Rapides gazette. (Alexandria, La.) 1869-187?, 1872-06-01

ington, and allow her to become a
hospital nurse, becoming one herself,
also, that she might still be by her al
most worshipped daughters side.
From Washington they had been
transferred to a hospital still further
south.
" Here" Maud wrote, III did not
feel as low-spirited, for found suffi-
cient to occupy my thoughts in com.
forting and caring for the poor, wound
ed soldiers; but one day fresh lot of
wounded men were brought in, and we
were put to our wits end to find room
and time to care for them all; but we
did, and as the doctor finished his ex-
animation Of the last one, approach
ed the bedside, and whom do you sup
pose 1 saw lying upon the narrow
white hospital beds Charlie there he
lay, his dark eyes looking right into
mine, and veto Carrie, he did not
know me, me, his own little Maud!
" His wound was not SO very dan
geroas, after all; but he had caught
cold in it, and inflammation had set in,
ana made him delirious; but you may
be sure that / nursed him with all pos
sible care, and was so happy to have
him with me again! he recovered very
fast, SO fast, that last week he left me
again, to rejoin his regiment; but /
must own to you that now::Uharlie has
been SO fortunate as to escape thus far,
! have strong hopes that brighter
days win soon dawn for us; am much
more patriotic than / was two MONTHS
age, fer since then 1 have seen how
much strong, brave men will da and
suffer for our dear old flag, and I have
become imbued with some of their en-
thusiasm, and I do not think that I
would bid Charlie stay by my side
now i. could, although am in agony
all the time lest he be captured by the
Canfederates; that is the very worst /
can imagine for my darling; l dare
not think of anything more dreadful"
With a few more kind, friendly
words the letter ended, rather abrupt
~, l thought, as If her feelings had
overcome her; the next day I wrote q
long, affectionate answer, and. in due
time, received a reply from Maud, but
this time it was only few hastily
written lines, saying that the army
was on the eve great battle, and as
she was to follow our troops with the
ambulances, she had only time to ac-
knowledge the receipt OF my welcome
letter. 1s
The very morning that her letter
reached me, the papers were full Of &C
counts or the great battle which had
crowned our arms with victory but l
could find no mention of Charles
regiment having been engaged in the
fight, and gave great sigh Of relief as
l cast the paper aside.
Two days later, I received another
letter from the South; but this time it
was not from Maud, but her heart
broken mother. a.r a.s .
Maud was dead The tears sprang to
my eyes, even now, as I write the
words. / can give no better account
of the sad event than the words of
poor Mrs. AsIhleigh herself, and win
therefore quote from her letter.
/" My dear friend, pity meAweep for
mel My daughter is dead. Yes,
Maud, my beautiful child, has gone to
live with the angels, while /, like a
SCARED old tree trunk, am left; wither-
ed and barren, alone. Oh! why was
l not taken, and the young and inno-
cent left - -
3" But why distress you with my re-
pinihgs I felt that, as Maud's dearest
friend, you were entitled to some par
ticulars of her death, and i win give
them to you as briefly as l can, and for
the errors 1 make pardon me; my
heart is overAowing, and my eyes are
tear-blinded.n z&skee
"Mand's last note to you was writ
ten on the eve of the last battle; she
followed the afnbulances to the field,
and l accompanied her, for you know
that wherever she has been I have
been always BY her side; when the
battle was over, and the enemy had
fed, night was fast approaching, and,
in the hustle and confusion of caring