Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-01-01
MAJ. SARGENT'S CHRISTMAS.
CHAPTER |.
- a n
FOI,W ARD.

Forward, march ~
The little column stepped forward
smartly, the admiring crowd cheered, the
girls all waved their handkerchiefs, ana
the drummers and fifers did their best
with Belle Isle March. Mothers were
crying, sweethearts were crying. But
Eli Spofford, generally known as King
Spofford, because what he wished was
always done in the town, or because since
the memory of man he had been chairman
of the selectmen,-El Spofford did not
CRY. He stood on the meeting house steps,
with the minister and Colonel Dreamer
and the other magnates. Among them
selves they alluded occasionally to the
"old war;" and King Spoford called at
tention to the particular Queens fire
lock" which Hiram Merriam carried, be-
cause he had himself carried the same
weapon in his youth, when they were
out agin Castin" in the days of that great
Queen Anne from whom it derived its
name.
The column passed the meeting house,
where these magnates reviewed it; passed
the blacksmith shop, where Bob Tyler,
the two Ferralls, and otner less reputable
members of that gang, reviewed it. and
so approached the store, where at Il signal
III Hullct, anu ItllS vi pUllCU VI VI IL ulllt
er preparation of lemon juice, sugar and
water, were passed from rank to rank.
The farewell benediction of Deacon Lask-
err who was the keeper of the "store, -
went with the draught thus provided for
men who would probably be thirsty be
fore the morning had passed. 1t was in
this halt which had, of course, been eX-
pected in the arrangements of the morn
ing, that our young soldier, Holder Sar
gent, ran across to his mothers house OPP
posite, for the last good-byes there. 1t
was the only white house on the street
in that distinction alone was Il sign of the
social position of those who lived there.
Indeed, King Spofford's house was the
only other house in the village conscious
of white lead. For even the Lords house
as they would have called the meeting
HOUSEWIVES black with the color which
rusty nails had given to its shingles and
clapboards nor did it seem to the towns
people that they were negligent of due
respect in their omission to change this
color.
"Keep up heart do not cry little moth
err" said the boy, for he was, indeed, little
more Remember the velvet dress |
shall bring you from Quebec"
And then he turned to give his last adj
vice to the numerous brothers, who were
to milk the cows, and in general, to hold
up the hands of lothian, who would car
ry on the farm in his absence. "Gou boys
can do five times as much for mother f
you only choose to, and know you will
choose. Where there's will, there's
way"
And in their own rather numbering way
the boys promised. And so did Mary and
Huldah, his TWO sisters.
1t was the last parting which was the
sweetest and the saddest. This was the
parting with Phebe Worthington, who
had come down from the WOrthington
house to Mrs. Sargent's only the day be
fore, simply and confessedly that She
might be here for this parting. Nay,
more than this such was the simplicity
of the times that Holder Sargent, in his
new uniform, had ridden up to the Worth
lngton homestead, with his mothers pill
lion fastened behind the saddle, and had
brought our pretty Phebe back with him
with her arms around his waist, lest she
should fall How long the preparatory
parting had lasted, as they walked togeth-
er up and down the roadway under the
light of the spring moon. or as they sat
and talked in Mrs. Sargent's best room,
after Phebe was too tired to walk any
longer, this reader has no business to in
qulre and this author has no right to tell.
However perfect We're the conditions and
details of that parting, the parting of this
morning was none the less necessary, and
tins they both knew, and this every one
else knew. And no one Interrupted. while
he and she walked together as far as the
shaded seat which he had made for his
mother under the apple tree in the corner
of the front yard. They did not sit down,
but stood there talking most earnestly.
But of sudden, only too soon, John Hin
chell's drumsticks rolled out call. Young
Sargent kissed the girl and said, God
bless you, my darling" he ran from her
to kiss his mother, and said, "God bless
you, mother He almost crushed 10Th
ANS hand as he shook it, and then ran
across to take his place at the head of the
rn nj al hn h,l fall in,
Then, as the captain (Allestre) gave the
word, 'Forward-March ~ again he re
peated it, as was the fashion of that day,
turned, soldier like, on his heel, looked at
a spot IN the back of the coat of Il man in
front of him, and marched on bravely
without so much as turning his head once
though 1t were to look his last on the pref
test and sweetest girl in MddleseX coun-
ty, not to say in New England-nay ! not
to say in the world.
And so the company marched out of the
village with all the honors which the vii
lage knew how to bestow. Nor was the
march long one. For these men We're
all New Englanders, and they gave the
very least that could be given to ceremony
So soon as they were well out of the vii
lage proper, they halted again and slowed
themselves away as comfortably as Il
crowd of young farmers-or young sol
dlerS, as you choose TO call them-well
know how to do, in Il dozen lumber wag-
Ons, hay carts and other vehicles which,
for this purpose, had follow ed them close
ly The military parade had been simply
to show their townsmen how gallant a
body they were. Now that was we'll done,
the wagons were to take them across the
country as fast as possible, that they
might join in ample time the contingent
of the colony at Springfield. From Spring
field they would go to Albany in sloops,
and at Albany would be mustered into the
Kings forces.
The reader need know nothing more of
our nero, or of his company, than that
here was part of the force which the
Colony of Massachusetts had Voted-1OOu
men in ALTO serve against Canada in
115S They were to be under the command
of General Abercrombie, and, if all work
ed as well as they hoped they would be
in Quebec before summer was over. AT
the very first summons Allestre, who was
II popular young fellow in HOrstead, had
declared that he would raise company
Allestre had no better coadjutor than Hol
der Sargent, his crony since childhood and
his near friend. The three commissions