Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1872-09-26
M@isfellaneous. q
A Southern Reminiscence.

We find in the Petersburg Lder an
| interesting anecdote Of the Confederate
General, Joseph T.. Johnston. The
story was told by rebel officer who
describes himself as Zone OF the half
frantic youngsters who were not con
tent to surrender with Lee ut Appomat-
toX. With small party he "broke or
crawled his way through Grant lines
to General JOhnston's headquarters
Having friends on the staff he was well
received; his offers of service, b owever,
were refused. lie was ''irankly told
that the end was near, and advised to
seek his home and friends, if he had
any TO seek.
Before taking this advice, he remain
ed some two DAYS with the he1dquar-
terN on the march and in camp, aud one
evening, as the officers sat round IA fire
OF pine knots, discussing the one un-
vary ing subject, what to do, where to
20 when the war was over, a. it was
plain it would be in few weeks. some
one avowed the purpose ot fleeing to
Mexico and Offering aid in the army
there.
We give the rest Of the -turv ilt the
officers own words:
None Of u,, the green ana ignorant
Confederate officers around the General.
dreamed then that MaXimilian would
failed to maintain himself .Juarel vas
almost an unknown, il Il quite 4 laugh
worthy natac to our ears IL wa. when
French arm. were in tulI tide Of success.
marching on TO triumph. Tie Austrian
Emperor had a brilliant Mexican Court
and
future. All the show Of power o. his
side, all the money, the men, thc pro-
Clamation which, 80 soon afterwards,
enlisted the Mauray- Of Virginia. Tie
Gwln- OF Missl-sippi,thc smiths Browns
anu Ihomp>Ons OF every STATE ol the
tonlcdcracy, each 70 be, IN the iu!lnc-s
OF time, dukes ot tie empire. directors
OF departments. ( guvcrnor- OF provinces,
20 erals ot armies, under Hap>burg,
who had come ~ lar a. to rule the
Aztec. Juarez was a fugitive chief OF
a government hid amld> rocks and cac-
tu> and desert, and we never gavc him
Il thought
Our talk was wild enough, but lust
such aS amy othcr halt-dozcu Cuuicdcr-
ates would have made. We dreamed
VI decorations, easy victories, quick adj
Nahcclhcht. we already questioned our
knowledge ol French ana spanish
Meantime General Johnston, who wastes
few word-, Sat silent, his cle4r cut tacc
giving no sign oi hi, thought, us the
yellow light and brown shadow crcpt
across il. Al last hc pushed with his
loot Il pine not farther into the lire,
turned, and said: 'ltyou take foreign
service 1uarez il the man you should
enlist under
I'VE were a. if thuudcr,truck. but,
Of course, we listened, and can re-
member Low how, while the qumtcr-
guard sentinel paced his rounds-lor we
still maintained in that last camp all the
form OF strictcst ipIinc-tnd while
the iitiul lights flashed down the alleys
amid the pines, where sleeping figure,
made gho~tly vista. in the gloom can
still remember how, iii measured word,
the General showed rs the vast effect,
OF what had happened at Appomattox
Court House, and was about to happen
on Catawba anu Red Rivers. How The
French would surely withdraw. sooner
or later, and how, i'll a fair contest, uu-
embarrassed from without j Harcz would
win