Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1868-02-06
The detail for our company is one sergeant and

me. Suppose | name you as one Z"
'That is precisely what wish, Frank" said l.
'eYou cannot imagine how anxious am to have a
long talk with you about Edith Harrison and home
matters, generally Detail me, by all means"
Frank surprised me by very long, deep sigh
and, telling me to follow him, walked moodily
down the lines. A dense fog was prevailing at
the time, and everything unusually quiet along the
enemies lines The object Of the commanding
General was to remove the prisoners under cover
of this fog so our preparations were exceedingly
hurried. Why the prisoners had not been sent a.
way during the night did not ascertain. 1 asked
one of the officers for an explanation, but he very
politely suggested the ,propriety of. minding my
own business, and leaving the General to conduc
matters according : i4 to his judgment
"And, now, Frank" said I, as we sat together
upon the pavement before the Provost Marshal
Office, in the city of Petersburg 'how did you fnd
things at home p ,|'''- -
''If you mean, by home, the house in which my
parents reside, I found things going on about as
usual" he replied, gnawing daintily at a ''hard
tack" and looking thoughfully down upon the
pavement. There was the devil to pay up at ole
Harrison's shanty, however"
"How was that p
Edith has been missing nearly three months
can be found nowhere" "
"Why, what do you mean, Frank? l asked
starting to my feet.
''Sit down again, and don't make fool Of your
SELF" he said "and, if we have sufficient time,
will tell you about as much as could learn during
my sixty days furlough. Iwishyou to understand
however, that we are about to engage in LITTLE
private conversation ;so don't drawa crowd arounc
here with your gestures and grimaces, if you please
Position is everything attitude is nothing; so
just resume your place beside me, and don't mis-
lead the populaoe with the impression, that we ar
about to amusc them by grand tableaux.
felt very much inclined to slap my comrade
face for this impertinent little speech; but ther'
was an unusual shadow upon his brow and an un
mistakable evidence of mental suffering in his down
cast look; so, I forgave, what would have been al
insult, under other circumstances, and requested
him to proceed. 1t is necessary, however, for tn
thorough understanding of what is to follow, tina
should preface Frank s story by few introduc
tory and explanatory remarks of my own. In 81
doing shall consult the readers patience by be
ing as brief as possible.
I must inform the reader then, that prior to tn
breaking out of the war; Frank Miller had becom
acquainted with lovely girl, by the nameof Edit
Harrison, with whom, upon intimacy, he fell des
perately in love- The passion was reciprocated
and, without the knowledge of her father, she be
came my comrade betrothed. Mr.. Harrison wa
q coarse, vulgar, felow-a cattle dealer, by trad
and by nature. It,.
-. s-" mThe gold, that gilds
..s' The straitened forehead of fool"
had done much for him, however; and fow me-
in the settlement, in which he resided, could coun
upon receiving as many bows during the course O
the day as the wealthy JOB Harrison, Esquire,
as he had the bad taste, and unwarrantabe pre-
sumption, to sign himself He ascertained, b
some means, how matters stood between Frank an
his daughter, Edith; and, more from personal ami
mostly to my comrade family, than love for Edith
opposed the marriage, on the grounds Of her ez
treme youth. Frank was rudely thrust out Of hi
house and forbidden to enter itagain upon pain OF
cowhiding, for which gentlemanly conduct and Ian
guage "Job Harrison, Esquire was made t
measure his full length upon his piazza by an in
dignant blow, administered by Frank. Of course
this made matters worse than ever. Public indig
nation was aroused, and public opinion decided, q
course, in favor of the rich fool. About this tim
the first battle of Manassas was fought and Fran
Immediately volunteered in a regiment, then OF
ganizing for service in Virginia After passin
through some very severe campaigns, his regimen
became so ''badly cut up," that it was amalgama
tedwith ours, which had but lately arrived in VII
ginia. Here, in the course Of events, he becam
wounded by a fragment of shell, which had ez
ploded within our lines-was furloughed for sixt
days, and went home. During his absence fror
Edith, he occasionally received letter from her
and these were emphatic in declarations OF taithtu
love and unalterable devotion. Latterly, however
and for some months prior to his return home, OF
furlough-the correspondence had abruptly ceased
and nothing whatever was heard from his sweet
heart. And now, as Frank had returned, we clos
our Introductory, and allow him to speak for him
self.
ssI have strange things to tell you, Claude, abou
Edith, he began, pulling nervously at the cola
of his Jacket. "Upon my return home, two month
ago, was informed by my mother, that the poor
prosecuted girl had been missing fornearlya month
and had disappeared under very mysterious cir
cumstances. Her father sometime previous tt
my return, had betrothed hs- to old Dan Eldridge
against her wishes and in spite of her protesta
tions, tears and entreaties. The day for the mar
riage was fixed to period scarcely covering weel
from the time the announcement of her fathers in
tentions were made known; and, for greater securi
ty, the brute actually locked her up until the yer!
hour before the marriage ceremony was to be per
formed. She was released then, to make few ne
cessay changes in her apparel, but when the groom
and parson arrived, the bride was nowhere to b
found Every effort was made to discover hel
whereabouts; but, up to my arrival, nothing, what
ever, had been seen or heard of the poor girl"
Every remarkable |" I said, feeling mysel
bound to say something.
$50 remarkable" continued Frank, 'that l i'm
mediately called upon Mr.. Harrison and accused
him of having had hand in this mysterious dis
appearance that he had, in some way, destroyed
her, and palmed of the story of tue intended mar
rage and subsequent disappearance, to avoid the
consequences of his crime. The man, had ta
ken, all my life, for brute, surprised me by &
burst Of emotion, which was too palpably sincere
to question. He wept like child ; accused him
self of having been monster, tyrant and an un
natural father, but fell down on his knees, and
with upEfted hands and streaming eyes, called up
on his Maker as witness to his innocence Of the
crime imputed to him. 1t was evident to my