Middletown transcript., 1874-02-14

10 l1Oen 70 pa, An cool zeu0Qj4 20 the
'bfais ana great TIE skill u himsSho is shs
sinking principle Of such mighty mass
--whoss will may be ths fate Of hupdrsds,.s
perhaps Of thousands, perhnps Of nation
itself y sif sisill s.fgssI f9 Es
There was now deep and awful silence
Of psrRhps I minute. q II each lcenmander
dreaded to be the first to open the work Of
death, and then there was 4 single fash.
single roll Of smoke. . sisgle heavy
boom. sudithe signal ofT deadly strife had.
been given from the cannoa's mouth
Then came the united roar Of more tbsnl
twenty batteries all along the line, to
which snr batteries gave The answering
roar. aud in an instant the missiles Of death
had passed from fos to foe, asd the terri
Bile battle had begun. sgsk asag
Five. ten. fifteen minutes passed, with
the ground fairly trembling under the roar,
u cannon. and still there was sotiiing for|
me to do but sit on my horse, lock down
upon q cloud Of smoke. listen TO the sannds,
of strife, and calculate the chances Of be-
ing. suddenly hurled into eternity with
every breath drew. At irst the balls
west wide ofthe position I occupied. and
men fell at > distance. but gradually the
strife grew nearer and nearer, till At
length the balls begau to sing around ,us.
and the heavy smoke rolled up to envelope
US in its sulphurous folds. New the roar
Of cannon, tho rattle Of musketry, the
shouts; shrieks and groans Of the combat
ants. made horrid din on tho ears Of one
who, with nothing to do. wishsd himself
a thousand miles away from that perilous
place. Why were VIC kept idle. to be
shot at like SO many dumb targets? Oc-
casienally. as tho smoke lifted, could sec
cavalry charging and infantry advancing
and firing, and envied those who. while
doomed to face the danger. had some ac-
ton for the body "a well as the mind. If
we must remain in that horrible locality
(and confess ! thought seriously of the
chances of running away in the name Of
fortune let US have actisn Of some kind. s
"Well. Palmer. what do you think Of
this p Isaid, turning to the man on my
left.
His lips opened for reply. but Aons
ever came. A cannon ball passed through
bis breast, and he fell over against me.
his life blood staining my garments. ! L
uttered an involuntary cry of horror. and
clung to my saddle With everything SWIM
ming around me. E.l ~ G3 II b
While thus / sat, sick, faint and dizzy.
| have dim recollection of seeing an off,
Ger dash up to the commander of our troop,
and q dim consciousness that he said
something in loud, hurried teae. Then
| remember bearing the words: ,A,.d.sI
1--WE must take yonder battery. Let
every man do his duty Forward! charged
The bugle sounded, and so.nchow I
found my horse in motion. With my COM
rades riding beside me. On we went,
faster and faster, and through smoke and
flame, amid confused roar Of 6resrms
and human voices, till down went my
horse, pitching me clean over his head in
to the arn's Of man, who grapplea Inc
BY the throat, and sprinsing back, struck
at me With sabre. Instipctively ! par
ried the blow. and then somehow getting
the impression that if did not kill him
he would kill me. cut him down Then
there was n rush and. y whirl around me
that did not understand, and somebody
else seemed Trying q. ssks my life. Of
course it was my duty to defend myself ~
we'll as sould, and I remainder striking
out with my sabre right and loft. though
with what effect | really do not know. E
However. in something Ike minute
or so. found myself standing al alone.
just in front Of ! large csaaon, with sew
sral persons 6gbting near me. ssme mount-
ed and some on foot. One of the mount
ed men looked like my captsin. spd with
q vague idsa that | ought 10 sssist him. !
was moving toward him, when sudden
blow on the head sent me reeling agsihst
the eanncn. and ] fell down under il.
Though partially stunned. I was nat
deprived cfsmy senses, and / might easily
have got up and continued the 6ght. but
It occurred to me that was safer where
was; that ! had rather pfevidential
escape. and 20 / concluded t. lie there fer
while, more especially - believed I
could mest my malicious charge II SOW
srdice with the bold assertion that my
wound had fer the time deprived me Of
CONSCIOUSNESS. d
In minute or two the gun was sur