Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1873-06-19
NO. WALLACE, ]
The Battered Veterans
and the good old Wo-
man of Tennessee
Carl BRENT IN St. Louis Democf

appeared at her door, and meek
ly asked for a cup of cold wa
ter. Poor soldieiE slznew
in reason, that you are tired.and
thirsty, and that, you VIII be
powerful glad to get a drink Of
water, not to speak of alittle
suthin9 to mix with it. - =. s.s1.s3 !, .
ssThank you, mum, butt be
long to the Daughters of Ilem-
perance, and. can't drink nnless
it is a little in the, way ofemedi-
cine, andI sdoffeel very, weak, as
| have marched more tllansferty
miles to-day, -, - - :,-sE = = 49, -.
"Fortymi1es! The Jaws have
massey How could yousd sdOit:
Why it would kill my. mule; :.
Otis very hard; but aweasget
used to it. - wouldn't have
minded it. il 1had any thing to
eat.'' : 80, 50 - g s-.g go. % 2. .ss.' lI
"Sakes alive! Do come in
and sit down. Pore soldier!"
The good old lady brought
out a black bottle, from which
the battered veteran poured a
teaspoonful into a glass of wa
ter, and tooksa vigorous pull at
the bottle when her back was
turned. Then she placed be-
fore him a substantial supper
of ham and eggs and cornlbread
and coffee, upon which he ad-
vanced in gallant style.
"And you are might y5young
to bea soldierin', ,nshe said, look
ing at him benignantly oyer her
spectacles. 10 sr'a.': p.
"Yes, mum; I am thes,only
son of my widowed mether;
but my country called me, and
my duty to my country IS only
second to my duty to N.Y. Crea-
tor" esF s-7 GO 81
-s'Sho? Why, yeu talk as peert
as a minister, ,"s--ll
II was studying for the min
istry when the war broke out. J"
Il had a notion thatathe sol
diers were all SO wicked; but
I'm glad to fin1 ont that they
amt. You have seensa power
of fightin', l reckon?'''a5' 49,
IA great deal, mum. It is
hard for a Christian to taISe life;
but the enemies of our country
must be punished..''2 - -. 'i.',.i :. $50
"Jess so. Have you ever
been wounded?Hsl 90 ...slsssss ,..'s 60 r..
"Very often.SslI was once
shot through the heart, 49, 49, 8.
Through the slieaIt!s Law
fuI sakes! Didn't it kill you?"
"Not quite. The int6rcostal
muscle was penetrated longi-
tudinally and extfayasated with
varicose veins; butsSSthe bullet
ranged across the left lohe of
the arachnoid artery, pTotlucing
a comminuted fraction. of the
anterior process of the cerebel-
lum, and causing ialesionr OF the
spinal viscera and 'thehypephOs-
pilates of the fibulaa and that
delayed my recovery.
"You don't meanlto say that
you lived through ali that!'
Il was spared, mum, to be an
humble monument of the mer-
cy of Providence. " !. .- :. .,-.... 1li ,..,
"Should think $50. What
was that noise? ''IttsOunded
like somebody down the cellar"
"Nothing but rats. Don't be
alarmed, madam. 1 am here
and will protect yon. once
defended the house of a widow
when it was attacked by adozen
guerillas. l was obliged to kill
seven of them, and the rest ran
away" -'. .''''l,'l. ..-.,'i.,t-! .' =.
'Doo tell! Should think
you ought to be an officer, -
THE President has tried to
persuade me to accept COM
mission as general, but | have
believed that / can serve my
country better in my present
sphere. Thank you, l don't
care if l do take a spoonful of
that. | must be going now,
with many thanks for your
kindness. 1t is nearly time for
our eningprayer-meeting, g,and
| must be there to open it,
Have you such q thing as a
pocket Bible to spare? Mine. was
destroyed in the last battle, by
being strIck by a bullet in my
lcoat pocket. Itwas the last gift
of my beloved mother, and il
saved nv life" 5.
Lawful sakes! Which pock'
et?" eITsa ~