Wilmington daily commercial., 1874-11-05
MISCELLANEOUS.
Loye story Of .he Rebellion.


We we're sitting in our room at the Glades Ho-
tel in Oakland, Nd, one day, with charming
lady who had dropped in on visit. One of our
windows looked into that of another room 80
placed by the conition of the main building that
half of it's interior could be seen. We were
looking and admiring little chubby, blue-eyed
two-year old, white as snow, who was pulling
boouet to pieces and tossing ont the Fragments.
or clappng her little hands with delight as the
train went laundering by.
'These rooms" said our fair visitor, ''have
some very tender associations for me-"
.tWhy 80 ?" we asked.
"Weil,n she answered, "durng the war the
greater part of the hotel was seized by the Gov
srument as hospital and we were crowded into
few rooms. My sister and had this. In that
room where that little beauty is were two Union
officers, one sick of the fever and another OF a
wound 1t was hard to tell whether they were
slowly diving or slowly getting well. Inever saw
such ghostly skeletons to be alive. We were
'secesh' and not modest about it either, but still
perhapssdying. far from friends and relatives /
SIT bothers one to know how this should be a
hospital" we said, sit is so far removed from
active operations"
at was thought" she answered. ''that the
mountain air of the gladea would be more favor
able torecovery than elsewhere, so this was made
a hospital Ons day one of these officers
dragged himself to the window, and under the i'm
pulse of the moment my sister asked ifawe could
do anything for them, and he answered, gasping
for BREATH that little chicken soup would save
their lives. Chickens we're rare in those days
an army ia hard on poultry. The men will work
all night, after marching through the day, to Sc
cure a few chickens so that while the hospital
nurse and physicians had an unlimited supply
of Injuries in the way OF wines, potted meats
and canned vegetables, they were without
ANYTHING fresh. We knew where few
chickens were hid in cellar, by neighbor, and
we coaxed one out of the owner, and after deal
of yexatious trouble-for at every turn we were
met by a fixed bayonet and an nsult-we got the
soup ready, and as the guard in the hall would
not permit us to approach our patients. My
sister attempted to hand the bowl to the officer
in the window. just as he was feebly reaching
for it, and she stretching herself half out to give
it to him. o harsh ugly voice below cried aloud,
''Look out, there-poison r She nearly dropped
herself, soup and all. Drawing back she took
the spoon and began eating. the BROTH oh,
botherr cried the officer. don't waste it that
way; I'm not afraid; and she gave him the soup.
1t seemed to revive them, and they continued
steadily to improve, as day after day we
supplied them with chicken broth until the
cellar was empty. During this time we sat
at the window talking, and we sang
to them-sang My Maryland and all the
Southern songs we knew until they were well
enough to leave the hospital and returned to du-
ty They both seemed sorry to go, and forced
on us some hospital stores and some coffee,
which last we needed sadly. Then one gave q
ring and the other brooch, as tokens Of their
kind feeling.
"And did they never return 2" we asked.
Gone did not, for poor fellow, he was killed
in the very next battle in which he was engaged.
His companion wrote us about it, and the writer
insisted upon opening correspondence with my
sister /; and soon his letters grew into love let
ters, and after time they were engaged. Near
ly a year subsequent our patient got leave of
absence and came on to be married. He put up
at hotel, and will you believe it, our own bro
fser, who was in the Confederate service, and
knew nothing of my sisters affair, led band of
guerillas at night into town and captured his in
tended brother-in-law from his bed. This not
only deferred the marriage, but deprived the
young West Pointer of his promotion, that had
been promised for gallant services in the field.
1t was really aggrayating, for exchanges had al
most ceased, and it looked as if the lovers would
have TO wait until this cruel war was over be-
fore they could be united. "
"You should have appealed to Abraham Lin
coin to give married brigadier for an unmarri-
cd lieutenant. "
"We did better Procuring passes, we went
through the lines and appealed to jeff Davis
JEFF said he would put my brothers. prisoner in
his sisters keeping. They have been happil,
married these many years. He is brevet-brig-
adler general now, and it all came of our nurs
ing the enemy in that room. p"
Here is the foundation of drama superior tt
that given by Boucicault in Belle Lamar. "