Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1881-10-13
BRAVEST MAN IN THE REGIMENT.

BRAVEST MAN IN THE REGIMENT
80 you want me to tell you IL story
about brave man, little people?' said
Colonel Graylock, as his half-dozen
nephews and nieces, tired with their
afternoons play, gathered around his
armchair by the fire. "Well I've seen
plenty Of them in my time, but the
brayest man | ever knew was a young
Ensign in our regiment whom we used
TO call Gentleman Bob'-and right
well he deserved the name, though not
as we meant it.
"Soldiering's very different thing
now from what ii was in my young
days, and men have learned-what it's
pity they didn't learn sooner-that a
man may make none the worse officer
for being Il gentleman and a Christian.
Henry lIayclocl taught us that pretty
fairly, but in the rough old times it
was II very different thing. Then the
harder IN English officer drank, and
the louder he swore and the more he
bulled his men, and the reader he
was to light Il duel or to Join in any
low frolc, the better his comrades liked
him, and I'm afraid we were much
the sane as the rest of them in that
respect
80 you may fancy what we
thought when a man like Gentleman
Bob came among us, who was always
quiet and sober and orderly, and in
/5teld Of brawling and rioting like the
rest of US, spent all his spare time over
dry scientific books that we knew moth
ing @bout, and read a chapter of the
Bible every morning and evening.
How we did laugh at him, and make
mock Of him to be sure! But the pro.
y0king thing was that he never seemed
TO mind il one bit, and he was so good
natured, and 50 ready to do any one IL
good turn when he could, that it GER
tajuly ought 70 have made us ashamed
Of ourselves; but it didn't, more's the
pity.
"BuJ before long something did
make Us ashamed Of ourselves, and
This was IL. Our colonel was in Il
great hurry one day to lind out the
whereabouts Of Il village that wasn't
marked Oh the m2), and none of us
could Lelp him, when, 10 and behold!
forward stepped Gentleman Bob,' with
neat little map Of his own drawing,
and There was the very place, just
where it should be. The colonel looked
aJ it, and then at us, and said grimly,
Its not often, gentlemen, that the
youngest officer OF . .Jiment is also
The smartcst; let this be a lesson to
YOU
"You may be sure this reproof made
u5 none the more mercfuI in talking
against poor Bob; and perhaps we
might have done something more than
tall, but for Il thing that happened one
night at mess. Our junior captain, a
rough, bullying kind of fellow, was 60
ing to empty glass of wine over
Bob's head, when the ensign grasped
his wrist, and overturned the wine up
on him instead, the wrist was black
and blue from that squeeze for many u
day after
"AbOut Il month after this, one of
our men, who used to have fits of mad
ness now and then, from an old wound
in the head, came hurrying along with
IL big knife in his hand, slashing at
everything within reach. Some cried
to shoot him. but Bob said quietly,
"A man's life is worth more than that;
lot me try And in a moment he had
seized the fellows knife-hand, and
tripped him SO clevcrly that he was
down before We could call out; and
then some of the men came up and
quickly secured him.
"Of Course we could say nothing
against Bob's pluck after that; but all
this was q tritle to what was coming
A few days later came one of the
greatest battles Of the war, and we
were so hard pressed on the left
(where my regiment was) that at last
there was nothing for 1t but to fall
back. We formed again under cover
Of some thickets, but even there we had
enough to do to hold our ground, for
the enemy had brought up some guns,
and were giving it to us pretty hot.
Suddenly, between two gusts of
smoke, one of our wounded, lying out
on the open plain, was seen to wave
his hand feebly, as if for help. 1t was
one of our Lieutenants, who had been
harder than any one upon Gentleman
Bob and his chance was a poor one,
SOr it seemed certain death TO try to
reach him through such a pelt of shot,
while if a bullet didn't finish him, the
scorching sun was pretty sure to do
it.
"All ut once man was seen step.
ping out from sheltering thicket, and
that man was Gentleman Bob lie
never looked to right Or left, but went
straight to where his prosecutor was
lying helpless. and tried to raise him.
At first the French banged away at
him like fury, but when they saw what
he was doing, several officers called
Vuti Nt t6ts Vu6i WcS tWUHto klIOu
fire, my boys), and raised their caps to
him in salute Bob lifted the wound
cd man gently in his arms, and shield
ed him with his own body, brought
him back into our lines; and such a
cheer as went up then never heard
before or since"
"And did thai horrid Lieutenant die,
uncle?'
".uckily not" answered the Colonel,
laughing, "for I'm sorry to say the
'horlid Lieutenant was no other than
myself"
"0h, unclel were you ever so naughty
as that" lisped a tiny voice, in tones
OF amaZement
"But what became of Gentleman
BobY asked an impatient boy.
"He's now my respected brother-in-
law, and your papa said the Colonel,
exchanging sly look with a 1ne-look-