The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1874-12-31
Love SterI Or the Rebellion.

A Love Story or the Rebellion.
; We were sitting in our room, az the
GIaies Hotel, IN Oakland Nd, one day
with a charming lady who had dropped
in on q Witt One OF our windows look
ed into that OF another room so placed
by the position OF the main building
that half Of It's interior coald be seen.
We were looking and admiring little
chubby, blue eyed two-year Old, white
rs snow, who Was pulling Il boqgette to
pieces and tossing out the fragments, or
clapping her little hands with delight as
the train went laundering by.
''Thcsc rooms" said oar tair ,isitcr,
"havc some very tender associations for
me-"
"Why so?" we asked
"Wc!I," she answered, "turing The
war the greater part OF the hotel was
seized by the Government rs Il hospital
and we were crowded into few rooms.
My sister and had this. in that room,
where that beauty is, were two Union
! officers, one sick of tie fever and anoth-
or Of wound. 1t was hard to tell
whether they were slowly dying or get
/ ting well. never saw such ghoslly
skeletons TO be alive. We were 'secesh,
and not modest about it either, bat still
our hearts ached for the poorly young men
so !l,perhaps dying, far from friends and
relatives"
at bo:hcrs one TO know how this
, should be hospital" we said, at IS 50
far removed from active operations"
at WAS thought, she answered, "thal
the mountain air OF tbs gladcs would be
more favorable TO recovery than clse-
whore, so th; was made u hospital. One
day one of these officers dragged him
self to the window, and under tho i'm
pulse Of that moment my sister asked i!
we coaii DO anything for ihem, and he
answered, gasping for breath tha! lit
tie chicken soup would save their lives
Chickens were rare IL those days-ar-
nay is hard on poultry. The men viii
work all night, after marchin. through
The day, TO secure iei" chickens; so
that when the hospital nurse and physic
ians had an unlimited supply Of iuxu-
ries in the way of wines, pottcd meats,
and canned vegetables, they were with
out anything fresh. We know where
few chickens were lid in cellar by
neighbor, and we coaXcd one out of the
owner, ard after deal Of vexatons
and trOublc-for at every turn we were
met by a fixed bayonct and an insult /
we got the soup ready, and as the guard !
in the hall would not permit US to APP
proach 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 stretched herself halt out
10 give it 10 him, "A harsh, ugly voice be-
low cried out, "Look out, thcre-poi-
son ~ She nearly dropped herself, soup
and all. Drawing back she hesitated a
second, and then she took The spoon and
began eating the broth. ooh, bother!
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 emp
~. During this time we sat at the win
dow talking, and we sang to them
sang Ny Maryland and all the South
ern songs we knew, until they were well
enough to leave the hospital and return
to duty. They both seemed very sorry
to go, and forced on rs quantity OF
hospital stores and some coffee, which
last We needed sadly. Then one gave u
ring IN the either 4 brooch, as tokens
of their kind feelings"
"And did they never rctu9n ?" VIC
asked.
"One did not, for, poor fellow, he was
killed in the very next battle in which
he was engaged. His companion wrote
us about il, and the writer insisted uaon
opening a correspondence with my sis
ter; aud soon his letters grew into love
letters, and after due time they were en-
gagged. Nearly a year subsequent to
Ibis our patient got leave Of absence and
came on TO tc married. lie put up nj
hotel, and will you believe it, our own ,
brother was in the Confederate service,
and knew nothing Of my sisters affair,
ed band Of gucriias AZ night into
.own and captured his intended brolhQr-
n-iaw from his bed. This not only Dc
crcd the marriage, bat deprived the
young West Pointer of his promotion,
hat had been promised for gallant ser
yices in the field. 1t WAS really ag.ra-
rating, for exchanges had almost ceased,
lnd it looked rs il the lovers would have
% wait until 'this cruel war was over"
,elore they coald be united"
"lou should have appealed to Abra-
lam Lincoln 10 give married brigaiiyr :
or an unmarried lieutenant"
"Wc did better. Procuring passes,
sc went through tie lines and appealed +,
70 jeff Davis. JEFF said lie would PAT
ny bro,hcr's prisoner ia his sisters
keeping. Thsy have been happily
married these many years. lie is
,rcvct- bri-aGicr genera, now, and it all
'ame OF our nursing the enemy in tha,
'uom.'
EfrAi u. I'M, u