Norfolk day book. [volume] (Norfolk and Portsmouth Va.) 1868-1880, 1869-10-05
[Fr ON the st. Louis Democrat, Sal
An EnOCh Arden.

Singular Story of the Battle of Chicka-
mauga-An Improvement of Tenny-
sons Poem.
A gentleman who witnessed the play
of Enoch Arden at DeBar's Opera House,
relates circumstance very similar IN Its
details to the sad story of the cast-away
sailor. We give the statement in his
own words:
"That play recalls to my mind cir
cumstance that happened in my own
experience. A sergeant in my regiment
was wounded at Chickamauga and was
reported dead He was seen to fall in
the Heat Of the engagement, and our
lines being pushed back, the body was
not recovered until next day. When
the Door fellow was found he was SO
mutiIated by being trampled on by the
heavy cavalry that his face could not be
recognized A comrade, however,
found in his breast pocket miniature
of his wife, ard sent it to her, with an
account of his death. 1t turned out
that the body was not that OF Tom
c., but sergeant of another COM
pany. Tom, desperately wounded, fell
into the hands of the enemy and was
sent to Andersonville, where the rebel
surgeon, cut off one of his legs and one
of bis arms, and in spite of his bad fare
he recoveredin due time. Inever knew
whythey kept Tom so long in prison,
except It was for the purpose of ex-
changing him for sound man.
Wheti poor Tom returned to his home
in Pennsylvania. he was mere wreck
of bis former self and nobody in the vii
lage knew him. His wife had removed
to Illinois with her parents more than
a year previously. Without making
himself known to any of his old ac-
quaintances in the village, Tom started
for Illinois to hunt for his wife. When
he arrived in the neighborhood where
she was living, he learned that she was
married TO an old friend of his, who had
followed her from Pennsylvania. His
first impulse was to make himself known
to her and claim her as bis own; but
when he saw the snug cabin in which
she was living and heard how kindly
she was treated by her husband, he
changed his mind. "Suppose ! do 60
and Claim her. he said to himself, 'how
can support her z What can | do for
her with only one arm and one leg, and
a BODY 80 weakened by months of suf-
fering at Andersonville No, she is
happy and csntented, and thinks me
dead, and ] will not destroy her happi-
ness and become a burden to her"
Tom acted upon this resolution and
worked his way to New York, where he
set np.a small business as curb stone
merchant, selling nuts and cakes and
soda'water, and getting along prosper>
ously. He soon made money enough to
buy him an artificial leg, and after a
while he got q patent arm made, and to
soc him. waking along the street you
would not auppose that he was but lit
tie more than half a man. lie was a
good business man, and in the course OF
a year enlarged his stock in trade and
opened a. regular retail grocery. lie
made money fast, and became pros
perous merchant, respected by all who
knew him.
In his prosperity he never forgot his
wife, end always cherished a hope that
she ,wo4ld be restored to him. lie was
q regular suhscriher to the village paper
pablishedo at the town near which his
. wifa lived and read Il with great inter.