Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1868-02-06


days leave of absence was occupied in diigent
search and inquiry. Everything was done, that a
man, in my condition could do, to ascertain some
thing definite in reference to poor Edth's fate, it
not her whereabouts The very day before that,
upon which my furlough expired, an old Jew-a
clothes dealer-informed me, that a young lady,
answering to my description ofEdith, had purchas-
ed suit of mems clothes from him the very day
that she was so suddenly missed from her father 8
home. Of course, this only intensified the mys-
tery."
"And you have returned without knowledge
of her whereabouts ?" asked.
'There was no possibility Of acquiring that know
ledge, Claude; and have returned, with the over
whelming conviction upon my mind, that all fur
ther effort is useless-that Edith has committed
suicide" .r.-..a .l
"Id do not believe it, Frank" ventured to say.
iHad she intended to resort to self fdestruoton,
why did she leave her fathers house and-as it
would appear disguise herself in male apparel2
Her evident object was simply to escape and avoid
pursuit You will possess her yet, old fellow ~
'Did you ever see this Dan Eldridge, whom
they intended to compel Edith to marry? ?? asked
Frank. ..a ...
I replied in the negative. .......
He is widow of about sixty years Of age; has
but one eye and is terribly marked with smallpox.
His visage is odiously frightfu. His character is
that of a miserable drunkard and a professional
gambler. He has spent one third Of his LITE in
Jail for burglary, bigamy and theft Now you,
that knew my poor Edith so well, must be aware,
that she would resort to any measure to prevent an
union with man of such despicable character.
She would die, sooner than thus sacrifice herself
and you kno,o it. Claude
II know her well enough, dear Frank, said,
ito wager my life that she would never resort to
suicide, as long as less desperate remedies were at
hand. Her object, in thus mysteriously vacating
her fathers house. was, ostensibly, to avoid the
forced marriage which was about to be performed;
but, may not she have gone in search of her alb
sent lover; and can either Of us believe that any
amount of hardships and suffering could divert her
from the thorough execution of whatever plan she
may have adopted?' . .-
"Nonsense l'' said Frank, in tone of impa-
tience and incredulity. sThey reported me killed
at the battle of Gettysburg, and Edith had more
sense than to start out in search of dead lover"
I was about to remind him, that he had written
to Edith frequently since the circulation of the re-
port of his death but, at that moment, the officer
in charge, ordered us to fall in for return to the
'front.' the prisoners having been transferred to the
provost guard and there being no further demand
for our services.
On our way back to the lines, I pondered over
the strange intelligence communicated by my com.
rade; and, somehow or other, my mind instantly
reverted to Eddie Williams. His personal beauty |;
his shy, timid and modest demeanor !; his efemi-
nacy-and, more than all, his profound emotion at
mention of Franks name, had impressed me with
vague, undefnable suspicion before; but now,
all this, taken in connection with Frank startling
story, cameupon me with all the potencyof ademon-
strated fact Was it possible2 Was such thing
at all ikely2 The answer came laundering through
my brain, echoed in every pulsation Of my heart,
that it WAS possible-that Love, coupled with Self
Preservation, could do anythtng-EvERYTH1Nal-
What had it not done in the long ago years behind
us?-what barrier had it not overleaped ?-what
opposition had it not swept from its path? What
ocean has proven too wide, what river too deep?-
what mountain too lofty, or valley too dark and
low? What Rubicon, between Love and its OBJ
ject, has not parted its waters and opened up a
path of safety to the desired haven?
It ,0as possible
AS we neared the lines, heavy bombardment
was progressing and our advance became hazard
GUS in the extreme. Our commanding officer,
therefore, ordered US to deploy as skirmishes, and
in that manner, to advance at double quick.
This disposition of the men-f we succeeded in
reaching the lines at all-would throw Frank and
myself considerably to the right of the position
occupied by our company. We advanced leisure
ly until we reached the summit of an eminence
between ourselves and the lines, and upon which
the whole guard would be exposed for moment
to the enemy Here we broke into double-suick
and rushed breathlessly down the slope and just
as we leaped into the trenches I heard that pecu-
liar ssthug," of a minnie ball beside me- and saw
Frank hastily clap his hand to his breast, stagger
few PAGES and fall heavily to the ground. A mo-
ment after, piercing shrek rang along the line,
and my little friend, Eddie Williams, rushed for
ward, and bursting through the group around the
PROSTATE man, flung himself upon the bleeding
bosom with the widest expressions Of grief and
despair.
I saw momentary gleam of inefable joy flicker
across the pallid countenance of poor Frank; OBJ
served the effort to speak-to draw the head Of
Eddie closer down upon his bleeding breast; but
the next moment they bore them both away on
"stretchers s'-Frank supposed to be mortally
wounded, and Eddie utterly deprived Of conscious
ness.
As soon as it became at all practicable, hasten
ed down the lines, and resumed my position in our
company. Here I remained, day after day, for
many q long week, without q word of tidings from
Frank or Eddie, until one May afternoon saw
letter thrown down the lines, from man to man.
The letter was fastened to stout stick-the usual
mode of conveyance facilitate its passage down
the lines; and, as it fell at the feet of comrade,
opposite to where Isat, he read the direction upon
the envelope, and throwing it over to me, said
"Here's something for you, Forester"
Hastily tearing away the envelope and opening
the letter, read as follows:
"DEAR CLAUDE:-I am about to set out on
another sixty-day furlough, and before doing so,
felt called upon to apprse you Of the existence of
certain circumstances, which will add material en-
joyment to my second visit home First OF all,
however, let me inform you that my wound Is 40.
ing remarkably well: The Yankee that brought
me down, put his minnie ball entirely through q my
body, but, thank God, it proved about half an
inch from being mortal I will be able to travelin
Ia few days. Your little friend, Eddie Williams
so-called has been acting in the capacity of nurse
He recovered from his fainting fit long before he
i Il :. l .,n;to1 ond thav uonfad IN aand him