Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1874-10-30
a Love story Of the Rebellion.

We were sitting in our room at the
Glades Hotel, in Oakland, Md, one day
with charming lady who had dropped in
on Il visit. One of our windows looked
into that Of another room SO placed by the
position Of the main building that half of
its interior could be seen. We we're look
ing at and admiring q little chubby. blue
eyed two year old. white as snow, who
was pulling bouquet TO pieces, and toss
ing out the fragments, or clapping her lit
tie hands with delight as a train went
laundering by.
These rOoune, o~id our fair visitor, have
some very tender associations for me-,
WHY so . we aslzAl
npIil, sue answered, during the war the
greater part of the hotel was seized by the
Government as a hospital, and we were
crowded into few rooms. My sister and 1
had this. In that room where that little
beauty is were two Union officers, one sick
of the fever and another Of wound. 1t
was hard to tell whether they we're slowly
dying or slowly getting well. i never saw
such ghOstly skeletons to be alive. We
were 'secesh' and not modest about it Ell
ther, but still our hearts acheG for the poor
young men, so i'll, perhaps dying, far from
friends and relatives
1t bothers one to know how this should
be q hospital we said, it is so far remoy-
Cd Prom, octiya oparotiOuS
1t was thought she answered, that the
mountain air Of the slades would be more
favorable to recovery than elsewhere, so
this was made hospital. One day one of
these officers dragged himself to the win
dow, and under the impulse of the moment
nv sister asked if we could do anything for
them. and he answered gasping for breath,
that little chicken soup would save their
lives. Chickens were rare in those days
an army is hard on poultry. The men will
work all night, after marching through the
day, to secure few chickens so that
when the hospital nurse and physicians
had an unlimited supply of luxuries in the
way of wines, potted meats and canned We
getables, 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 vexa-
tious trouble-for at every turn we were
met By fixed hayonet and an insult-we
got the soup ready, and Il, 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 rs
he was feebly reaching for it, and she
stretching herself half out to give it to him,
a harsh ugly voice below cried aloud,
/ Look out, there-poison = She nearly
dropped herself, soup and all. Drawing
/ back she hesitated second, and then she
took the spoon and began eating the broth.
oh, bother = cried tie officer, Don't
waste it that way; I'm not afraid, and
she gave him the soup. 1t seemed 10 re-
viye them, and they continued steadily tC
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 en-
ough to leave the hospital and return TO du
ty. They both seemed sorry to 90, anC
forced on US quantity Of hospital stor'
and some coffee, which last we needed sadly
Then one gave ring and the other
4 brooch, as tokens Of their kind feeling
And did they never return p We asked
One did not, for poor fellow, he wal
killed in the very next battle in which h'
was engaged. His companion wrote u
and the writer insisted upon opening a cor
respondence with my sister and soon hi
letters grew into love letters, and after ;
time they were engaged. Nearly a yea
subsequent to this our patient got leave o
absence, and came on to be married. HI
put up at hotel, and will you believe it
our own brother who was in the Confede
rate service, and knew nothing of my sis
ter's affair, led band of guerrillas at nigh
into town and captured his intended bro
ther-in-law from his bed. This not onl
deferred the marriage, but deprived tn
young West Pointer of his promotion, tha
, had been promised for gallant services il