St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-07-01

tlc IlduuSOfu0 pair, XIII, iuduly dIlu
| grand, red sash and new sword at his
| side; Charley Blank, his first lieutenant,
| best man; Phoebe, in white, graceful as
sylph, her coal-black tresses shining,
If her coal-black eyes did refuse to
| shine. and the red in the cheeks of this
little brunette finer than painter ever
put On canvas.
Well, hardly was the ceremony over
when telegram came from the COVER
|, nor promoting Phil to the major of the
new regiment. He kissed her and
kissed her again, coming back from the
yard to do it; and saying, amid the
+ cheers we gave, that he would surely
/ be back the next Saturday."
|; But he never came back.
A full year passed, Under the Scald-
ing May sunbeams General Banks had
led his little handful of heroes to Mar
,tinsburg: the rear guard remained in
the rear of the townatill 7 in the even
ing, and arrived at the river at sun
down, march of So miles, 35 of which
had been performed in one day. A
thousand campfireS were burning in the
evening gloom, a thousand vehicles
+ were crowded to the brink of the deep
river, Not many were wounded by
IFlead or steel, but many were to the
L death by the tropic blaze of the SOUTH
ern sun. Among these dying was poor,
handsome Phil Dillingham;. All day
long, a giant, in faxen hair and Saxon
white that no sun could quite bronze
| over, had marched at Major Dilling-
hams side and on foot. holding steady
ing hand upon the half unconscious
officers leg, giving the cup of cold
water, guiding the horse. 1t was as
hard task as to face bullets. 1t was
quite heroic when one remembers that
at every plunge of the horse through
the dust Tom Keeney had chance to
think: Il am trying to help him back
to Phoebe, his wife, my hearts idol"
Yet he did it; of course ne did it; it
was but a humane duty. And who
should have praise tor simply doing his
duty? Perhaps the approval of two are
enough, God and mans own soul.
Nevertheless, since it was very hard to
do this simple duty, and since Tom,
having come a year before, had sighed
for something hard and heroic to do, he
got it and exulted in it.
Tom Keeney buried Maj. Dillingham;
on the banks of the river that night,
May 27, 1862. He took the dying mans
words to manv friends. and these among
the others: ''Keeney, you loved her.
didn't know it till | got out here. She
iofCu Sou' 1het oioh hHOH iii L
got here. She-would-neyer-ac-
knowledge it-but has beel. faithful
with her pen, cheering-a poor wretch:
Yet it is true. NOW-she-is yours, old
fellow You-are-a brave soldier. |
| got you your captaincy. That you didn't
know. But you fairly won it at Lees
Mills. And now, go take
But he didn't quite finish the COM
mission, Perhaps if he had Tom
| Keeney would have gone straight home
| to take the tidings and the fortune to
the pretty widow whom he took i'll turn
! later on. But perhaps not. At all
| events, it was not until Burnside stood
holding that Antietam bridge and many
fell there; not until wound drove him
to a furlough, that Tom ventured to
follow the package of precious papers
that he had forwarded to Phoebe Dill
lingham.
remember well that wedding, too.
1t was Maj Keeney, too-after the
St0nebridge affair there with Burnside
and the gold strawberry leaf on the
Shoulder-strap was as shining new as
the two bars on poor Phil's StapS years
before you recall. And Ph9be's black
eyes sh0ne this time to match the CLEAN
in her Erebus locks. She had been de-
cent in her interval of mourning for
Phil. We all loved her, all up and down
that fair valley for miles, and many
must be yet alive who danced that day
under the October apple trees in fruit
age-Old Downer, stern patriot, smiling
on the scene.