Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1884-03-05
THE EDITORS CONSCIENCE.
Tho Father or tho "Bad Boy" Tells
How He Once Stole q lforse.


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Tho Father OF tho "Bad Boy" Tells
How He Once Stole forse.
To-day letter came from the bust.
ness Office to the editorial desk, and
when the editor opened it, and saw the
date-line "Troy, Alabama" his heart
smote him, and he reached out for his
check book, inst!nctively. Then he
stopped and read the letter and breath.
ed easier when he found it was only
letter from boy who wanted the eai-
tors autograph, What could have
caused the editors heart to jump up
into his mouth when he read that
letter from Troyp What made him
reach for his checli-book ? Read.
er, young reader particularly, the edl-
tor once stole horse at Troy, Aiaba-
ma DO not hold up your hands in
horror at the deed, and say that you
have always mistrusted that the bald
headed man, with the pleasant face,
was a horse thief in disguise, for you
never thought any such thing. Be-
sides, a man was not considered a
horse thief in those days who took an.
other mans horse. II was in 1864 and
cavalry regiment to which the editor
belonged, made raid through that
portion Of Alabama, and one afternoon
stopped at the beautiful little village
Of Troy. There was thin, pale, ner-
vous, red.headed soldier in the regi-
ment who had been riding hard.
hearted, deceptive. diabolcal, disgust.
ing mule for week, amule that didn't
care whether school kept or not, q
mulo that would not keep up with the
procession, and tried hard to lag be-
hind so the confederates would cap
ture the red headed soldier. 10 keep
up with the regiment it was necessary
to wear out n pair of spurs, q clap
board. two fence rails, and the rider,
every blessed day, on the mule, and
much of the hatred Of mules which
The present editor has was born Of that
experience. That evening the soldier
gave Of his ratiops to little col0red
boy who looked smart, and told him to
always be good boy, and learn to
read, and be kind to his old master,
and he would be all right, when the
colored boy tod where there was a
fine horse in pasture, few miles
away, a "turrer bred" he said. There
IS no person except one who has rode
A mule week, who can appreciate a
fine horse belonging to the enemy. The
mule was saddled, and soon the sol
der and the colored boy, and another
soldier and another cololel boy were
trying TO catch that horse. o, he was
n beauty. AS he galloped across the
pasture and neighed and snorted, and
put on scallops. he looked like PIC,
ture. 1t was not long before the red.
4 oil y, an n n 4
horse, and the procession rode up by
the planters house. All, there wa;
the rub. The old mother and father
Of the boy who owned the fine horse
who was in the confederate army, sal
on the veranda, They had seen tht
soldiers 60 through the granary, The
smoke house, and everything where
they could get anything to eat, an(
the old people had not murmured
They sat there smoking corn-cob pipe!
acting as though in war times they
must submit to war measures. Bu
when the red-headed soldier rode by or
the horse, his Canteen and sabre
rafting, and the hor.e looking 81
proud, as though he Lad been left on
of the war so far, and was now going
in fresh to put stop TO it, the oI,
folks saw the animal, the old lady sale
%, pa, the Yankees lave found Bub'
horse and then they both burst on
crying, "Bub." the brave young con
federate, was away with his regiment
and poor old pa and ma had to 81
there and see his horse 60 off with tn
Yankees. The slim soldier had a hear
concealed about his person even then
and he thought of his old father an,
mother in Wisconsin, and lie had hal
mind to take the horse back, not
withstanding the fact that anothe
soldier would take him in holy min
, ute, but just then the bugle SOUNDED
for the ASSEMBLY" the soldiers yelle
and spurred their horses toward camp
and the new horse began to pranc
, and wanted to go along so bad, tha
, the slim soldier "let him went" and
beautiful race it was For nearly tw
years after that horse was the conStan
, companion of the slim soldier, VIII
rode him about ten thousand mile
more or less, but there was hardly
day of all these long marches that h
did not think Of the poor old fathe
and mother of the soldier boy VIII
owned the horse, and of their fear
when they saw the noble animal G
down the lane carrying a Yankee o.
his back, when they would have becl
delighted to have seen their own gray
coated soldier on his back. And 50 i
was, when we opened the letter from
the boy who wanted our autograph
who was probably unborn when
was taken, we came so near putin!
the autograph on a check and sendini
it to the cd people who smoked th
cob pipes nineteen years ago and wep
over the horse.