Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-04-05

", yes L III )ullcCU NOu, CIlllltu. NcOCI
YOU be skeered, old Uncle Pete'l] STAN by
your'
SO the children were paciied, and. by
degrees, as their terror wore away, they
began to to think how thick the blackberry
bushes were down by the river, and how
bic and purple and luscious the fruit must
be by this time. The thought appealed
to them very forcibly, for it had been hard
times in their homes for many a week past.
Sometimes they had had enough to satisfy
their hunger, and sometimes they had not.
What food they did have was of the coars-
est kind, such rs year or two before they
could not have eaten at all.
For these little Southern children had
not always been poor Before the war
began they had lived in fine house in
Richmond, and had had horses and car
riages and servants to wait on them and
do all that they did not want to do tor
themselves. You never would have re-
cognized the curled and frilled and fur
beloved little darlings Of that time, fair as
lilies and sweet as roses, in these rough,
sunburded, barefooted, country children,
in their coarse, homespun frocks and huge
tlapping sunbonnets. Mamma often sigh
ed AS she looked at them, and sighed still
more deeply as she thought of their father,
marching away in his homcspun gray.
with his sword clanking by his side, to
fight the battle of what he believed to be
right and justice.
The children did not sigh. though, not
often at least; and when they did, their
sighs were generally because the Corn
bread was not enough to 90 round twice,
and the bacon was only Just enough to
! l., IL,
wish for more. On the whole. they found
the free life and the country amusement>
ample compensation for their former lux
ury. The woods were much better than
the school, where they were so busy learn
ing polite accomplishments that they had
no time for enjoyment. Their wandcrings
much plea~lnter than the stiff walks under
Their briyht-eyed mulatto nurse Rosetta
was gone now She had vanished mystic
riouSly one night" run away mamma
said, but the children held long consulta
tons and concluded that no doubt the
Yankees haG got her. Perhaps they had
eaten her; nothing was too bad to be be
lieveu of them. Alice shullered is she
thought of dreadful ogre crushing poor
1N'NlN iIllit bOlltS, llul .tuh OlllN
wished lie We're bic enough to eat ten
Yankees. and let them know how GOOD it
felt.
When papa felt that duty called him
into the army, when the servants had all
run away except Maum Phyllis and Pete
AMI Jake and old Uncle Dan. when money
became scarce and provisions scarcrr, then
papa thought that Richmond WAS no place
. L., In L., I,
remembered Il little farm that he owned
which would be safer than the city in
ca>c-only that could never bc-thc Yam
KEGS should beat after all 50 there vou
find them, mamma and Mamie and Alice
and Frank, and there the children are this
bright afternoon, looking lpngingly 1t tn
green, waving woods where the blackbcr-
RIGS grow. O, 20 thick and ripe; and the
dinner was. @. 50 >cant to-day.
II wonder if the Yankees really are $
bad sighed little Alice, rs She ~azel ont
OF the window.
why you wicked girl" cried Mamie
Indignantly. " Hasn't oNr papa gone L
ti@lt them. and You don't suppose he
would fight people that wern't bad Be
sides. reckon good people don't have
II'l II anu ltp'l-
" No. >po-e they Cont" sighed Ale,
they VI got any little girS ut home, and
wonder whether their little gill~ hay,
enough to eat"
I'm tell YOU what ~irls," burst on
Frank | don't believe there i ~uch ;
heap of Yankees round rs they all say
and if you're not afraid to 90 down to III,
blackberry bushes why I'm not. II
take papa biz Srhcr with me. and Id lik,
to know what Yankee would dare to toucl
Us then. And if they did come near. vo,
@iil- can pick up rocks and throw at them
Ihcv're nothing bat cowarle after all
Only we mustn't 1T Maum PHYLLIS zee u
or she'd be sure to tell mamma, and We,
catch it then. Come along.
Now Frank WIS the Youngest of tn
three. bat he WAS also the b,lle~t and
moreover, he was a boy, which, of itself
WIS cnou.h to inspire respect tor hi
opinion.
So softly very softly. the children ~tol'
t out of the house, knowing quite well how
naughty lh"y We're. and thai, whether The,
saw single Yankee or not, they had n,
business to di>obcv their mamma in TIL
, way. They knew it we'll enough. only the
p did not stop to think about it, but wen
,kurryinG ACROSS the field until they gam
ed the shelter of the wood. and were SAT
from Maum Phyllis sharp eyes.
@. how thick the bl,ckberreS were an,
how sweet and how ripe, and three littl
! mouths and six little hands were >ool
all stained and di>colorrd with the ripe
juicy fruit.
"Arvnt they good?" said Frank, witt
his mouth full; " and aren't you glad W,
: come? Mamma can't mind, for we havn'
seen a single Yankee, Anl-hark' what i
, that
Tramp. tramp. tramp Jingle. Jingle
clank. And then 4 crashing through tn,
bushes and a sound of cautious voices an,
Il CLEAN of something bright.
\ wild Shrek burst from Mamie .
its the Yankees. its the Yankees iun
Alice run, Frank, O, mamma told m,
not to come. and its I'LL my fault. Q, run
rum
But Alice WAS sobi,ing on her knees
and all Mamie'S eXpostulatonS and EN-
treaties only made her cover lower an,
lower in helpless and abicct terror
Tramp. tramp. nearer and nearer
Mamie sank on her knees too. now afra,
, to look up; and only Franl, was left stand
ING. with 4 ftce rs pale rs ashes. bnt grasp
inc the broken Stbtr valian,lv with tw,
chubby hands.
stop. don't fire. they are children.
, exclaimed 4 voice. " But, good heavens
what are YOU doing here? Why. it is tn,
greatest mercy that we did not shoot vo,
10y mistake for some Yankee spy. Run
home to your mother this minute. VIVA
} could she mean by letting YOU come on
to-day, of ali days. The Hnrid L,ule i
just coming up the river to shell these
woods. Run ior Your lives
at isn't mammals fault. br~an homes
little Mamie. "Slic told Us"
" Never mind what she told YOU" >li,
the officer, impatently. don stop fo1
any thing, bat run home as fast rs Vol
can.
OF course, You see thrt the soldiers hal
turned out to be some of their own men
but the fright the children had was lust a.
bad rs if they had been Yankees. They
did not stop for any more words. but raj