleness of sleep. Or, when
you have been visiting a maiden aunt who
is rich and garrulous, and for whom you
entertain-as Evans cleverly said abou
Greel ely-"sentiment Of respect, net un
mingled with fatigue" How gladly yor
lie down on her sofa, pleading that rest
after dinner, is gastric necessity with you
and how sweetly your manly form scftens
droops, relaxes, while the cracked old
voice huns and purs away in the corner
eeaseless and drOwsy. You know the feel
ing, Of course.
Well, so did poor devil Of a dust-beat.
er-a private in the Third Vermont Vol
unteers. He was on picket duty, last
spring, at Chain Bridge, and found the
warm, bland, Virginia morning too much
for him, after chilly and drzzly night
He had been forced to walk about. DfisAly,
hour after hour, to keep warm, SO that at
sunrise he felt wofully tired lie sat down
at the foot of tree, upon lis folded
blanket, and leaned his poor aching bacE
against the sturdy trunk A south wind,
tha. had fingered over beds o. 7iolet5 and
gardens of roses, came and kissed his eye
lids, and gently played with his hair;
touching it rs tenderly as his old mothers
tremulous fingers once did That ~as
years ago. The sunshine came slanting
down between the tre-tops, with all sorts
of shimmeripg, fickering shadows of leaves
and twigs dancing about iii it.. It dried
his clothes, and warmed him, and a tran
quill, vacant state Of mind began to take
possession of him.
81 mustn't 90 to Sleep" thought he. ~
won't go to sleep-I shan't go-to-sleep
-" and of he went, st aight to the land of
fine unrealties, to meet his old mother,
and be happier than either you or am at
this moment.
The relief guard come along directly,
and sent him 10 the guard-house under
arrest. Sleeping on his post" was the
charge His dreams were not so pleasant
that night
In due time, this poor boy was properly
court-martialed The offence he had
committed was one Of those simple ones
that need no litigation. All the presiding
officer wants to know is, 'Did he sleep on
his post" If he did, the penalty is Death.
That's all
There wasn't much question about this
ease. The sergeant and dozen men could
swear to having seen the prisoner asleep.
They awakened him, indeed, with diff
Guilty.
So he was to die, disgracefully. To be
shot by Federal rifcs-a hard death for
Federal soldier The day for the execu-
tion was fixed A platoon was ordered
out. A coffin was placed for the poor
wretch, to fall into. He was led out,
and
a full pardon from President Abraham
Lincoln was brought up in hot haste; just
in time to stay proceedings.
The prisoner went nearly insane with |
joy. 1t was like being recalled to life
from death
Very well. At Lees Mills during the
seige of Yorktown, there was reconnoi-
sance to be made among some rihe-pits
that the enemy had established on the
banks of stream. The Third Vermont
was ordered across TO reconnoitre. Part
went across dam successfully, and part.
trying to ford, found the water deep, and
took terrible scathing.
When the wounded were brought in,
there was this same poor boy who slept
Oh his post A Mimic bullet had gone
through both his thighs, severing the ia
moral artery They carried him to the
hospital and in little time he called the
surgeons and others near him.
God bless President Lincoln ~ said
he; "I've shown him that he didn't save
my life for nothing. can die as an
American soldier should"
And with that he died.
wish that all the men who find friends
to work for them might turn out as pluck
lily and well as that, at the eud.
1t strikes me that | am using up my
space pretty fast. but | promised to say a
word about the attractive side of faisehood;
and as am the champion of Truth just
now, must keep my promise. Why not
obo,r tb;c m n Ettla on;eoIoo