Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1888-04-02

handsome, sweet-voiced lad.
One luckless afternoon, Parsons,
Orphee and / strolled off together,
leaving "Miss Anna" to the mercies
of our mess, but tormented by some
vague presentiment of evil, induced
my companions to return a little ear
lier than they intended. As we near
ed the tent my ear caught the sounds
of derision that came first from our
Virginian, and were then finally
caught up by the others and ended in
peal after peal of laughter. We
pushed eagerly in. Alas, "Miss
Anna" decked in the most ridiculous
toggery, had beeen tied between four
stakes driven into the ground, and
the men were engaged in pricking
her with pine burrs until the poor an
imal fairly writhed with agony. In
. minute we had freed her, and Par
sons held the poor bleeding creature
|
figure seemed to rise and dilate with
a certain sense of superior power, as
he turned his blanched face and blaz-
ing eyes upon the crowd.
"You call yourselves gentlemen"
he said harshly, ''you, who have
tortured poor, dumb, defenceless
creature, left in your care. Thank
God my meaning of the word is diff
ferent You have no excuse. You
are all supposed to be men, and hon.
orable men, men who are fighting for
the rights of their country, and yet
you can amuse yourselves with sense
less cruelty, such as you have prac-
ticed this afternoon. You have brand
ed yourselves as towards and liars,
for'-his voice broke suddenly-''I
trusted you"
There was an ominious, threaten
ing stir in the little tent, and several
men stepped out toward the speaker,
picturesque in his very unpicturesque-
ness, whose grotesque figure stood
out sharply against the bit of land
scape showing through the opening
of the tent. But his face awed them
back. The goat turned, and moaned
pitifully, rubbing her nose against |
Parsons coat with mute insistence.
His face softened wonderfully, he |
seemed to forget the men, his anger,
everything, and he whispered to her
in soft caressing tones:
"You have followed me through
thick and thin, Miss Anna. When
the overflow came and we were starry
ing, it was you who struggled back
to US through the water, and it was
your milk that kept us alive. Every
thing depended then on your strength.
We called our baby after you, and
when the poor little one died it cut
me cruelty, cruelty. l can never for
give this days work. Be brave, Miss
Anna, be brave" and putting his
cheek on Miss Annals head the tears
rolled out of his eyes.
He stopped a minute, drawing in
his breath in short, quick little sobs
and threw out both his hands with
forlorn gesture of abandonment.
go! great God 1 was so lonely
when wife and babies were all dead,
and l loved Miss Anna then; l love
her now as the one relic left me of
that beautiful, vanished past. Then
the war came and tried to leave you,
thinking it would be best, but you
followed me to be ridiculed, despised
and even tortured. All the conduct
of the past week breaks over me and
| see what fool l have BEEN"
"Parsons, you are to go on picket
duty tonight, and you had better
start now," called in the voice of our
lieutenant. The men, now thorough
ly ashamed of themselves, came near
er and were about to offer some heart
felt words of apology, but Parsons
turned away, and delivering Miss
Anna over to Orphee, said pleading
ly:
eff anything should happen to me, 9
you will take care of her?" t
Orphee's eyes filled with tears as :
he pressed the extended hand. I
Without another word or look Par y
sons strobe out into the darkness. '
"We're brutes, cowardly brutes," d
said our Virginian disgustedly. :
81 would rather face million Yam o
xees than hear that mans story told :
n that voice again." said another.
That night was aweary one. We
could not forget the solemn figure,
'he dark, patient face, the broken,
larsh, tender voice, and the pines a
above and the river far away seemed
% mingle their grief with our coward d
ce and brutality. Meanwhile Miss
Anna slept peacefully on the best Q
blanket of the mess, while we lay
here sleepless, thoughtful, unhappy,
,ven the greater issue of the war mo-
nentarily forgotten.
With the dawn came action. The
Yankees were upon US, land we fought ,
ike wildcats. AS evening came on, '
he fight was suspended and when =
,ur mess met everybody was there,
Miss Anna included, except Parsons. ;.
We'd made up scheme to beg his
forgiveness and to swear to be gentle
men, at least. Each of us had a sep
lrate speech of apology to make, ex-
)reSsiye of shame and contritiOn. .