Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1874-05-28

captain ofcnginccrs, defending gallnntl.
the tlag he lived t" deny. And anon;
others was II young lieutenant, the quar-
trrmaStrr Of our cIIruniclrrs regiment
IL good fighter when there was work t,
be done but SO quiet and unprctcm(int
that he attracted little notice, and wl,'
would have been quite us much as
t"nishcd us any of his comrades, If fate
had revealed her secrets to him ant
showed HIM himself, the commander OF
the American army, the conqurrcr OF
Ice, the President of the United States
There is !, great deal said about silver
spoons, but very little about the study
industry and energy to make that spool
dip out the soup. Unknown to others
possibly to himself, that young soldier
l believe, was quietly working out {:
problem in his Mexican tent and learn
ing slowly, silently, but very surely the
lesson of sclf-disciplinc, deliberate
judgement aud indomitallo perscvcr,
ancc that, unaitled by any brilliantquali.
ties, have made tho name Of VI ysscs
>: Grant what it is to-day. The rank
Of government employees are not made
famous l'y the exploits Of men alone.
Side 10y side with those soldiers, whose
strong arms have done the rOugher ser
vice, arc delicate women whose quick
intelligence, supplemcnting the brute
force of the others, has nobly done duty
to their Sex.
! A GENTLE LITTLE QlAKEREss,
now in the treasury, saved the Union
troops at Winchester. Her family was
the only loyal family in the town, and
Sheridan, in sore need, determined to
risk the chance of a message reaching
them, asking for any information they
could give about the rebels. So he
dispatched IN old negro to the house.
When the messenger arrived this girl
was the only one at home. Appreciate
ing the need of promptncss, she sat
down and wrote n full and accurate, ac-
count of the enemy's position and re-
sources. She folded her message in q
little ball of tin-foil, and made the col
ored man carry it under his tongue.
She dispatched him at midnight, and
beyond the success of the battle next
day, she heard nothing of her distin-
gnished correspondent for months.
War seldom respects tho courtesics of
life, but tho first leisure moment Cen
eral Sheriden had, he sent her IL bcauti-
ful watch with an inscription testifying
his gratitude in very complimentary
terms land dangling from the chain is i,
tiny gold cavalry sabre that can he
drawn out of its sheath.
ANOTHER HEROINE WHO AIDED Federal.
SOLDIERS.
In the same department there is an
other heroine, who was one of the few
loyal inhabitants of Richmond when the
days were darkest for Northern people.
The horrors of Libby prison were UNI
mitigatcd, aud every effort to relieve
til" wrctchcd victims, exposed the help
cIs to equal hartlships. Notwithstantl-
ing this vigilance, four Of the prisoners
''y some chance managed to partially
cxcavatc Il passage for escape. when
suspicion was reused and their plan
threatened with discovery. The inevi-
table consequence would be death, of
course. Even if they could have got
out Of prison, their condition would not
have been much better, for they were
utter strangers in the country. In this
extremity the news of her patriots peril
was brought to this brave woman. She
sent word to them that if they could get
outside the walls by tho c:,r'i>st dawn
the following day, she would guide them
safely. They worked, you may he sure.
Poor creatures, it was for life itself
they were trying, and in the faint grey
cold morning light their eyes fell upon
Il tall, handsome market woman, who
signalcd them to follow her. They did
so. She walked boldly along the high
way with her basket Of vegetables on
her head, they creeping stcaltllily
through the brmblcs ain the wood that
skirted the roads. And SO she guided
them twelve milcs-rcmcmbcr, they
were men whom sho never saw before.
and to serve them she WAS abandoning
her husband and home, for there was
10 going back to Richmond after that.
They all reached the Union lines safely,
and subsequently enc hundred and five
1lorc escaped by that subtcrrancan pas
sage. Hcrhusbandrejoincd her shortly.
The men she never heard Of again, nor
would she know them if she did. They
never saw her face nor she theirs.
Ro,IANcEs OF THE DEPARTMENTS.
Besides these, there arc many who
lost health and beauty in long watches
by the bedsides Of wounded soldiers,
and many whose hcarts arc buried in
the unknown graves that stud every
battlefield. Nor arc gaycr romances
wanting. a foreign nolleman, rich, ac-
complished, and worthy Of his title in
every way, walking through the Treas
ury halls one day, caught sight of IL
sweet pretty face bending over desk.
Perhaps the spell that wrought upon SO
many Of his countrymcn i'll the dear old
legendary days asovcr him, for after the
true fairy book fashion, he fell in love
on the spot. They arc married now,
living on the border of the poetic Rhine,
and the lovely Baroness keeps herwarm-
est welcome for those who knew her
when she was nothing but /. " Treasury
girl" Miss Smead, whom newspaper
readers know rs Miss Grunly, used
to be in the Treasury Department., and
her mother, who is doing for the Louis
vile Co,lricr-Jo urnal as good work as
ever her daughter dill for the New
York World, is there. And higher
still, in literary honor, is Mr.. Bur
Uughs, Of the same department., whose
"cbarming little book, Wake Robin"
introduced him to Carlyle AMI other
distinguished authors during his visit
abroad.
THE OFFICE OF FOREIGN LETTERS,
in the Postoffice, employs women rs
translators exclusively. There are three
Of these clerks who are required to
know thoroughly French, German,
Spanish, and Italian, and to translate
from either of them into English, or
rice rcrsu. 1t is not necessary to add
any compliments to the ladies' who fill
these positions. There was formerly
employed ut one of these desks. Mrs.
Pcttigrcw King, who afterwards, us the
wife OF Boden, the bigamist member of
Congress from one Of tho Carolinas.
grew into notoriety all over the country.
The lady was of the best and most loyal
S'n '''tn blood. She had had two
husbands already when she married
Bodcn, and by education and personal
attractions was very conspicuous per.
son in Washington society, which paid
her the high compliment of attributing
to her that exceedingly clever novel,
"AIy Daughter EIcnor." One of the
most important witnesses in the famous
Mrs. Wharton's case, is in the Treasury.
| and the same department sheltered tile
pretty wife of young aristocrat Of
Washington, whose sudden death
made the marriage public. Ills rcla-
ti"ns, among whom is the wife of the
Secretary of the Navy, tried to break
tho will that made her his heir, but the