The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1884-10-16
must find misery instead of joy. l
have been promoted again. | am now


of the very best in the army. And l
am proud to know that have the credit
of having done much towards bringing
il to its present high standard of ex-
cellence. Colonel Tapley died last
week in hospital at Harrisburg. Oh,
how pity his family"
The days and the weeks passed on
into history, as before, until at length.
the very air quaked with rumors of
battle more terrible in its results of
mortality than any which had preceded
it.
Rachel heard the rumors in the air,
as she sat in her quiet little drawing
room, but she did not, as before, hasten
away for the paper. Something whis-
pered to her of dark and dismal fore
b0dings. She felt as she had never
felt before.
Heretofore she had been eager to as
sure herself of her husbands safety,
but now the feeling came to her that
she did not dare to know.
But little Eddie was moved by no
such dark foreboding.
When he heard them talking of a
great battle, in which he knew his papa
- y
to the post-office where there was a
stand for the sale of papers and per-
iodicals, and he got paper, telling
the man, Mamma will pay you for it }"
And away he went to his home.
Mammal! Mamma! Another big bat
tie. Read to us about papa
With trembling hands, she took the
sheet, and opened it.
She saw the wilderness of flaming
head lines, and she allowed her eyes to
follow them down.
A few seconds, and then, with low
stifled cry, and catching of her hand
over her heart, she let the paper fall
and sank senseless upon the floor.
Eddie caught up the sheet, and
looked where his mothers eye had
rested. He had learned to read easy
words. and those bold headlines he
could make out. every one. Presently,
two-thirds of the way down, he found
it.
Colonel Edward Dorrance among
the killed"
For days and weeks Rachel Dorrance
lay lowering between life and death.
But for her children, she would have
given up and passed over to join her
husband; but the thought of her little
ones left all alone to battle for their
weak young lives turned the scale, and
she lived.
When the warm springtime had come
again, and the birds sang in the great
trees near her door, her eyes brighten
ed. her face took on something of its
old color, and she went once more
about the duties of mother.
But she was broken in spirit; marks
of age had come upon her lovely face,
and the smiles were gone to return no
more-so she felt in her heart of hearts.
She had thought at first that she
should never care more for life, but as
time passed on, and the first terrible
agony gave place to settled melancholy,
and that, in turn, to true Christian res
ignation, based upon Christian faith
and promise-after this, she entered
society once more, giving herself. with
every energy of body and spirit, to the
work of caring for other widows and
orphans more unfortunate than her.
self, for her husband had owned the
neat pretty cottage in which they had
lived, besides nearly two acres of land
around it, and Edward had left nearly
five hundred pounds in the bank when
he went away.
Nor was this all. She had not a par
ticle of trouble in obtaining a generous
pension; in addition to which she es-
tablished herself as a teacher of music,
whence, in the course of few months,
she derived enough to support herself
and children; so that when, as the
value of real estate greatly increased
in the village, wealthy man offered
her large sum for a portion of her
land, she would not sell. She had no
need of the money, and since her SON. $
father had left it, to that son should it
descend intact when she had done with
it.
Many of the soldiers-both officers
and privates-of her husbands regi-
ment called upon her; and they never
tired of sounding his praises. The ad-
jutant of the resiment-he who was
Adjutant at the time of the battle
called. and gave her more particulars
than she had before received; for he
had been with the advancing column,
and close by his colonel's side.
Said he:
ave should have had the body en-
balmed and sent home, had the thing
been possible; but he was killed by the
bursting of a shell--one of the largest
and most destructive shells | ever saw
We were hand-to-hand with the enemy
at the time, and l am very sure that
the same missile that killed the colonel,
killed more than one of their own num-
ber. He was But / will not tell
you any more"
Eyes. yes-tell me all. l would
rather know. l have wondered why
his body could not have been embalmed
and sent home to me-"
And then he told her that the shell
had literally torn her husband to pieces.
They could only gather up the poor
mangled mass and consign it to q grave
by itself, which they had carefully
marked.
The days and the weeks and the
months passed on, until three years
had gone since that dreadful day on
which her husband had fallen on the
field of battle, and Rachel sat in her
little parlor, with her children by her
side, reading to them the glorious news
of the closing of the war.
Eddie had now grown to be a stout
robust boy of eight years, while little
Ella had rounded out into a beautiful
rosy-cheeked miss of six years. They
were blessed children. and 3 blessing
to their mother.
''Oh, if Edward could only have
lived to see them thusr' How often the
cry went up from her heart
The lamps had been lighted, and
mo. .her and children sat by the CENTER
table, Size with the days paper in her
hand, when the door-belI was rung.
Since she had such excellent success
in her music pupils. Rachel had found
it for her interest to empicr servant
and that servant answered the sum-
mons at the door; and presently she
came in aud reported that a soldier, a
negro, was at the door asking for food,
and for shelter, and rest for the night
He had been told, he said. that he
would be sure to find it at the home of
the widow OF his old colonel
''Whati-a man of Edwards reoi-