Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-12-13
THE CHANCES OF WAR, AND HOW
ONE WAS MISSED.

ONE WAS MISSED.
There were certain conditions in the lift
| of my hero, whom shall call Rex, which
| made it easy for him to live out certain
romance that came to him when he was
| just twenty-five.
These conditions were an adored anG
| adoring mother, and widowed sister
with two small people who felt as free te
borrow his knife and suggest their favorits
sweetmeats to him as if they had been his
| own. SO his family was quite complete
| 1t filled his days with cheerful work,
| and his evenings were not at all those
of the typical bachelor. His home was
| as merry and noisy and turbulent, and
his nights just Gas devoid of ease,
| as if he had been Benedick. For his sis.
ter had come home before his nephew and
| namesake, little Rex, had weathered
| through his first three months of collie
and many night had he risen from his
comfortable bed in response to the walls
| that came from his sisters room, and he
and little Rex had made a procession OF
themselves, the good uncle sturdily sing.
ing, "Where, oh, where is good old Dan
lei ?" his dangling suspenders tapping
soberly above his shppered feet, as he
| trudged contentedly up and down the hall.
| The conquered Rex junior would finally
sink heavily and more heavily against his
| shoulder, until, when just about to learn
| the fate of the Hebrew children, he would
| succumb to the combined effect OF warm
| iannels, the charms of music and the SO.
| lace of camomile, and with weary final
4 ,,to hat honpx- Oblivion pyhare
collie is unknown.
| Sometimes on these night marches his
old soldering days would come back to him
| with great vlvidness, and with them his
romance. At such times Rex junior would
be treated to long walk, so long. IN
deed, that his mother would sink into
such profound slumber that when she
was awakened to have him returned to her,
she always reused up to the firm conviction
that Rex senior was burglar intent upon
stealing her precious boy. As if any bur-
glar in his right mind would steal a three.
months-old baby, when there were spoons
or anything else in the house to be taken.
His romance he had never told In worlds,
| but somehow his mother and sister knew
| there had been one, and they arranged it
| to suit themselves. He was treated with
additional tenderness because it had failed,
and go, doubtless, were they. Often one
or the other said, "Poor Rex, I wonder
who she was what pity ?" but in her
deceitful heart she did net think it pity,
for this dream of his did not disturb their
hold on him, and a realization of it might
have done SO. Altogether it was much
nicer for things to be just as they were.
The tender mercy which shrouded a cer
tain time of his life offered an excuse for
the tide of motherly and sisterly love to
ebb and flow in constant waves, the rdison
detre for the ebb being only to gather fresh
strength for the flow.
I've no doubt that they invested the
romance with more magnitude than it de.
served. They even at times detected sad
shade lingering around their hero's admir-
able mouth, or giving far.off look to his
ewes, as he sank into the easy-chair which
his adoring small relatives tugged forward
for him. Later, when these small relatives,
who had hattened upon CORY giant stories
from their uncles lips until they were
appeased, and afraid of their own shadows,
were being put to bed, the daughter would
say, suggestively, to her mother, Poor
dear Rex looks tired to night )" then,
| severely, to her children "You children
have no mercy upon your uncle. You are
| always riding him when he is in the house.
/ do wish you would not forever worry him
for stories. / could tell you just as nice
\ ones"
This would raise derisive laugh; and
backed up by the fact that there was moi
only lamp burning brightly, but mother
and grandmother in the room, the auda
cious small ones would suggest to eacf
other topics for mothers stories, which
after the substantial fare in that line which
their uncle had accustomed them to, they
regarded as very weak diet indeed.
ayes, the dear boy is not in his bes
spirits tonight. / dare say ne has beer
thinking. I must hurry back to him, sc
he will not be too lonely, poor fellow"
It had come to have perfectly cleal
meaning to these good ladies when eithel
of them accused this interesting man o
having "been thinking" and was in NJ
wise an intimation that, save periodically
he existed without thought. They simply
meant that natural regrets were filing hi
mind and depressing his heart.
| 1t is true that, as he walked home from
| his Office the very night in question, he haC
been thinking" but his thoughts raj
something in this fashion elf could se
through the game Sharp and Swindle ar
playinp. I'd feel better. That stupid OLE
Fresh. to let himself be trapped SO! l
clients only knew how much gold there
in silence, their lawyers wouldn't find gu
so often how much there is in their peck
ets." And his mind had flown back to thes
legal worries when the niece and nephew
ceasing to act as counter.irritants, hae
flown to bed. But when his mother re
entered the room, and he caught her lool
of sympathy, he threw his cares to tn
wind once more, and dispelled her so
licitude by saying, cheerfully, We'll
mother. which of us is to beat at chess to
night"
1.-THE dear unselfish soul makes such al
effort to be gay !" she had consequent,
remarked to her daughter.
If Rex had set about writing out thi
experience, which was supposed to hav
altered his whole life, being one of tn
concise lawyers, he would very probabl,
have put it all into six hnas. But he neve
had written it out; he had only though
about it very often. At first the recollec
ton had been full of tantalizing regret,
because it seemed to him unnecessary tina
the episode snOulQ nave Deeu ieib unnu
ished. When he first had come to know
wby he had been SO ruthlessly snatchet
out of Paradise, and to find that "som
one had blundered," and made it impera
tive for the Union army to draw in it
lines, he had ragged and called the Genera
hard names. Then later he had conHoles
himself by saying that he was at presen
but enduring the fortunes of war ant
being determined man, he promised tina
when once the war was ended, he woult
fly back to Paradise.
This promise he kept. But though tn
magnolias flooded the place with the ricl
perfume which he had always associated
with it, and roses grew rampant, hangin,
great masses of bloom heavily over thu
garden fence, the fence was ruin, ani
the house which the magnolias had shaded
was gone.
OF the fate of the former occupants hs
could learn nothing. And as he sat on tbs
pile of chanting stone which had once
formed the steps, he laughed bitterly to
himself, and exclaimed 'sWhat q fools
errand I've come on ! what fool was
to expect to find trace! Why, a battle
has been fought over the very lawn /; cav