Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1889-07-25

| t'iH'tlfiN tpul iFttlitl. MlitITtn tTrakeS.
The letter fell from my hands. my head
dropped upon the table beside me The
worst had come, All the hopes and fears.
the sweet dreams of lifetime were over.
Carl had won her. and had lost all that
made life endurable
The memory Of every hour Of sweet
companiou>hp-cvcry gracious smile She
! hah ever given mr-eVcry kindly word
! came back with redouhled sweetness. now
that she was lost to me forever Through
all the years of youth aud manhood, She
had been interviewer with every hope aud
plan; 1t seemed like giving up life itself to
lose her. But il was over now over for
ever II met her again IL must be as the
betrothed, or the wife Of another.
Could live and bear that. Thank God
could 20 away in 4 few hours and per
haps death on the battlefield would end all
this drcary heartlonclnc>s
On the morrow | rejoncd my regiment,
and within twenty-four hours We were
marched to the front
In the change from home to the stirring
scenes OF army life | tried L. forget but
by the campiir ON lonely picket duty. or
IN the rush and roar of battle, thoughts Of
Mildred would intruic shrank from no
exposure, feared no danger Men called
me brave; was simply reckless had
no dread Of death; why should | hayes
l.lfc had lost all charm for me
Months rolled away one, two. nearly
lhrcc wears passed. never heard from
/ Mildred. except an occasional word In nv
mothers letters She was still unmarried
dId not wonder at this for | knew Carl
was Ia the army, and frequently near me
/ But never sought him. even when our
/ regiments were side hy side no longer
Ole
that If Mildred loved him. hut had not
reached point where could meet him
calmly, and preferred not Ia see him at
all; and, strange as it seemed to me at
| times. he never sought me
Step NJ step advanced 10 rank until.
when the battle Of Drurys Bluf was
| fought. heidi a captains commission
/ All night We had lain on our arms and
/ with the first gray dawn the enemy were
| upon Us our regiment was in the thickc~t
/ of the hght.
Again and again the Confcdcratc- huri-
7 ed their forces against us and were m,t hv
the ticrcrst resistance Of our men Charge
succeeded charge, yoliey returned rullrY.
rcpGi~c followed rcpui~,' backward and
forward surgcd the huge columns Of mcn.
broken, rallying Tetrratin-, advancing.
cheering for victory one moment, ard
beaten hark hy tnc fpr ihc next.
Th, dead. the woundcd the d5 iu- la} ID
heaps The whcrl> nf The guns youd npt
Ia, moved un'li the " .ritlruw- OF dad wart
removed There were few wounded nrsr-
" all ~rr, Killed outright Carefully wr
removed those f"S ami bore them ~ tht
hospital tent in the rear, wa~ dirtctiu.
my men IN the work, when suddenly from
among the piles uf dead. fac" was up
turned \ fac, knew on.y tou Wril Carl
MaNam and had met at last
H. was horribly man-jc,i. aud saw
could only live fcw moments unless tho
dow Of blood could bc checked Fuf Au
instant The thought f'a>hcd across ny
brain. ~ BE- dird MiiIir wouId hs frrr
But | crushed back The traitnrnu> thought.
and hastily impros i>ing tnurniqnct~ stop
ped the bleeding arteries a. hc~t could
and with the help - one % III. men bore
him {" the hospital tent.
He opened hi~ eyes a. We lai him down
one glance aud kncw | was recognized
H. raised his hand fcshl, and triyu t.
reach hi> breast pocket
"a package my pocket" TIE ga>Pcd
Slipped my hand into au inside breast
poke, and drew forth a small packa=c
carefully enclosed
Mildred lac said NTH great cGor,
looking al me wj~tfuly. and vaiuly II, tn.
Ia say more. Ills lip moved for a mo
mrul but no sound came from them then
the laws relaxed au a>hcn pslior spread
o,rr his face and with a few short ga~p-
he was dead
placed the package in my breast pock
ct and jq>t at tha; moment the cal! sound
cd 10 reform IN line of battle. and ~ wcre
hurricd away u another part "f the firid
IN half an hour ~ were again III the
lhickc>i ~ the dGh,-
Al the nr~, charge bail passed through
nv lcg sud In, battle ol prury~ Blum was
over for nc aud the war, also, il proved
for after several weeks ID the hospital
was discharged from the service and rr
turned home
All tnl. time had carefully kept the
package tarl had given ~" hat a NOR
hid desire tn give II tn Miidrci n person.
and waited my return home which knew
from the ir>i must soon come
The day after my return lay on the
large OH fashioned lounge IN lhr living
room OF my fathers hou>r when Mildred
came To me. Wan AMI wasted with suffer
inE. with one le. gone. WAS scarcely
more than The wreck Of my former self
She had changed almost much a.
Alt the girii>h freshness and bloom han
faded aud the grave, qlirt manner ~e,iHci
d i
girl Of twenty-thrce Vet 10 me- she seemed
dearrr and >Wcrisr than ever
II am glad 10 you home once
more, - she said, >he gra.ped my out
stretched hand.
There were tears in her eyes. aud her
voice lrcmhird.
How .ood il seemed 10 look into her
face TO hear the sound of her voice, anu
feel the pr,.S>ur,. OF her hand once more
Could >hc--could she care for me, now
Carl was dead found myself eager,
even now. for her love, that ! would he
only too thankful for even A small part >he
had given him.
But Carl, letter must be delivered first.
though it might be the means Of scparat-
ine u still more widely.
After few mutual inquiries and replies,
drew the package from my pocket
Il found Cart On the battle field Of Dru-
ry'> Bluff. and he gave me thi> for you a
be was dying" said, holding il ont y
her, and Immediately turning away my
head that | might not see her emotion
For me-: she said in tones Of surprise.
II don't understand
= 1t probably explains itself" said,
wondering why she should think 1t strange
that Carl should send dying message to
her
heard the rustic OF paper as she undid
the package, and in another instant, with
a strange cry, She dropped on her knees
beside lounge.
go Philip Philip, what does it mean"
She said. her face a. white a the letter
She held out to me with trembling hands.
| took it, and the first line brought me
TO sitting position. with an a>tonIshment
great as her own. | read in her handwrit
ing the words -
Dear Phil There is no need that you
should teach ME To love you. | learned
that lesson long ago You have been dear
est of all in the world TO me siuce our
childhood's days. Come to me at eight
this evening and you will find.
Your own love,
MILE"
Faint and giddy with the surging tide Of
emotions that swept over me, ! caught
both her hands in mine.
You wrote that, Milie. wrote it to
me?" | said, scarcely believing such good
news true.
II wrote it In answer TO your letter the
day you went away and you never came
heard nothing from you until | knew you
were gone next day. | could not under
stand it
But received an answer" | said in be-
wiiderment; you wrote you had never