The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-10-31

=. y - Gy ". 0,-ps EQutftsann Nj
natufed TO q girl IN my own house, So,
light =, - ! u .liiitss'-1i
It was clear night, with round
bright moon in the sky, and as light MS
day almost !: I think one could have,
read print BY it, 1 walked ON slowly
and before x knew it found myself in
the churchyafd. 1t WAS not a quarter
OIL mile from our door, and was in
the habit of going there SO often that my
teet turned that way, as ID were. of their
owniwtlL When 4 was insid6 the gate
could sea every leaf of the late shrubs
and it, flowers, ever branch of the weeping
willows over the graves, the names upon
the t3PPstones where they were not
TOO thtckly moSs-gr and the white
face and black hands of ftheeloclS in the
church steeple, Those hands pointed to
hqlf past eleven, Z Iia ~. y o.. ~
remember to this hour the faint,
IN inelosure / I''passed! There never.
was a time when I had seemed to notice
little things so minutely. .i ~ z ,s;zs
/ When i came to oLAmy's q grave i saw In
an Instant that some ribbon grass that
had sprung up among the flowers was
turning co95se ana yello md pulled
1t AWAY! Then i, lay down; with my
lhead upon the mound and looked mn at
| the stafS Hi{f 4
When I was child mother used to
| point outline . tDipper't to- nle.,and tell.
me how to find the North Star by It. 1t
was SO odd of me to do it Me., and to
remember doing It now, when all the
while I was thinking of. my poor little
wife, and. longing for her as we long for
those We have loved. and lOsts,, h. !,7i,t
I tell You this because what athappened
after might give you very strange
thoughts fine If j did not. Could YOU
believe that nny manwould be so heart
solemn place, and sit upon his dead
wite's grave, 70 play q silly Inflow leVs
tricls3 . God, knows Twas not the man
nor mine the mood for such an act. &
Yet, MS truly as / am writing this, caE-
ter 4 had been sitting there for some
thing lIl5e hall an hour, ! lifted my eyes
70 the church clock, and saw it upon
the stroke of twelve, aud at, the same
ttmb' found TINT 1 had funconsciouSlV
kept three spears of the grass I-had
1 plucked up between my fingers. How
canie to do 1t never know; nor how,
against myiWiIi those stupid, wicked
1neS about tho dead telling whht tho
living could not; and "Come round the
church, my true love, to me, !" the rhyme
mad been SO angryswith when Nell Mt
tered IT, forced itself upon my memory.
so-VfEidiy that Il almost seemed "a as
though Ihad spoken the words.
n Theniout rang the clock, and at tho
twelfth stroke ]. started to my feet. for
p w9man,s figure stood before me.
At9H, slender figure, draped in black,
with its tnce as plainly, to be seen as
every thing else wasi on the moonlight
Its features were like statues: its
hair light, quito fiaxen; its eyes black;
on its neck was q brown mole; from u
chain on the breast FILTERED a Cross
There 1T stood, straight and still, those
great black eyes fixed on me, - .tt
My first thoughtwRs that by means
OF. some disguise Nell had played a
trick on me. 1ldeterhlined to expose 1t
atonce, and sprang toward the figure,
put my foot slipped on the dewyl grass,
and i fell prostrate.g When L recovered
IN upright sition i was alone.
Had ell played the trick on me or
inotH l.could not tell, j went home as
iast na 9s my feet could carry me- and
found them busy with their fun.
asked my mother If Nell had been alb
sent for any time, and she declared not
ono Ind left the room. took Nell her
lfaside and asked her, seriously and
angrily,. whht She meant by sending
some one after me toymock and startle-
me when she knew why visited the
graveyard. 1 spoke to her so roughly
that 1 brought tears into her eyes, and
for once she answered seriously. / be-
lteved WhenI left her that she told the
truth and knew nothing of the circum-
stance.
Then who was in the graveyard? No
one who lived in the Village. /
knew every girl in 'fhe qufet place by
sight; and WHEN Il hsRed mother, de-
scrtbing her as person 1 had met, who
the woman was, she said Mt once,
"Ihere is no one who looks in the least
like that in Stratton.'
We'll, / kept my owncounsel and told
what j had seen to no one, and after a
while the restless feeling came Cpon
me and left home once more. Travel
ing with my. samples of hardware
that was my businesses the State,
and keeping busy and growing more
serious and quiet and middle-aged look
Ing every day day ofmY life, I WINS ten years
older In looks and feelings than any
man of my age i ever met,
went home off and on, and when-I
ever found myselfin the old house i
thopght of my Hallow-eve vision. But
dreams. .Som metimes i did dream of the
face, and / never forgot it-it was too
peculiar for that. When the war we
| have Just fought through firsEbroke out
/ enlisted. Mother thought had done
a terrible thing, and cried over me in
my uniform as though 1t had been my
shroud. But IL ,Trns the best thing II
could have done in every sense. 1t
.madeia man ofme agnint Tho camp
| life, the fighting, the long marches, the
midnight watch hes, the privations and
tle1erttons, were better than the best
tonics. I grow Strong in mind and
body u did my best. A private soldier
can not do much to distingu gufsh himself
but no one could callsme n coward. i
never tried TO fling my life away, but It
was not so precious that j was willing
to lose honor for ii. I was wounded
fouE or 1--WE times, but always slightly, !,
and the war oyerfound myself, with all
my limbs and senses, ready TO fling my
cap M with the best and cry, ssHuzza
for the old Union! ~ and Somehow theI
Southern soil had a charm for me, and
I didn't care TO leave 1t.
y Il psed to go WandeEing about with
my ride on my shoulder alone, some
times ;forsWhu huIe days together Often
Icame. to places where grund old fami-
W InaIlsl lpns had been burned down.
and there were but offering walls and
qrumblef nloTtltr and & chgrred beaIns
leit, and sit and wonder who had lived
there and what their fate had been.
And sometimes j had long talks with
colored SollSs who had been slaves, or
1iithin1hIi who Had bee d rich and were
poor as heggars now,
g hlpth her wanted tn see 70 be
sure she wrote, that twas safe; ~
and tiiesl mt TO go soon, but kept putting
on the Journey nom fliS 10 day, as
thopg ONE spell detained me,
Ut was flYe aIss Nearly y six, since u
had been to StfattoH. There had been
eilnng tdeTe, and gpIlsiu NeIl was
ulartie RAILWAY had been laid
tllroug The vi age, allspl ltelY ctltting
away one elId Of tath eris farm, which
wars lItips lie oIiI1 tlrltl LETT 80 lose %
la.f n eapilIefff n sfi1f;fs il fiFgf