Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1873-07-02
Captain Luce's Enemy.

captain Luce Enemy.
The great army moved down upon tn
river aud encamped above the enemy
strong hold. There was dredging and dig
ging, and hard patient weeks of approac
to be spent before the plan Of attack coul
be fairly tried The country waited in i'm
patience, and the army toicd and watched
and each individual soldier and citize
lived meanwhile the separate and priyat
life Of thought and feeling, of which tn
visible existence is but the mask or expires
sion more or less dimly comprehended |
is Of this underlying and moro real life o
two or three out Of the millions Of actor
in that tremendous drama that | am goinl
to tell the story now.
A carriage with two ladies and verl
old negro driver came to headquarters o
one Of the brigades one day about noon
and the general for whom they inquire,
came out courteously to hear what thel
would have The elderly lady introduced
herself and daughter, explained that thei
house and lands adjoined his lines, that tn,
men Of the neighborhood being all in tn,
southern armies, they were naturally ex
posed to annoyance aud uneasiness, and sh,
asked to have q guard for the protection o.
themselves and their property. The gene
raj promised to sec to the matter, mad,
a note Of the name and place Mrs. For
est, Of Cottonwood Plantation" two Of
three miles to the southwest Capt Luce
Of the " Fessenden Rihemen,' was pres
emily detailed to post a guard at the For
est's place, and rode over in person The
first day. Luce was a good soldier, rathel
sober fellow, somewhat reserved and sharT
with men, and little shy among ladies
not handsome, but Of a good presence, anC
very much liked by his men. The tvt
ladies were true souiherncrs, but Of the
better class. They were proud Of iheil
State and the Confederacy, and scornful o.
the North but that aside, they were we'll
bred, tolerably informed, superior in man
ners and bearing 1t was no easy matter
that first interview Of the young officer
with his fair enemies But he determined
to have an understanding with them if pos
sible, and know Just where be stood in the
place. So after the first awkward difficulty
Of introducing himself, and the reserved
and distant response which was not unnat
ural from the lonely ladies towards z
strange man and an enemy whom circum
stances forced them to receive, he said
" My men have strict instructions as tc
their duty, and [ wish you to report immedi
ately any disrespect or annoyance which
they may show or permit will come ol
send as often as | can to see about it, anC
shall do my best to make your home secure
and pleasant. But | must ask you to re-
member that we are soldiers in an enemyi
country, and exposed on your account. The
men must not be annoyed or barshly treat
ed. You will easily see that they must re
gard an insult to them as aimed at the
cause they represent by its enemies, anG
one they are bound 10 honor to resent.
say this for your own sakes, wishing tc
save you trouble in the future. | do no
respect you the less for taking sides with
your State, and do not wonder that you Dc
not love US for fighting your friends anc
desolating your country. But you mus
remember that there are two sides to thu
question; that your friends would be a
my home if they could and | hope tha
some of them would see that my mother
and sister came to no harm. | believe tina
they would
Beginning thus squarely, and continuing
to show the same simple, downright, bu
courteous bearingin his visits, the first con
straint and somewhat naughty politeness o
the ladies melted imperceptibly into re
spectful familiarity and confidence.
The young lady's namo was Ellen. Sh,
was rather tall, with an almost martial car
riage, SO straight, and proud, and straight
forward, disdaining little arts and graces
turning neither to the right Ror left. Sh'
did not belle the intelligence that lighteC
up her fine face she was unusually wei
read in books Of the lighter kind. Thi
alone would have kindled friendly feel
ing in the captain. who was something of {
student; and from the first he was piquet
by her selfcontained manner, and admired
her simple dignity and the quickness anC
keenness shown in what she said. Will
the growing confidence which constant in
tercourse with the young soldier inspired
her reserve wore of, and they became gooC
friends 10 way But the frank kindness
that took the place Of the young lady's frs
manner, had the same qualities of sclf-reli
ance and courage behind it, and Luce fel
very sensibly that he had his friendly foot
ing upon sutIerance and straight walking
and that one step aside would precipitat'
him from it; and the further he went il
the path the less did he care to fall out oft
Luce presently found himself contrivinl
to be at Cottonwood great many times il
week, and his mind going back Their
more and more as he went about his duty
He had small number Of favorite book
with him in camp, and some Of them pres
ently found their way to the Forest man
sion, and some with the name Of that familv
on the ay-leaves took their place in th'
officers tent Of company G. Luce begal
to have great liking for talking owe
Thackera with Miss Ellen. She sharet
the incomprehensble dislike of her sex 70
that author, and she and the captain ha,
many talk, good-humored but sincere
and sometimes serious, over the master
men aud women. But when Luce wen
over these discussions in his mind, it wa
not so much of the weight of the argumen
that he found himself thinking as of tn
lady's keen instinct, her quickness and deli
cacy of perception, and her shrinking from
falsehood and impurity and difficulty il
believing them.
But digging and dredging could not las
forever, and one day Captain Luce wok
up and found that the army was beginning
to move again. His division was yet un
disturbed but he knew the marching order
would come before long, and the though
brought him dull feeling not at all pleasant
He did not find the ache growing less b.
sleeping on it, and indeed he was late fall
ing asleep and awoke very early. He mad
an errand to ride oyer to Cottonwood in th
morning, found Miss Ellen alone, and toll
her of his near departure.
"When we went into camp over here,
he said, I" l was frettcd by the delay, an
now we are going, | feel as if | were leay
ing home" He laughed little, rathe
ruefully.
She was doing some needle-work, an
she laid it down, and looked over at hir
thoughtfully. 80 you're going away t
fight my friends" she said. Doesn't
seem strange that you and |, sitting here
should be enemies2"
4. n. .oo..,, o..... lo H. 40