, 1890-04-17
p REMINISCENCE.
THE PRIZE STORY.
BY NJ. BYRNE.

and purpose Is to be found between
many married people?"
There was something In the voice
as she asked thequestion that caused
me to look more closely into the up
turned face, and though the room
was darkening with the twilight |
could see that the eyes were a. full
ms the voice of tears.
"Why, Marcia?"-we had long
been so familiar-I asked gently as
1 laid my hand on hes shoulder.
And the next moment trembling
form leaned against my knee, and a
hot cheek was dropped upon my
hand
"Oh, Marie, / suppose | ought
not to talk about 1t, but you have
grown SO like sister, and I feel
sometimes as II my heart were break
ing. You know everyone calls me
Il Yankee and even our old friends
have grown so cold" II know
dear" | interrupted, "but l didn't
think you cared for that"
"Ob, l don't care for that" The
head was suddenly lifted from my
lap with more iInperious air than
/ had everse before; but 1t dropped
back again us she continued with a
piteous tremor in her voice: "Then
when the war came on and Jack
wanted to go thought 1t was-I
think 1t is--so terribly wrong to
fight against the Union, and he
waited, trying to show me that it
was his duty, then he grew impa-
tient; said that the tenacity with
which | held on to such scruples was
oniy proof Of my Puritan inilexi-
bllity; that | was unreasonable; and
so IL grew worse and worse. An in.
visible barrier seemed growing
higher and higher between Us. Not
that we ever loved each other less,
but we grew apart In sympathy and
opinion until II was almost harder
than If we had not loved each other.
l believe he did think had almost
ceased to care, and when he went
away, oh Marciav with shivering
sob, "I felt almost that he was u
traitorw
That word traitor at any other
time or from any other person would
have reused my anger, but 1 seemed
to see so plainly what her struggles
and sutlerings had been that only
asked IL 1t would not have been bet
ter for her to return to her Northern
friends until the struggle was over.
There, with those around her in
sympthy, she could not have
brooded over the situation and been
so unhappy.
"They wanted me to do that, but
this Is Jacks home; he Is here and
in danger, and it would have been
almost like deserting him; besides
could not bear to have them blame
him, as am sure they would. But,
my friend, do you think | have been
right"
~ half believe it would have com
forted her a little If had answered
no. but | could only say, as ] softly
stroked her HAIR, mot all right,
perhaps my dear But not all
Tears brough relief and balm, and
the summer wind came through the
window, sweet with the fragrance
of flowers, and bearing, for aught
we knew, 70 our upheediug ears the
noise of conflict aud the moan OF
dying men.
Twas late in the autum of '6i. !
was with friends in Baltimore,
having several months before left
Georgia not to return until the
struggle was ended. Oh those
weary days of waiting and suspen nse,
when tidings that brought hope
would be followed by news that
only made gloom deeper by con
trast, Anything decisive was
scarcely expected from the armies IN
Virginia until the opening oi
another campaign, and Sherman
was successfully making his way
toward the sea. Still we cluug Il
the hope that Hood would accom-
, plish much in Tennessee.
had heard nothing from Marclf
since leaving Atlanta. At that
, time | knew she had not ever
heard from her husband for quit'
/ while, his command being in /;
! section of country from which
: WIN hustifN.
!, was entirely cut off. She haC
! been urged, she told me, 10 spend |
few months with an old school
friend in another part of the state
! but whether she had accepted th
t invitation, or was still Mt home will
= the few servants who Remained
faithful, | did not know.
] One evening in November ] met
y at the house Of friend, youn,
, Carolinlan who had served unde
johnson and Hood in Georgia, bu
: on account of "A wound received IL
Atlanta, had been forced to leav
!; the service. We soon discovcre'
that we had u number Of mutun
friends, and he was able to tell m
more news of home and more int"i
-, esting incidents than i had beef
! able to gather from newspapers AM
!, letters since leaving my native state
!, of how one young friend had brave
u ly led his men at Resaca, and whel
= the fight was over he was left upoi
9 the field; of the struggle at kenne
! saw; of the panic in Atlanta, ant
= how one friends house was con
! !, verted into u hospital and another
! riddled by shot and shell.
/ ! /
r "rhere was one little incident,
3 said Colonel Overton, "that touches
! me deeply Not that 1t was NOR
Q pathetic than thousands Of others
but 1t may have been because l wa
: in some sense a part of 1t. 1t wa
/ last June when we were contcstinl
5 every step Of Shermnn's progres
e toward Atlanta. There had beei