The Republican journal., 1874-05-21
A Donn Piatt War "Reminiscences.

Editorial Correspondence Washington Capital
We have q lively recollection Of Mar
tinsburg. During the war we went into
and out of MartinsbWg frequently, and
generally we went out in a more lively
manner than we went in. On one occa-
sion we put up III the principal hotel eX-
ccssivcIN tatigurd; we had been twelve
hours in the saddle and after Il meal
which we cnioycd. 4, we brought to it the
sauce of appetite, Wc propped 0Wsclf on
Il horse-hair sofa III the parlor for nap.
a horse-halr sofa is not the pleasante>t
piece OF furnit re for that. Us the pillow
keeps boiling from under your head t. the
floor, and is you reach for it YOU Slip OFF.
There was stout handsome woman ut
the piano. surrounded by an officer, and
both were singing, 70 a rafting accom-
panimcnt, that touching ballad, "When
this Cruel War is over" The piano was
evidently suffering from the rheumatism,
aggravated hy the asthma The voices
were loud and metallic
We knew the officer. lie was a tall,
broad-shouldcred scomdrel, with regular
features, ringed in by Il protusiou of dark
hair and whiskers, and with about as
much expression in his face as that pos
sesscd by Il town pump. lie fought for
the Union by intriguing with stout women
and getting Shot at by infuriated husbands.
He was a Colonel, and Went about sing
inc "Wheu this cruel war is over, and
carried q site-Saddle in his trunk His
strength lay III his voice and his elegance
on horseback III the ballad did not fetch
his love, ride did Al the time we men
ton he had 10 rely ON his voice for Il
bullet lodged in the heshr part of his
person by Il specimen OF emotional M
sanity made sitting in a saddle rather un-
pleasant. lie has recovered, however,
for he now sit m a comfortable office and
enjoys - pension for wounds got in the
defense OF the Union.
We dropped asleep On the first singing
of the ballad The Colonel was wont to
encore himself sixteen times. We fell, As
noyelsts say into u troubled sleep, and
were dreaming that the Colonel and his
stout partner We're, somehow on other, a
battery Of hHgc Parrot guns we'll sustained
by infantry that kept up an incessant rat
Ting fire on our flank We were ccntem-
| plating a charge on the female l. ,rrot,
with u design Of turning her on the
enemy, when an unmistakable roar Of IN
exploding shell brought Us TO our military
| LEGS in an instant.
Ii did not take us long to discover that
a row was going on IN MmtmSburg, in
which the Contederates were taking a
lively hand The Colonel broke in the
midst of his ballad. and we both ran tor
our horses. 1t was astonishing to see how
a man with bullet wound in the tleShy
part OF his person could get over the
| ground. We had 1t neck and neck down
| the street. round corner, where we met
two horses being led by an orderly. One
horse had the trappings of IN officer, the
other was equipped with a sidesaddle
The Colonel, rs we subsequently learned,
was about sending his lady love out,
followed by his orderly. We seized the
officers horse. leaped into the saddle,
leaving the Colonel to follow on his fasci-
mating side-saddle, and ,galloped out OF
town A few minutes after our orderly
came laundering along with our horses.
But we did not return to settle our bill ut
the hotel 1t was Il shameful piece OF
neglect and now. being in MartiEsburg
we thought Of this, and would have called
at the office, but we remembered that this
loss has gone in with others before the
Claims Commission.
4 NEGLECTED. OPPoRTu NIFTY. While re-
Gently visiting Evergreen Cemetery a
friend overheard Il thrice made widow.
(not yet old or homely, who was standing
beside three mounds) remark to another
friend, who is known to have been atten-
tive to the widow.in her youth, .Joe, Go'
might have been in M0t roW, had you pos
sessed little more courage.
From the haunted house in Sprmgval,
there now comes Il marvellous story OF /;
ghost frightening IN over-cullous Boston
merchant out of his wits, by brandishino
u huge club over him, rs he lay ON ;
lounge in Il lighted room. lie took delib
crate aim at his assailant with revolver
which missed fire, though he kept renew
ing caps, till the spirit vanished