Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1873-08-01
miscellaneous Reading. j..
HER STORY.
BY WASHINGTON GLADDEN..

BY WASHINGTON GLADDEN..
HERE at the gate let usstand and wait
u, Til the grand procession pass;
The marshal first, in marvellous state,
With the drums and the sounding brass;
Then the veterans brave, in blue, draw near,
With sober, soldierly air;
And the halt and the MANNED are riding here,
And the priest and poet there.
And now the troop Of children comes,
In wavy, hesitant files,
All bright with the blush of the early blooms
All wreathed in roses and smiles.
They are halting now at the graves of the boys,
And dirge will be softly sung;
And the parson will give to faith voice,
And the poet to love tongue.
But you and I, my Harry and Bess,
viii turn from these well-meant words,
Apart through the woodland silences-
Alone with the breeZes and birds.
Here, at this grave, where the pine boughs grieve
Where the solemn south winds roam,
Our rosemary and our rue we'll leave,
And carry our hearts-ease home
Did promise9 Well, there's nothing new,
But the joy and the pain are one,
Sit down on the bank here, Bessie, and you
Lie ON the grass, my son.
Fourteen next month"; You were only four
When your father went away;
And you, little queen, were scarcely more
Than babe that desolate day.
A sudden and terrible call had come
For an army of volunteers;
And the tidings brought to our happy home
Hard struggles and boding fears.
That night he sat in solemn mood,
And held you both TO his breast;
| saw on his brow the shadow brood
And darken-I knew the rest!
He carried you up to your crib that night
And watched with you till you slept;
Then praying that God would guide him alIght,
The strong man wrestled and wept.
1Ound MN praying, and left him there
Alone with his father and you;
The Helper lifted his load of care,
And lightened his sorrow too.
And then he came forth and told me all;
could neither strive nor cry;
He would follow his suffering cOuntry's ca
Who would dare to forbid? Not l.
YOu know the story-the parting word,
The year that drearily passed,
The drowning pain OF hope deferred,
The binding blow at the last.
But here is picture you never saw
On this side mother and Bess,
Hal on the other; the little flaw
Is the dint of ball. guess.
lie carried it always here by his heart;
And when they led him away
Faint, from the field where he bore his part
So gallantly on that day
When they laid him down in sheltered nook
CThe chaplain told me this),
lie drew 1t FORTH and with many look
And many passionate kiss,
He gazed till he heard the order "Restl''
And then, when his spirit passed,
1t dropped from his hands upon his breast
And they found it there at the last.
That is all, my darlings, have to tell,
Like another diviner friend,
Having loved his own in the world so well,
He loved them unto the end.
The love that he left to You and me
Is our fortune and our pride;
The truest, manifest man was he
And he loved us all till he died.
Come hither, Harryi I'll lean on you,
His brow and his mouth are there;
And yours, little Bess, are his eyes Of blue
And his wealth of golden hair.
So here at his grave where the pine boughs grieve
Where the solemn south winds roam,
Our rosemary and our rue We'll leave,
And carry our heart's-ease home.
-Congreg0tlonaIist.