Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1888-08-07
At the Panorama.

"N s"t h@'s sS'r T.
picture. lie wore .loaeh hat. . faded
blue overeo.,. a struggling gray beard
and an air Of melancholy wisdom. Pres
en,ly a short. ,hiek.,st man detached
himself from the crowd aud paused by
the side Of the tall man. lie stood close
to the tall man. joining bis silence to
thA, Of hi, companion. for five minutes
or more. Then he said
"lIowdy. stranger"
The tall man looked down rather
.olemnly but no, di.plsa.edly. How
dy. YOURSELF" :" be replied.
"Purty far picture" remarked the
short man. casually.
"You be, :" .Aid the tall man.
Ever seen |, afore'
"You bet :"
"R,ekon msbbe you f, in the late
war"
"You be, :"
"Confed I"
" on prt uoh
81 wuK"
The tall man didn't answer for some
time. during which he seemed TO be re.
ase,ing deeply. Finally he drew lons
breath and ..id. "All right"
"wu1 you thar" inquired the shor,
man. indicating the picture in general
way
"You bet :" said the tall man.
"whn," qusrisd the .hor, man.
"Thsre :" s.id the tall man. pointing
toward the .po, which bad seemed to
rive, hi. attention for 80 long time.
when"
The tall man showed signs Of snims.
ton. "S,y. stranger he began. "l'
pear. to me you va. mighty eurioa.
like. wk.,f "a. there. and ~ha, Z
wasn't, What II ga. there one day
an what'fI wasn't there another ,
The .hor, man laughed good na'ured .
ly. "w.ll." he Ahswtd, "no,hin',
Only I wuE thar. too"
"You p
"Mew
"where I"
Thar" exclaimed the shor, man,
pointing to the es.e, place before de.is-
mated by the tall man.
The tall man looked closely a, his
companion and then a, the fascinating
location in the picture. "rha, there's
Round Top" said he. a, once asserting
hi. own Information and inquiring into
the validity OF the others.
Exactly" a..sn,ed the shor, man.
"Tha, thar. Round Top"
Neither spoke for = minute OF two.
Then the tall man turned again from the
.,,r.etivene,. Of Round Top to the con-
.idera,ion Of hi. companion.
"IOoky here" said the tall man,
slowly. III wan, to tell ye somethin .
| 6t a, Gettysburg on the day { Sykes
an I.ons.,reet's men Was rsi.in' hell TO
ii, a hold Of tha, there little ridge ]
va. with Sykes. ! seen little drum
mer boy. a ret, I'D 20, hold OF a gun
some way and be va. pin,ln' Z =, me
close range. lie, him have !, fa.,, an
he rolled over right onto a stump an
ke,ehed there. an got just ene glimpse
into hi. big gray eye. film with tears
an heard just one little sob from bis
white throat. which you could see on &C.
count Of the Dustin open OF bis shirt, an
then the charge come nigh, up on me an
W.. lifted clean often my fee, an
never seen him no more. But. stranger
I can't ge, ths, boy on, o my mind.
I'm Away. dreamin' Of his eyes an hi'
,hroA, with the sob into Il aud alwsy,
~onderin' IL he died II Id q killed
more Of EN- I, woaldn', bother me sC
much. bu, to think Of feller soin' to =
war an KILN just one poor little grey,
eyed drummer boy-.sy. stranger, Id
give thousand. Of dollar. Z | had 'em Il
know Z that kid 90, we'll"
The .hor, man had listened With keer
interest ., fr,-af,erwsrd. with the
quie,ne.. Of one who knows exactly What
hi. companion is going to say. Whef
the tall man concluded be looked up.
"Ya.," said the short man. "youv'
20, |, al right. You .ho, me IN 'h'
lung, an though 1, took me nigh
smart while. | pulled through. so
kin fsrsivs ye. don't ye see' 'r.in't I.
ifTd died. I don't get no pain from !
neither. Ye., we can forgive you al
now" ,
The tall mans face besmed. "ls i
true ?" he cried. "Bs you the drum
m,r chap"
"sure - said the short man.
"Come 70 commanded the tall man.
"whstl" a.ked the short man.
"be,'s liquor"
"No. stranger. l dOn', drink. se'
you all later"
The tall man vanished with tends
reluctance. The short man s,aid awhile
longer. and as he passed out he said ,'
Captain Barney, the manager Of tn,
psnorsms, "who was the old veteran
wuz ialkin' to.'
"oh." said the captain. smiling, ",hs
is Pete Sampson. . sor. OF crank wh'
hangs around here and lice. He haI
lived in Omshs for ih- past ihi''y.hv'
years. AL the old timers know him."
"wur he in the war;
"Nevsr,' said the csptsin-"durinI
the war he ran . grocery store on Far
nam street. Are you comfade"
"Not perzsctly," replied the shor
man. "l WIZ In the south afore tn
war, burI went to Australyer durin' i
Right smart picture thAtG-Omahl