Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1865-08-01

the foJtmarks of him who marched before me,
instituting sort of comparison between our
soles, finding his smaller than mine, as, behind
his back yentured upon hil measure.
watched the ruts in The road, mace by she wag-
ons in advance Of US, aud wondered if those
behind US had axle.irees as wide TO an inch, -
as they would have, if made by the same eoo-
tractor in which case, | unused, it is just
possible the coming train may move in this same
rut. II seemed then, comfortable sort Of
place. ] saw the clouds Of dust that had been
provoked into rising in anger and tOlling away
sullenly many a day that weary summer, and
that almost buried the wretched company 10
which we j0urneyed, hover heavily above the
roadside, aud choke the pretty weeds blooming
there, by way OF mean revenge uponlts human
torment0rs. Thereupon, | enyed the blue
things, not their incubus, but their lnsigniG-
cance for neither artillery, nor camp wagon,
nor passing prisoner was augbt to them. |
wondered what each man here would say, it
each man could tell his Thoughts. Primarily,
was convinced. each captive would declare
himself sick at heart that Is the only express
sion which will convey the sinking feeling.
Once heard bird sing gayly cIear-throated
song from clump Of trees at which my heart
grew sick ALSO to render me as miserable as the
rest
My mind reverted % the Adjutant T, OF
th] manner OF whose capture | knew nothing,
and whom had left that morning in camp, as
the regiment set out for the fight. doubted
not but that he would be with 0e 10 moment,
to throw another mile projectlle, a halsentence,
at me. had myself catechsm OF one ques-
tion with which to greet him. AS some little
nuTl lev mIgbf hn IN ua tyh htnb
could not 20 on without the consent of our
guardian, concluded hat then vas the time to
throw a sop to my sergeant. turned cJolly
upon him
We are marching rather briskly, are we not,
Sergeant ? - SAID endeayoring to iusinuate
the independence Of uucoDcern IN my b airing.
Wal-rlght smart, he replied.
" cannot tell by your uniform, continued,
with halt-sne, for the fellow w5s all beggars
rags and patches whether you are in the cav
airy or not but pair OF spurs at any rate,
may not come amss to you,-and ] can have
10 use for mine Tor some tme yet They don't
allow u.s. believe, to kick one another In Lib
by7"
took my long spurs from my boots like
fringe from my heart strings, (of which the off.
Ger had directed my sergeant to allow no one to
deprive me,-the boots, not the beartatrings
they being inaccessible would, possibly, not
lose those till arrived in Richmond and hand
ed them over to him.
aim Of the Thirteenth Virginia Infantry"
ne said, "but do right smart dity on horse
back - Che liked the steel "Im detailed to
the provost marshal. They do treat fellow
rather hard down there.
| argued ever 50 much good from the Ser
geaut's &" do" upon which there was an en-
phasis,
Were you ever prisoner Sergeant 2" |
asked, always careful to beslow bis title.
"Once, be said, lacoucally.
Well it & all one in the end - | said care
lessly turning from him, that | bad no desire
for the conversation ii he did not relish II.
" You have a chance now to give me the devil
Of time, in revenge for your treatment among
my friends. 'Tis an i'll wind that blows nobody
good
My sang g-iroid had the sayor OF good pickle.
II was very peculiar turn to give the affair,
must own but saw that the Sergeant WIS
struck by 1t. Possibly, that one was my best
stroke Of the day. have, ct any rate, ever
since deemed it So
| walked along as before, speoulating, not
lightly upon the DETECTED beings about me, who
msrchld, spec!re-iashion, IN the dust, like the
unhappy (would-be) crew on the shores OF tue
Syx, trying to appease Charon. They never
would be at rest till he fsrried them over to the
shades Of the world Of oeath,--o (what to
them seemed impossible) till they were remand
ed back 10 life among the loved ones Of ther
race. remember particularly one tras OF this
mOmentOus march, that threatened towards
night to gnaw into my very brlin-Iissues. Sol
dlers, It IS known, are not oyer-careul In their
dress when IN daily action in the fed, nor have
they time to grow iastidous during the lighting
summer months. They then, perlOtce, dsre-
gard tapes with q l0ttief Indifference 20 appear
an,es than th which distinguishes tho noble
cync Of the world. But officers generally use
tapes about their ankles (perhaps to keep some
garment in place Immediately upon the stock
ing) and have known them myself, fer pru.
dences' sake, to tie them in hard knots A
poor limpng lieutenant, a little to the left, and
some ten feet in advance Of me, had not adopted
this precaution, and now, consequently, more
as punishment to me than 10 HIM, 0ae Of his
nursery ties had come undone, and was trailing
aier bis foot in shadow.like persstency.
had here world Of torture 10 nutshell.
When, unluoily my eyes fastened upon this
appendage, could not keep then from 1t. IL
fascinated me with more than the iugglet's
success upon the serpent. | fell to conl,cturing
how long he affair might b',-if lour inches
or hive and pcudeTed the allowance to be made
in circulation by reason OF the mans distance;
merging this view of another, as | wached his
heel touch the ground ami noted tho time which
elapsed between that anu the Jumping low ard
OF the foot with the airing, ever faithful, behind
ty,t.. A...N 81
up al each step, aud wondered, il, ia a long
march, merely 10y aeeret0n thereof, the oud OF
it would not be u sort oi drt.coI, perhaps
tenth Of an inch in diameter, r,-soaring higher,
too, in my delirium OF nervousness, tail could
imagine the nealculable increase in si7a which
would be insured should the Lieutenant stop
into a puddle, and get the thing all wet 10
would wear a sand rope for ankle.iotter, upon
entering Richmond.
But the most provoking Of oil the phases to
which my humor was reduced, aud which my
dilapidated body had to submit to, by means oi
this tape, was an irresistible desire 10 spring
lightly forward, aud to eatoh the thing beneath
my toe. IL invoked me to all SORTS OF gymnastio
efjrls. The impulse racked my breast, ami sot
up an argument agains, every reason m favor
OF a iog.trottng march for the balance uf tho
daylight. surveyed the poor Lieutenant from
head to foot, and pictured to myself his surprise,
should he fnd himself litched to the ground.
lie would turn, thought. with open, question.
ing eyes, and perhaps look flushed by the aoci.
dent, lie might only hop a step farther on,
aud trust 10 my not again oyerrgaohng him.
lie might impelled by the influence that tor
mented me- iall behind me. had an uowaver-
ing conviction that the tape would never be
removed and that, consequently in some way,
the lieutenant, who played guide to il, would