Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-02-11
ar have had breakfast. and. Clar.

"I have had breakfast, and, Clar-
ence, you know what has brought
me here. i have come to arrest
you as spy, and / am sorry to
meet you on such terms.v
swell, there is no rope in it, any
way" answered young Prentice,
with the utmost unperturbability
"You see / am in full uniform"
Eyes, but you were not in that
dress when you entered this
house." answered Captain John.
Major Prentice was arrested and
confined, and General Burnside or
dered a court-maTtial to try him.
1t is said of Burnside that, like
most West Point graduates, he was
martinez. He was at least rigid
disciplinarian, and always ready
fol' the strict enforcement of militia
ry law. 1t would have given him
no more pain to hang or shoot the
son of George ID. Prentice, convict
ed as a spy, than the raggedest
private in the rebel service. The
case, therefore, had a desperate look
from the beginning. There was
but one way to save the prisoner,
and that was through President
Lincoln. Even that was doubtful,
for it might be impossible to reach
the President before the court-mar-
tial had decided the prisoners fate.
The editor of the Journal instantly
telegraphed to his old Wing friend
and at once set off for Washington.
The telegram was duly received,
fol- Hn IN.
put off the trial till further orders.
From some unexplained cause this
dispatch failed to reach Burnside's
headquarters, and the trial of Major
Prentice was going on when his ia
ther reached Washington. Tie de-
lays of civil courts are unknown to
cOurt-martial. Judgment follows
quick on the heels of evidence, and
sentence and execution as rapidly
follow judgment. In the case of
Prentice an hour might decide
whether he should live or die. The
intelligence of the old journalist
had silently debated all these
chances while on the way to meet
Lincoln, and though he believed in
his heart that his old friend would
save his son, he did not waste mo-
ment in seeing him and hearing
the truth from the Presidents own
mouth. For years he had not seen
Mr.. Lincoln, and he might have
grown cold or forgotten him.
Hastily entering the Presidents
office, there, seated alone, apparently
in deep thought, was the long, un-
calmly figure of the man whose
word might make him happy or
send him in sorrow to the grave.
The long, ungalnly figure raised its
head, turned its face towards the
entrance, and with beaming
smile of brotherly tenderness said,
"Prentice, did you think I'd let
them hang your boy? Sit down
and tell me n story" 1t was no
time with the anxious father for
telling stories. lie hastily suggest
ed that probably the telegram
might have failed. Il have sent
another and, here is the answer.
Your boy is safe" And then, with
the instincts of a lawyer, he turned
to the cabinet, took up pen and
paper, and wrote another dispatch
to Burnside, substantially as fol-
lows:
Ordered-that the court-martial
called for the trial of Major Clarence
Prentice be Immediately dissolved.
A. LINCOLN, President.
And then turning to Prentice, he
said: "Let us go and see that this
is Immediately sent to Burnside,
and wait for his reply" 1t was so
sent and the receipt acknowledged
by General Burnside. And so it
was that President Lincoln pre-
vented one of his strictest Generals
from taking the life of the gallant
but misguided son of an old friend.
There was an cutlery against itat the
time. but greater events soon hushed
il into oblivion. And now, when
the charity and brotherIy affections
on both sides have taken the place
of anger and bitterness, this Incl
dent of the war rises up to bless the
name of Lincoln. All the parties
are dead and gOne-LincOln, Prem
tice. Clarence, the son, and last of
all, Burnside, whose death should
have been easier for having been
sn gracefully spared the pain of eX-
ecuting justice untemPered with
mercy.