The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-06-20
Soldiers Column.
Incidents of Decoration Day.

in the way people look at things" said
an old resident. Il" In the matter of
decorating soldiers graves, for ex-
ample, the people have changed more
than they would be willing to admit.
When Decoration day was first OBJ
served every other emotion was subor-
dinate to poignant grief. The sight of
soldiers graves then caused the grief
of people to break out afresh, and the
scenes on the grounds were funeral in
character, because the majority of
women were in black. 1t was the GUS
tom then to have the flowers distributed
by young girls dressed in white. This
simple ceremonial made sharper the
contrast and brought out in stronger
light the ruling emotion of the people
who made up the great crowds who
came together on such occasions. Out
side of these contrasts there was
tinge of romance, and the unexpected
was continually happening. People
who had been enemies in the years be-
fore the war would meet suddenly, or
would be revealed to each other sud-
denly by some little act of common
sympathy or common impulse and
would become friends. | remember
one case in which there had been
alienation between two families, caused
by an elopement. A young man mar
ried neighbours daughter against his
fathers wish, and when the war broke
out he volunteered, went into the army
without word of good-by to his par
ents, and in the closing year of the war
was shot dead at Resaca. Through the
efforts of his wife's family the remains
were brought home and inferred in the
hot
woman's hand could do to beautify the
grave was done, and when the first
formal observance of Decoration day
ceremonies came around the soldiers
who came to that spot laden with flow
ers found it already so beautiful and
impressive that not flower was added.
Late in the afternoon of the warm May
day, and after the grounds had become
almost deserted, sorrowing little
woman in black came with her little
boy to kneel at the grave and arrange
the flowers and to drop on them many
tear. To the other side came shat
tered old man, supported by an old
lady whose snow-white hair, clustered
under black bonnet, gave her an un-
canny appearance. As the kneeling
woman raised her eyes the old man
dropped his cane, stepped across the
mound of flowers and caught her in his
arms. This was the reconciliation, and
while not many words were spoken it
was complete and the starting-point of
a new friendship and a new family life
for both parties. On the same day, be-
hind a clump of evergreens, another
scene of different order was enacted.
A family group of six or seven had
gathered about grave not yet green
with sod, and were engaged in planting
rose-bushes and other Towering shrubs,
when they were startled by the quick
step of stranger, who said: 'There is
mistake here. This grave is that of
my brother; your friend or relative
was buried at my home in Indiana. l
learned but yesterday that in some way
the body of my brother had been sent
here and the body intended for this
grave sent to me. felt that this ex-
PLANTATION ought to be made, and so,
after decorating one grave this morn
ing, have crossed the line to decorate
another to-day The facts were as he
stated, and lifelong friendship came
of this exchange of bodies" "I re-
member" said the colonel of an old
Ohio regiment, ga stranger case than
that. There was for a good many
months at the Camp Chase hospital a
mysterious, morose invalid whose limbs
had been paralyzed He was a cavalry
officer, and in an engagement, after he
had been severely wounded, his horse
fell on him and pinned him in agony
to the ground. He was not released
for hours, and as the result of that
wound and that long agony came his
dead limbs. He became discouraged
and disturbed over fancied slight on
the part of his own people, and buried
himself, as it were, in the camp hos
pital. In some way it came to be I'M
derstood that he died. / am not clear
as to how the affair was managed, but
the impression that he was dead pre-
vailed very generally, even among the
visitors to the hospital. In the course
of several months a gentleman and
lady came from Kentucky to make in
quiries about the morose invalid. The
answers to their questions at the hos
pital were evasive, but some attendant
pointed out to them the grave of the
man they sought. They accepted this
mans story without question and took
steps to have the remains taken South.
AT this juncture another attendant at
the hospital called on them to explain
that the mysterious invalid was not
dead, but that he had disappeared un-
der circumstances not clearly under
stood by any one about the hospital
This brought about an investigation,
and the further the people went into
the matter the more they were mysti-
fed, but in the end the man was found
On the first Decoration day observed
at the cemetery at Columbus man on
clutches came suddenly face to face
with lady, who sprang toward him
with scream and had him in her arms
before he comprehended his circum-
stances or the situation. This woman
was his sister, and she carried him off,
much against his will, to the old home,
where reconciliation took place, and
the man so far recovered as to enter
upon his old business and to succeed in
it."-BOston Traveller.