The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1870-07-28
A Soldier Romance.

During the late war great many articles OF
clothing for the use of the army were manufac-
tured in St. Louis Nearly all the sewing was
done by poor girls, huddled together in upper
rooms of tall buildings with but few windows.
The work was tedious, hard and the pay small.
Greedy army contractors had no room IN their
ayaricious greenback-loving hearts for pity of
poor sewing girls. The city was full Of soldiers
gathered from all parts of the West. The pros
poets for ever marrying, to many OF those girls
often, no doubt, seemed small. The temptation
to exchange the needle and want for shame and
gilded palace, to many Of them was great
| Few of them, however, chose to make the
exchange. But this has nothing particularly
to do with what we started to write. One day
in 1868, pretty girl employed in one of those
cloth-making establishments, rather unthought-
edly stitched her name and address inside OF a
gray woolen shirt, which she had just finished,
in such place that when on soldier the let
tiers would come Just over his heart. The gar
ment was passed to the foreman accepted as
being all right, and placed in box with hun
dreds of others to be shipped, and the fair
worker of the name scarcely again thought OF
what she had done, until one unusually cheer
| full day, some four months afterwards, she re-
ccivcd a letter. 1t was from the army, too !
from stranger in a strange regiment from a
strange State She wondered what it could
mean. She didn't know who the writer was,
but made up her mind no harm could result
from answering his letter, and consequently did
Many letters followed The soldier was
modest and elegant in his language, and the
girl had reason to respect him. The soldiers
letters after while became very interesting,
and were looked for anxiously by the sewing
girl Ditto with the soldier. He whiled away
| - otO
her. Many an otherwise sad and lonely even
ing she pleasantly passed in scribbling to him.
One evening, in 1864, while on his way home
on re-enlistment furlough, the unknown writer
called at the humble home of the girl on Morgan
street. and introduced himself. 1t would sound
storv-like to say they both came to the conclu-
sion at the first meeting that they loved each
other. but such is the truth. He stayed in st.
Louis several days longer than he intended
He came near forgetting that he had mother,
father, brothers and sisters, with prior claims
upon his society. He finally went home, but
when he returned to the field he returned via
St. Louis, and while there called again at the
little house away out on Morgan street.
He returned to his regiment at the proper
time. The girls letters then were the joys OF
his life. Without them camp life would have
beer unendurable. She was quite as deeply,
interested in his illusions. She would sit and
sew for hours, and wonder if he would not
wear some of the garments she was making
and think if she were certain he would know,
how nice she would make them. No use OF
lengthening out short story. Some such state
of affairs as described existed until the final
disbanding of the army At that time he did
not return via the city so dear to him, for the
treasure it held He went home first, and when
he did go down, he brought away the sewing
girl as his wife, Shortly after the ending. of
the ceremony he explained to his blushing
bride how he procured her address by showing
her a piece of coarse gray flannel with "Julia
-, st. Louis, Mo" upon it. He was an
Iowa editor, and now lives in Polk County
The same girl makes shirts for him yet, and
also for 6ve-year-old boy, who calls the two OF
them pa and ma.-Des Moines Io'0al State
| Register.