Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-07-08

A Story i'm Which the Hero and He.
roiue saved Each Other.

From the New York Times
A ouiet little wedding in Baltimore last week
had ifs sayor of romance. Somewhere In vir-
ginia at the outbreak of the war there was q
parson named Elderdice, whose pretty daughter
was his housekeeper. Union troops bore down
on the little town where Mr.. Elderdice had his
flock. and the good dominies house was over.
run with soldiers tired and hungry The
descent on the pantry was swift and sweeping,
and the protests Of the wrathful parson had
little weight with men under the influences of
long marches and privation, nor did the fact
that the reverend gentleman Was rebel and
to the eoansideraion With which the Cloth Was
treated. The visitors ate what was cooked, and
what was not cooked they put into pot and pan.
selves quite at home. Just in the midst of this
Kitchen turmoil up rode pretty young woman
gardless of northern troops, had been off on a
horseback jaunt across country. She looked
at the crowded d, ga yard, seemed for 4
a word. though the color rising to her cheeks
proclaimed how she regarded the intrusion
Continuing a passionate TRADE, and the sboyss
inside were laughing at him Tor his pains. She
dismounted and In her riding habit strobe In
among the men. Jeers and laughter were sud-
denly sflenced.. The rough, griny northerners
who had been tramping it for months, with
few experiences tending end to give them , tender
ence equal to any that sister ever could have
asked for. They were manly fellows at home
ss But pI0m oa nH
ready TO believe the Yankee soldier capable Of
any crime, and this fair girl he conceived now
tate at no atfocity. His passion Of little
while ago was as peacefulness to that which
possessed hun e.. now Hasging the beautiful
He was mad. Then suddenly blood rushed from
his nostrils, and he fell pale and Unconscious.
he 81 Inc
was but boy but no other present wore Shout;
promptu feast before the parsons daughter had
come; but her appearance had changed his
gyman had fallen the young commander had
waved his men from the room. Outside he
gave an order and the company moved on into
the village, this house of the Elderdices being
upon the suburbs. An hour or more the young
New York officer remained, rendering such as.
sistance as he could. The father revived, and
week or so later q rebel advance Sent the
northerners whfrling away. Young Lieut.. Clark
and Mary Elderdice had become fast friends
before they parted.
When the war was over Clark, broken down
in health from long imprisonment-for he had
dice cottage behind-drifted about. Business
misfortunes piled one on another IN all Of his
efforts Disheartened, he took to hard drink,
| the street. Baltimore hospital finally re-
| ceived him, when he had neither home nor
| friends to 60 to. Then he became a man again.
Happy fortune brought visitor to his cot one
| day whose face he remembered. Shame for his
| condition kept him awhile from revealing his
Identity, but finally out came the secret: He did
not lack tor care from that time This was a
half dozen years or more ago. Mary Elderdice
| was not yet married, her father was dead
were enough, She said, to give the patient a
| home and a new start In life. Not a word OF
| love was spoken, but there seemed somehow
| an undeclared vow between them, when he left
| Baltimore one day for Mexico. He came back
last month, and the quiet wedding Of week
his Mexican enterprises. He is a rich man now
and proud of his mature wife as If he had
| won her in all the beauty of her youth a score
| little reception planned for the couple by
| friends in this city tomorrow night.