, 1864-12-25
LITTLE STARLIGHT.


It was soon nftcr the first Of those terrible |
Wilderness battles Of last Spring that Little |
Starlight made his first appearance among
Now; have you any Idea who Littlo Star
tic name, you picture hin to yourself as u |
pretty boy-a bcau-ldcal Young America,
with clustering cnsls, aud the relevant bloom |
ing precocity Of face and form. Nothing Of |
the kind. Our Little Starlight Was negro
might have been fifteen could he have had a
dntc to reckon ffom-aud rs black rs the ace
Of spades, when the ace Of spades Ia exces.
sively black and shiny.
Where he camo from, whom he belonged to,
how he came among us, We never exactly
and probably merely .s1groWed" somewhere
In the vicinity Of our bivouac. On the morn
ing after the battle he had been found In our
lines, strutting about the camp in a very nom
chalant, way, with quick, observing eye for
everything be saw. Hts appearance !!as com.
entirely conccallng his crisp wool, was Jannti-
" placed span-ncw artillery cap, which he
had probably picked up from the field. He
had fastened to the right shoulder Of his rns-
ged coat-n swallow tailed blue Of unknown
antiquity-an immense epaulet, probably
officer, while silken SASH OF flaring crimson
was tWincd around his waist In manner at
once striking and barba1ic, with a lonc end
like the gaudy tail Of rome ynricgatcd tropical
bird. His trousers-we will sh1r them suf.
fee 10 saT that they wcsc unmentionables to
the list degree.
No one could tell how the little fellow got
into the camp, md he wouldn't tell himself.
The pickcts and sentrits sworc prodigiously
that he had not passed them. So we were
compelled to let The mystery Of his appear
unce remain unsolyed.
H-nan n1n =. nff ri rhnr $t1n
pornl Of the guard brought him beforN me,
with
'Herc's prisoner, Or contraband, or some
thing Of the Kind, chaplain. I Just picked htm
up. and don't know what to do with him.
almost exploded with laughter at seeing
the individual IN question, but Immediately
sat down on stump and proceeded 10 inves-
tfsate. Capt. Allen catne along at tue aanc
time, and presently the Major also dropped
in. So we formed ourselves into an informal
ton, with the view Of having some amuse-
mcnt for the hungry half hour that would
elarsc before breakfast. The tbrnssr of the
lad was surprising; for he never changed
countenance during the whole: Of this cere-
rnony, which We made asimposing as We could
+! me expectantly, 80 opened the proceedings.
"Nhat is your name, my boy!"
"Dun'uo, na.s'r. 'Spect Isn't got none,"
|, was the reply, accompanied By o sparkling
grin Of extraordinary breadth, ns though his
anomalous condition was matter Of such
/ selfsotisfaction.
aOh. ron must have some name,' I said.
t..What did they call you at 1some:''
*I alters come wi'out call1n'. Bnt when I
Skinned along kinder slow, sometime dey'd
! sing 6ut 4Nlg!' sometime Little Nigh an
ag.n, .Hyas, you ID ~ Sig!, rn bet ae;ydId, q,
continued, swinging his arms gleefully about,
| and shuflIing his bare feet al Ii contempla ting
"SiIeuce!'' roarcd the Major, who acted us
presiding officer, at the same time knitting
Ills brows furious1y to: concea! the laughter
commit you for contemptln
Somewhat startled by the yehemence Of
| this injunction, the littls fellow remained
silent, und taking of his cap, commenced
strokiug bis mat Of. head In serious
! manner, which was more .comlca1 than his
"Wc11, my ftiend,"1 resumed, where do
Won come ffomr "
"No whnr Oh late, mass'E. .Tse been sleep
In out recently. Yer see rse awful cuss, I
:u Silence I" exclaimed the Judge. .
/ "sartin, sartin, mase'r! YahE!ah!"
/ "Who.n. do you belong TOT Who's your
master - resumed. ERN
"Yah! yah: : Amt got mons. Yer see ho'a
"But what waa your masters namer''
"Cmnel Billy;' 2,-rv~;"-
."Bnly :whatt' ~;
e. Dunno. Yer sec dis chicken were left
bchin' wid ole missus an dc gals, while Mass'r
Billy gwine to de war why mp to Nchmon'.
An yer sec, de- ole missus ahe Glib dis mig q
lickin', 60 jis slips ont in do night time,
climbs inter dc barn, steals all de pigeons, an
Glars dc track for ole Vhginny.~ YAH yah
Tse awful cuss. is!'' ; -
WPlgconst What did, you do with the pig
eonsW I asked, my curiosity carrying n,e
avay from the snbiect In hand. :.
80 Lihs on ''cm to be shore, msss'rl +Dsy,e'
yat'Y Ssb 'Gsas; rse raj n is one lef.":. =.
: And sn1c enough, a. he spoken he drew frou
enc Of the eapacioas pockets Of his tatteret
coat TORY looking pigeon, still alive, which
bcfore NC could guess his Intention. he pro