The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1885-06-03

by the awful explosions, slowly moved
+ the strange procession. They waded the
I little stream in the hollow. stopping a
moment TO battle Charleys face and
hands. and carried their burden up the
hill to Mr.. Persons house
/ BY this time Mr. FieFson had reached
I the fort and the firing ceased The other
( children were sent for and in few mo
/ ments the T. gimental surgeon and hos
I pitai steward came galloping down TO ex-
( press their sorrow st what had happened
I and TO render assistance The surgeons
1rotfereG services we-e most gladly ac-
( cepted When he was ready 70 examine
/ the wound. the mother said
Now. harley. il will hurt you to have
the wound dressed; but it must be done
Z and you must try and bear it Ii Will
soon be over
IN try. said Charley, If youu be
sure, mamma and not let my leg be cut
of.
She pressed him to her heart. and as
sured him with loving words that there
was no occasion for SO serious an opera
ton
sing to me. mamma, Sing to me-"
why Charley-I-I-don't believe |
can sing now, she faltered
ou must, mamma, you must Please
sing to me just the same as you ALWAYS
do, and III keep awful still And he
reached up and put his arms pleadingly
around her neck There was a silence in
the room as the little sufferer persisted in
his strange request Then the mother
closed her eyes and tried TO sing. Her voice
was tremuIous st first. but by mighty
effort she expelled from her mind every
thought save the remembrance of her love
for her wounded child; and she WIS soon
able TO sing to him almost as sweetly and
softly as If in her own quiet home The
! boy arms gradually relaxed and he lay
back again quietly upon the blood stained
bed, with his head resting half upon his
pillow and half upon his mothers lap.
His eyes were closed, and his pallid face
had lost something of the rOundnesS and
fJllness which marked it in the morning.
The mother was bending over him with
one OF his hands in hers. On the other
side of the bed sat Berty Pierson tanning
Charleys face. At the foot stood the.
surgeon and the steward. Clustered
around the room were half a dozen
neighbors looking on with sympathetic,
awe-stricken faces
When the mother began to softly sing
the song she knew he loved, there was
solemn hush in the room, and every eye
-. - u with tears Even the rough old
sSsSssass as he cut away the bloody band
;zssA " Is seen to turn away his head and
efsszzsy .lraw his sleeve across his eyes
Sasan nar of times; and the steward was
ssraly able to distinguish his Instruments
Under the soothing effect of his mothers
voice the boy allowed the wounds TO be
dressed and the cruel stitches to be taken
Later in the day he dropped asleep aud
awoke considerably refreshed He was
accomplishing through it all; and the
-----------------e with which he bore his suffer
ings excited the admiration of, every one
In the cool of the evening Charley was
taken home in an ambulance, sent for
that purpose from the fort. The oil
cars did everything in their power to
atone for the suffering they had so care
iessly but unintentionally caused The
surgeons and his assistants attended him
tenderly and carefully until he was we'll
The surgeon offered TO procure his mother
a pension. but Mrs. Cages declined. say
ing that she was too thankful that her
boy was alive to think of asking aid from
the government. Charley was soon able
to walk with the aid of crutc hes, but
could not dispense with their Sc for sew
eral months.
Mrs. Cages, now an aged woman, loves
to tell of those perilous times One of
her daughters, a lady of rare qualities,
fills one of the highest positions allowed
to her sex in the government depart
httle cabinet st home the very piece of
shell which did its cruel work that day
1t is rusty. and when picked up was
)iood-staine0. Charley is a florist and
orings his flowers regularly to one of the
Washington markets He limps little,
md will always have cause TO remember
he summer morning when the New York
regiment in Fort Smith bombarded his
mothers house.