The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1869-10-30
The Soldiers Letter.

"A young lady had stopped at the door |
of a small house, standing at the out
skirts of village in Pennsylvania, and
asked this of woman who sat working
on coarse garment.
81 It's more than two months since / |
have had word from him." replied the /
woman in alf-troubled, half lfcomplain-
ing tome Then rising she added:
:" won't YOU come in, Miss Annie p
The young lady accepted the in .itatien,
and as she took protfered chair said
"Two months is long time not to
have heard from your son, Mrs. Rogers. /
Where is he Z"
''The last news had came from Will
liamsburg, just after the battle, he sent
me three or four lines, to say he wasn't
hurt
And you've heard nothing since ?"
Nothing, Miss Annie. He may be
dead or prisoner for all know. Oh,
dear, dear. It's worrying the life out of
me-"
"When did you write to him last p
inquired the young lady.
Mrs. Rogers moved uneasily and a
shame flush covered her face as she re-
piled:
81 have not taken pen in my fingers
these FIVE years. They're all cramped
with hard work and l could not write fit
to be seen"
" A single line from your hands, Mrs.
Rogers, blotted aud scrawled though it
might have been, would have come to
Thomas in the far-away camp, as most
welcome messenger from home. Think of
his comrades getting letters by every
mail while there cane not word or a
token for him ?'
"Oh. but, Miss Annie, have sent
him two pair of stockings knit with my
own hands; and he's never SO much as
let me know that he received them"
"a letter should have gone with
them,' said the young lady. The
stockings, if they reached him, were but
dumb signs loving sentence, even if
he had been obliged to spell it slowly
from among Informed words, would have
spoken to his heart and warmed it with
living pleasure. Write to your son,
Mrs. Rogers. Nothing that you can
send him will do Thomas half so much
good as a letter from his mother. 4 sin
gle line will be precious. Don't let him
any longer have the feeling among his
comrades that he alone has no one to
care for him or send him SWEET remem-
! brances"
q don't believe can write, Miss An
nie.' said Mrs. Rogers.
Try Haven't you pen and ink p
No, Miss. AS [ told you now, l
haven't had pen in my fingers these
five years and / don't believe I can
compose letter, evcn if l had all the
skill to write it out"
You, must try, Mrs. Rogers. 1t will
never do in the world for Thomas to go
any longer without a letter from home.
| have a spare inkstand and will step
round for it"
And the young lady arose, saying as
she went out
g I'll be back again in little while,
with pen, ink and paper. Between us,
Thomas must have letter."
On Annie's return with writing mate
rials, Mrs. Rogers, still reluctant to un-
dertake the unaccustomed task of pen
ming letter, sat down, half by force
and made sundry awkard attempts tc
form words and sentences, by way OF
practice before essaying the epistle, which
her ardent young visitor had made up her
the absent soldier that day.
Very we'll done. OF course you can
write % said Annie encouragingly, as she
/ watched the efforts of Mrs. Rogers
, '' Now take sheet of paper and think
, you are just talking to him. Write
down whatever you would like to say
and say just as much about home, ane
what is going on here, that you thinl
e would interest him as you can call II
mind. Take your time to it, and don
feel hurried I'll come around again il
the course of an hour and see what You
have DONE Then well both so over it
e and L II make all the corrections needed
: so that you can copy it out fairly. NJ,
q word for it, there will be nice letter TO
Thomas that will do his heart goods"
In an hour Annie came back, as sh'
promised. Mrs. Rogers had filled tw
pages with rather badly spelled sentences
= but the matter was all right as far as
I went. Annie made all needed correc
!, tions, and then waited until Mrs Roger
h had copied the letter, which she folde'
: and directed for her.
:. "Shall / mail it for you ?"
! IF you please p said Mrs. Rogers
{. and the young lady went away, takin'
the letter. Since learning that Thoma
J. Rogers, whom she remembered, has nc
,r once received a letter from his mother
l. although he had been absent one yea
n she felt pity and general concern for tn
young man, whom she remembered as
:. little wild in his habits before he wen
Dr. into the army. This had made her MOI
urgent that the mother should do he
duty. The letter was as good as coul
q, have been expected under the circun
of stances. Still, as .Annie's thoughts wei
N off to the distant camp and dwelt on tn
20 young mans particular case, it did n,
seem to her all that he needed.
e I win write to himlv she said, as Il
10 case continuing to dwell in her min
: presented itself in stronger and strong
te light.
es She wrote him a brief but pointe
and earnest letter, touching his d
ties as soldier and man Not in
ur superior lecturing tone, but in kin
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