Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1873-06-19

we knew il, the hurry and hustle Of ou
new life, the summer was upon us, an
the boys summoned away to the capital
watched them through my bitter tear
| as they marched away; Hartley-m.
hero-bearing himself like a king; m.
slender, blue-eyed Hugh, striving ii
vain to keep back the tears. Driven tt
the war by ridicalei that was it. 1t wa
the thought thar odroye me wild whel
my great trouble came upon me-
The long, long weary days went by
the naples famed like signal-fires along
the hiIlsides; October sped with san.
dalled feet across the valley, and every
twig and tree grew bright with sudden
glory. Then came the dreary, death
like winter; and as the snow-walls
rose around us, my heart grew heavy
and sad. There were many things to
trouble me. Fatherxuassgrowin old
and childish; he made rash business
ventures, and L saw with alarm that
our little all was melting rapidly away,
Then mother fell i'll with that long,
painful sickness from which she never
recovered; and in the midst Of it all,
Captain Graham (who owned the lum-
ber-min i'll which my father was en-
ployed, and who, during the summer
season, had command of one OF the
finest boats on the river) began to come
to see me. %, trtl St
At first they were only friendly visits
that he made. He would drop in OF
an evening in q neighborly way to chat
with father wlile his keen gray eyes
followed my every motion as 1 cared
for mother or sat sewing in despon-
dent way by the tiny table; and then
nothing would do but that must bring
out my guitar and sing the songs my
mother had taught me-the songs that
Hugh and had sung so often in the
dear old days. 1 used to wonder some
times If father thought had no heart,
when to please passing stranger he 30
mercilesslya compelled me to tear open
the old wounds; bnt he was closely
linked in with this seheming lumber
man in his business relations and stroye
in every way to propriate him. Ny
heart misgaye me for / saw, with wo-
mans intuition, how it would allend.
1t was well that my hands were full
of work, and my brain busted from
morning till night in contriving ways
to make the most of our small means.
Mother grew worse day by day. Father
was moody and silent, and learned at
last as 1 had all along suspected, that he
was deeply involved and had given
Captain Graham mortgage on our
home. I thought knew what trouble
meant that night, but the next day
brought me a letter from Hugh so
sad, so inexpressibly hopeless, that /
prayed to die since I was powerless to
aid him. d..esT "a r,sl q
He was never born to be soldier.
Perhaps cannot impress this upon your
mind, but I KNOW It 10 be God.s truth.
1 knew how his gentle spirit, weak, if
you must need call it SO, but it is your
thought, not mine-loathed the sights
and sounds of camp-life; how his home
sick heart longed for the peaceful val
ley and quiet hills. The eagle revels in
the storm; his wild spirit rejoiees in
the tumult! but the feeble lark covers,
shiyering while in its nest. Yet larks
have their mission as we'll as eagles.
wrote him brave, hopeful. letter.
1 strove with all my might to cheer
him; yet all the while l had strange
foreboding of what eventually took
place. was his only friend Hartley
could neither understand nor sympa-
thize with the shy sensitive spirit at his
side. Yet l knew that in q different
path my boy would have acted a hero's
part. This is the mistake we make in
this world; for all these natures which
the creator has made so differently we
have but one test. IL they fail in that
they fail in all!I12il 5B5l1 so Tbod
At last the dreary winter wore away.
The redlipped anemones, the flowers
of battle, folding protecting petals of
flame over the snow white heart of
peace clustered thick among the fall
en- leaves; the snowy blood-root flaunt-
ed its creamy banners on the hillside;
blue-bells clustered by the environing
waters; and the spicy Southern breeze
brought sense of rest to my heart. /
was so tired; so tired and sad. While
mother slept in the long afternoons |
would take my work and go out among
the rocks, and tand listen to the winds
sobbing softly in the pines and, noting
how He held the helpless world in the
hollow of His hand, tried to believe
that His hand, / tried to believe that
His love was round about us all that,
borne on the wings Of holy cause, the
roar of cannon and shrieks of wounded
and dying that clashed discordantly on
our weaker ears rose in solemn music
to His throne. i - '
And one night with this strange sense
of peace and trust in my heart walked
slowly home. Father met me at the door
with dreadful tidings written oil his
pale face. There had been battle, and
Hartley was among the missing Hd 4
Missingw it was a terrible word,
and yet there was room for hope. lift
had been Hdeadi l" it seemed to me that
1 could not have borne It; but as the
long dreary days dragged by without
another word of tidings the suspense
became intolerable. l felt at last that
1t would have been a relief to know
that he was quietly resting in hero's
grave with the winds chanting dirge
above him.
And meanwhile ! had letter from
Hugh, written after the battle. The boy
seemed nearly crazed. "Never' he
wrote "shal) forget that terrible day.
Hour by hour those agonized dead faces
haunted me! The groans and shrieks
OF pain ring forever in my ears God
grant that may die ere am called to
pass through such another ordeal ~ Z .
Perhaps this should have prepared
me for what followed; but it came up
ON me like thunder shock when heard
my Hugh's name banded from mouth
to mouth as that Of coward and de-