News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1885-08-06
The Colonel.
A STORY OF AN OLD SOLDIER,


What has become of Lenoir7'
eyes, where is Lenoir2"
The speakers were party of old SOL
diers at a meeting, and the subject of their
discourse was the Colonel of their reg
iment.
'Lenoir7" said another. 'Lenoir's
wife died just before he was mustered
out in '65. Broke him all up for while,
but he rallied and went down to Flor
ida, invested In an orange grove, and
lives on the fat of the land"
You know was a mere boy when I
enlisted, "said Brewster, one of the party
and wealthy lumber merchant. ''Some
OF our folks knew Lenior; my mother
spoke to him the day we marched, and
well, l could tell you thing or two
about the Colonel that none of you ever
knew. I'm not going to gush over the
OF little incident that happened in
Eastern Tennessee. You remember July,
1856, when we marched through the
mountains and camped in narrow defile
they called Rattlesnake Pass By
Georgel 1 shall never forget the place to
the day of my DEATH shut in by steep,
rocky walls loose sand underfoot, not a.
green leaf or blade of grass to be seen,
e''.ssde. of a seant green fringe bordering
the starveling brook that trickled along
one side. 1 noticed such things and
cared more about them than the older
men. / remember the night well. 1
was rsvenous for taste of home cook
ing, and would have forfeited all the
epaulettes in the country for one of my
mothers mince pies. They put me ON
duty that night; posted sentries at the
entrance to the pass to keep a sharp
lookout for the enemy; for if they had
come on unawares they would have
caught us like rats in trap. My heart
sank when my name was called, and, if
it hadn't been for the ridicule, I'd have
tried to get off by pleading sick. You
see was pretty well used up by the
hong marches, the uncertain ration, and
the heat and the homesickness. The
hot sand clogged my steps and burned
my blistered feet; the rocks seemed to
radiate the heat they had stored up dur
ing the day; the air was dry and charged
with dust. l kept my beat while and
then sat down on boulder and cried !;
then 1 deliberately lay down and shut
my eyes TO go to sleep"
''Fine thing if one of the officers had
caught you," observed one old soldier
dryly.
Precisely what happened. I was
sliding off into delicious slumber when
l heard movement near by. 1 opened
my eyes and saw Colonel Lenoir. 1
thought the day of doom had come for
me, for there was hardly week passed
that we didn't hear of some poor fellow
being shot for sleeping at his post. I
was so stupid and with fatigue and
drowsiness that I couldn't somehow
quite make out where / was. Every
thing was jumbled up in my mind. The
COWS coming home from pasture, the
mlnce pie on the table, an open grave
and boy standing up as target for
line of soldiers, my mother in tears"
Brewster stopped abruptly, and some
body asked eagerly what happened next;
what the Colonel said
'Ienoir had not known a good nights
rest for weeks. He had been twenty
four hours in the saddle" said Brewster,
slowly and impressively. ''He was
worn out physically and mentally. He
had directed his man to call him at day
break the next morning. But he took
my musket up from the rock where I
had placed it, ordered me to lie down
again, and did duty for me two hours
while 1 slept"
There was no comment ON Brewster's
story. The account of a noble deed
sinks quietly into the heart without
parade or flourish. After few moments
of silence, some one put query in which
lurked suggestion.
The party broke up, and Brewster
separating from the party was soon
driving at quick pace up Market street
and out Sixth. For the first few blocks
handsome buildings and presented the
appearance of an important thorough
fare; but, as he progressed, the buildings
dwindled in stature and were occasionally
alternated with handsome, comfort
able residence, and the pavement grew
uneven. Half a mile further the street
abandoned all pretence at smartness,
trailed humbly between one-storied
warehouses, leaped railroad track, lost
itself in a maze of switches, and re-
sumed existence in the guise of a wagon
road, terminating with dismal wooden
structure, standing in desolate region
and fanked On one side by tall lumber
piles. The clerks and day laborers were
filing away, and the night -watchman,
quiet-mannered man, with an unlit
lantern in his hand, stood on the steps.
"Well, Martin, what success 2"
81 gave them warning, sir, to clear
out early this morning, and kicked their
houses over after they left, for fear
they'd be back again tonight, like rats
that is, all but one."
"Great guns, man Don't you know
ones as bad as dozen | can't get
dollar of insurance on the stock without
paying double rates until can satisfy
the company that the whole tribe is
gone"
The tribe referred to by Brewster con-
sisted of a floating population of dis
vagabonds, allied in character
to the hoodlums and criminals commonly
known as ''wharf-rats" and ebay |