Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1868-01-09

! the nlghtl
'Foot it, of course" replied; "unless, indeed
we should come across some hospitable farmhouse
in which case, we would plead eloquenty for
snooze by the fire"
"Wen, boys" said the stranger, passing tn
bottle over the side of the wagon, there is some
thing, which I am sure will do you no harm ii
your present condition. Drink as much as yo'
want, and empty the balance in your canteens.
Then, as my companion seized the bottle ant
aimed the butt of it to the sky, with its 'moutl
pressed lovingly to his the man in the wagol
turned to me and said:
+ ssYou made remark just now about snooznl
4 ya fire. Now, it SO happens that we have n
spare bedroom up to the house, or, l assure you
that it would afford me real satisfaction to hav
you pass the night with us; but, 1 tell you what
can do for you. can give you both night
lodging upon rug by a rousing fire, which prom
ise to keep up all night
"a thousand thanksl" said I, involuntari.
grasping the hand of this friend in need 'Any
thing would be preferable to remaining out upol
the road. The rug by the fire will be charming.
"Why, my dear fellow" said my companion
handing me the bottle, and addressing himself Il
the stranger, 'only give us shelter for the night
and we will do without rug or fire. We are tiret
enough, God knows, to sleep anywhere ~
so I presume, said the stranger; "but come
along The house is not very far of, and I am
anxious to have you provided for
Ny companion and self needed no additional in
vitations, and we clambered up the side of the ole
wagon with commendable agility, and nestled oul
weary persons cozily among the nice dry fodder
In doing so, we discovered that our hospitable
stranger friend was the sole proprietor and owner
of wooden leg Doubtless this was the secret ol
all his kindness to us, then and afterwards. He
too, had been rebel soldier, and knew by heart
the definition of the term.
An hours drive brought us to the entrance Of
the little dark lane, to which reference has been
made, and shortly after, we were standing in the
vestibule Of the grand old mansion, surrounded
and welcomed by the entire family.
And this is how we came to know old 'Clarkson
Mansion
Charles Matthews-for this was the name of oul
friend, who so kindly cared for US in our emergen,
cy-immediately took us up to his room and as.
sisted US in making tolerably respectable toilet.
With the mud scraped off our jackets and pants,
our old shoes polished, our hair combed and brush
ed, and our faces and hands washed, we were, by
no means, unpresentable, but rather good looking
'srebs."
"And, now, boys" said young Matthews, sur
veying our transformation with evident triumph,
we will 60 down to supper"
And what supper it was to two of the half
starved rebs, who had just returned from chasing
old Ben Butler from the very gates of Petersburg,
away down to Bermuda Hundreds! Genuine tea
and coffee, hot rolls, light biscuits broiled chick
ems, ham and eggs, beefsteaks and good hominy.
To our credit, be it said, we instinctvely thought
of our comrades in the bitches and breastworks
behind us, and longed for the power to transport
just such meal to every man of them.
''Come, young gentlemen!' said Mr.. Matthews,
senior, ''sit down, and make yourselves perfectly
at home. Annie, my dear, give that young gen.
tleman chair"
The young gentleman alluded to, looked around
timidly to see who this "Annie, my dear" might
be, when his eyes fell upon perfect
"Mirncle of loveiness-a thing all grace
Summed up and closed In little"
We sat down-my comrade and self; sat there,
with everything before us, calculated to tempt the
appetite but how was it possible to eat with two
pair of blue eyes directly opposite, the owners of
which seemed determined to carry our poor hearts
by storm.
"Pass the toast to the young gentleman with the
stripes on his arm, )" said remarkably fine looking
old lady, addressing herself to a lad beside my
companion.
my name is Frank Harrison, ma'am, " said my
comrade, looking over his bowl of Coffee and with
out moving it from his lips.
"And mine is Claude Forester" said 1, invol-
unfairly stirring my tea with the handle of my
knife.
Crank and Claude eh !" said the old gentle
man, quietly placing spoon in my saucer. "Wel,
young gentlemen, whatever may be your names,
you are heartily welcome. Pray endeavor to make
a meal of what I have been able to provide"
Frank hauled over another roll into his plate,
while passed my empty cup to darkey beside
me, with the request that it be replenished In
doing so, I inadvertently neglected to accompany
the cup with the saucer and spoon As l handled
the latter, and, with it, kept rolling about force
meat ball, then lying upon my plate, I was sud-
denly aroused from my reverie by the old gentle
man inquiring what I was thinking about, and
why did not help myself from the dish of steam
ing fritters, which servant had been poking at
me for minute.
If I had attempted to reply, would have told
him that my thoughts naturally reverted to Butler,
while handling the spoon and to grape and canis-
ter, while rolling about the meat-ball As it was,
I plunged the fork directly into the centre of the
dish, bringing out at least onehaf of the fritters,
which so much disconnected me for the moment,
that I hastily shook off portion upon Frank
plate, much to his amusement
At this stage of these rather queer proceedings,
the old lady arose from her seat at the head of the
table and whispering something to the beautiful
girls directly opposite, gided out of the room. The
girls remained few moments then, without a
word, followed their mother.
Frank breathed sigh of relief, and Immediately
made grab at baked-apple, while [ seized the
leg of o chicken and drew forth the appended bird.
''Thats right, boys!' said young Matthews, ev-
identity pleased with our returning appetites and
tickled at our camp-style of doing things. 'The
ladies having withdrawn, and only father and my
self being here, don't be at all backward"
'Surely the ladies have not retired for the
night ?" asked, rising from the table and walk
ing towards the fire, with slice Of corn-bread in
one hand and fragment Of the chicken in the
other