The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1889-04-06

or lay in the still pools CHASING messy
pebbles in the clear cool depths! How
every heart glowol with good will that
smoothed the 4'wrinkled front of war;
into smiles, and made the vision of
rocking sham bles aad savage on slaught,
from which we had emerged and into
which we must soon again pass, like a
distempered dreaml How the blue and
gray chaffed in simple, homely fashion,
or interchanged sheepish condolences
about the girls they had left behind
them.
The scenes of this idyl set in the
midst of great tragedy were so full of
a rude pathos that though now nearly
a quarter of century gone, they are as
fresh as thing of yesterday. can
still pass from group to group and hear
the quaint remarks pointed with army
slang, and the gruff haw.haw as JON
athan, Hans, and Patrick tossed tho
football of talk with their fresh-found
brethren OF an hour. can still sec the
bronzed faces, the lean figures, the
tattcrdemalions in homespun, min Cling
fraternally with the more sleek and
well-uniformed Federals. The canteens
were soon filled, and their wooden
jackets well soaked to keep tho con-
tents cool, and the men of both siles
sprawled on the grass like merry makers
at picnic. / had heard of similar
scenes, but never of ono marked
by such friendly ease, a complacency,
however, not shared by the
officers. These more response
BILE watch-dogs, now that the
irrepressible need of water had been
met and a convention made to stop all
pickot-fring till further notice, were
eager to withdraw the men into their
lines again. All attempts to restore the
discipline OF war for the time availed
nothing. Human nature was to the
fore, and it was not to DO trifed with
by any such small matter as army regu.
lations. The fascinating companion
ship blossomed into every manner of
pleasant, mutual offices, as far as the
will could stand for the deed in the
case of our poverty stricken Confeder-
ate friends, or the decd could answer
to the will ia deflult Of tagging COM
missary train.
1t was noticeable that on neither side
was there any Dragging of proves.
The vainglory Of victory over each
other when they had just warmed
palms. like reunited wanderers from the
same house-brood, seemed despicable
thing. Yet each man knew that
twenty-four hours hence he would be
as keen to fly at this brothers. throat as
ever, and feel the same old thrill OF
triumph ut captured standards and a
flying foe. Perhaps the dumb presence
of this certainty overshadowing the
touching comedy gave a more lively
zest to tho emotions that acted their
part so we'll for the occasion, as the
movement of Greek play was charged
with deeper meaning by the idea of
fate against which gods and men were
powerless, standing behind it all.
Oaly once was a delicate reserve rufiled.
A gaunt Carolinian snickered, "Waal,
I've seen you Yanks when 20 looked
q sight less clipper, with we-uus a.
poggin' tho lead inter yer backs"
"Shut yer teeth" roared a six-footer
from Lynchburg; "they've seen our
backs as often as we We seen theirn."
The yellow, badly printed Richmond
newspapers of late date, loaded to
tn, muzzle with stuff to fire the South
ern heart, were greedily cxchang ed for
Northern journals. But there was
another kind of barter that wakened
far more interest. Though our men
had gono breakfastless, their haver-
sacks were not altogether lean. Out
came the coffee to exchange for tobac-
co. or, if need be, give away. The
hungry nostrils quivered with delight
at the odor, more fragrant than the
bouquet of nectar ripened in the sun
shine of Burgundy to these straitened
men, who had almost convinced them
selves that there was no such thing as
coffee left in the world. 1 almost ex-
pected to SEQ fres LIGHTED without moro