The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1885-08-22
their home, endea,ed to them by such

their home, endeared to them by spcf
associations.
"Oh, mammal they are fighting again
In the roadP cried Annie, running late
the once beautiful parlor, where, over
few burning sticks, the mother was try
Ing to reduce the fibrous teuaclty Of
cold Ben."
This was the second day that she and
her small fire had struggled thus with
Old Ben's post mortem stubbornpess,
and the end was evidently not yet,
Old Ben, the venerable patriarch Of
the barnysrd, had cackled and crowed
around the house before the troops oc-
cUpied this part of the country. He
had survived all his family, for the Sim
pie reasons that he had more discretion
than valor, and was too wise an old cock
to fly shrieking into the peach trees
when pursued by uniforms, blue or gray,
as his flock always did,
No; Old Ben knew q secret worth two
OF that. and always hid himself silently
under his mistress bed, thus reserving
himself for better fate than that Of
feeding roaring soldiers, Dragging Of
hen-roost prowess over the campfire,
The noise of the skirmish filled the
air as the mother went to the window,
Across the fields, where the river usual
I
ly shone like silver and azure ribbon,
there was great cloud of dust and
smoke, that shut the horrid desccration
of familiar scene from her sight,
Poor creatures! All me, poor boysp
she sighed. "How many hearts of those
who can only watch and pray at home
will bleed for thisr'
Then she added, more loudly, eve
will put the chicken away, children,
till we see if anybody will need it moro
than we do"
1t was long since the little girls had
tasted meat, and their vigorous young
appetites had been singing happy little
songs Of anticipation about Old Ben fol
two days,
They looked wistfully from the cloud
OF battle across the fields, to the stew
pan, and then Jeanette said, hope.
fully:
"P'raps they'll bring somebody here
who isn't quite killed, but too much
! Igtllo1 tr, unvn f,,, D1,I Ir,,,
Just at twilight, when the deadly
clamor had been stilled for some hours
and only the south wind sang and crict
among the fragrant peach blossoms
there came crawling to the house a palc
creature in a uniform so dusty and
hlood-stained that one could not tell i
it had been blue or gray,
His white lips could only move enough
to say, that having been wounded b,
the first volley Of the skirnshy he hat
crawled away from the tumult and hid
den behind large rock in neighbor
ing field, where he had lost conscious
ness till "Impo' had brought water ant
revived him.
"Impo" was dwarfcd and cripple
negro, whose infirmities had kept hin
from escaping to freedom as well q
from serving in the war.
Il could be no worse TO die by th
hand of vengeful rebel householder
the wounded man had thought, tha,
alone amid the chill dews and under tn
IMPLYING stars; so he had crcpt to thei
/, and they could do with him what the
would. He was Union soldier, h
{ said. and he would rather die than dis
own that he had fallen While fghtin
under the "olI aagr
Late the next night Jeanette an
Annie were gnawing, for perhaps III
, fftieth time, two highly-polished drum
sticks. There could have been very lii
/ tie OF the original favor left TO thes
drumsticks, and even Old Ben's ghcs
would never have recognized them b
| the sense Of smell as q portion of Iii
earthly habitation. Nevertheless, the
we're of value to those under-fed Chi
dren, rs magic wands with which t
summon up unlimitad. enhancing Wis
, ions of stewed rooster and deliciou
t gravy, that needed only salt to make
, fit for king ar President Davis.
II was evident that these little girl
p were very patriotic, and that. above IN
lofty charity TO all men which thei
? mothers example taught them, towere
the love of their Cause" for Ami
hourished her rooster-bone skyward
with the air of millions for defence
but not one cent for tribute" as sh
heard voices in the cl amber above, an
, said;
''Iie ate only a spoonful of the gravy
I'd so up stairs this minute and Civ
him this, if he'd only hurrah for tn
beautiful Stars and Bars"
a low murmur of voices came fron
the room above. The wounded maj
seemed to be talking, with frequen
pauses Of exhaustion. Sometimes thes
pauses would be so long that the chill
dren would have thought the sick mai
slept, did not their mothers soft voic
murmur till he spoke again.
"P'raps mammals telling him bon
darling Arthur gone TO the war;" SAL
one of the children.
Just then the feeble voice above wa
saying 10 the sweet, plying face ben
over the pillow:
"After ] am dead, add to the lette
that died, praying that your boy ma,
never die without some blessed han
and voice as tender as yours, 10 smoott
bis way down the dark valley"
The next day the dead soldier wa;
buried under the pink cloud Of the peacI
trees, and as the earth was thrown dowr
upon his enshrouled form, the mothers
tears flowed almost as if the dead wer.