The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1886-01-06
QUITE SO.
A QUAINT STORY OF THE CIVIL WAR.
T. B. Aldrich In Atlantic Monthly.

OF course that was not his name.
Even in the State of Maine, where
it is still the custom to main a chllu
tor life by christening him Arioch or
Shadrach or Ephriam, no one would
dream of calling a boy Quite SO.
Ii was merely a nickname which we
gave him in camp; but it stuck to
him with such burrlike tenacity,
and is so inseparable from my men,
ory of him, that / do not think l
could write definitely of John Blad-
burn if | were to call him ANYTHING
but "Quite So"
1t was one night shortly after the
first battle of Bull Run. The Army
of the Potomac, shattered, stunned,
and forlorn, was back in its old quar-
tiers behind the earthworks. The
melancholy line of ambulances bear
ing our wounded to Washington was
not done creeping over Long Bridge ;
the blue smocks and the gray still
Law in windrows on the field of Ma
nassas and the gloom that weighed
down our hearts was like the fog
that stretched along the bosom OF
the Potomac and enfolded the valley
of the Shenandoah. 4 drilling
rain had set in at twilight, and,
growing bolder with the darkness,
was beating dismal tattoo on our
tent-the tent of Mess 6, Company
A, -th Regiment n. Y. Volunteers.
Our mess, consisting originally of
eight men, was reduced to four. Lit
tie Billy, as one of our fellows grim
ly remarked, had concluded to re-
main at Manassas Corporal Steele
we had to leave at Fairfax Court
House. shot through the hip; Hunt
er and Suydam We had said good
bye to that afternoon. Tell john
ny Reb," says Hunter, lifting up the
leather side-piece of the ambulance,
"that I'll be back again as soon as
/ get a new leg" But Suydam said
nothing; he only unclosed his eyes
languidly and smiled a farewell to
US.
The four of us that were left alive
and unhurt that shameful July day
sat gloomily smoking our brierwood
pipes, thinking our thoughts, and
listening to the rain pattering against
the canvas. That, and the OCCASION
al whine of a hungry dog foraging
on the outskirts OF the camp for a
stray bone, alone broke the silence,
save when a vicious drop of rain de-
tached itself meditatively from the
ridge-pole of the tent and fell upon
the wick of our tallow candle, max
ing it "cuss," as Ned Strong describ-
ed it. The candle was in one OF
its most profane fits when Blakely,
knocking the ashes from his pipe,
and addressing no one in particular,
fiut giving breath, unconsciously as
it were. to the result of his cogita-
tions, observed that it was consid-
erable of fizzle."
"The 'on to Richmond business
YES"
81 wor der what they'll do about
it over yonder," said Curtis. point
ing over his right shoulder. By over
wonder he meant the North III gem
eral and New England especially.
Curtis was a Boston boy. and his
sense of locality was SO strong that,
during all his wandering in Virgin
ia, do not believe there was mo
ment, day or night, when he could
not have made a bee-line for Faneuil
Hall.
DO about it?' cried Ned Strong.
They'll make about two hundred
blue flannel trousers and send them
along, each pair with man in it
all the short men in the long trousers
and all the tall men in the short
ones" he added, ruefully contem-
plating his OWE leg gear, which
reached scarcely to his ankles.
That's so,' said Blakely. "Just
now when / was tackling the COM
mlssary for an extra candle, | saw a
crowd of new fellows drawing blank
ets."
Il say there, drop that" cried
Strong. "All right, sir. didn't know
it was you" he added hastily, seeing
it was Lieutenant Haines who had
thrown back the flap of the tent and
let in gust of wind and rain that
threatened the most serious bron-
chial consequences TO our dlscon-
tented tallow dip.
YOU'RE to bunk in here" said the
Lieutenat, speaking to some one out
side. The some one stepped In, and
Haines vanished in the darkness.
When Strong had succeeded in
restoring the candle to consciousness,
the light fell upon a tall, shy-look-
ing man of about thirty-five with a
long. hay-colored beard and mus
tache, upon which the rain drops
.sood =, clueterc iike piohf. dew on