The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-06-18
A STORY Or THE WAR.

- - wv ~ 49, ''''''
Talking about til2 war, sud my
friend Dlacl.nan. us nc Knocked the
ashes FROM his pipe ml tilo1ghtS;nly
sazcd IN tie fire, "therc IS one incl-
dent connected with it which VIII
haunt me to my grave.
He paused IL moment, and then
answered my look OF inquiry as fol-
lows:
1T was in Lin Virginia,and three
us had left the camp on o foragng
expedition. I relnemher it was q
beautiful mght-a full moon IN
eloudlcss sky-not q very favorable
night for the work we had in hand,
which was simply the getting OF q
| bushel or two Of green corn from Il
field which was closely watched.
But we were Successful, and were
on our return trip to the camp when
we were attracted by i noise. as OF
some one walking, III an old:ahandor.-
ed barn by the roadside.
There had been spies about, anel
we were suspicious. SO VIC paused
in The road and listened.
..Presently ! man appeared IN the
doorway. \ glance sut!iced 70 show
that he was g Union soldier. Ic
did not appear TO see us. bnt stood
with folded arms, gazing upon the
clear and beautiful sky. Then he
walked forth, baTcl,eadel, and stood
with lis back to rs, still gazing on
the sky.
"a spy!, was The exclamation OF
my comrades. Lots stutlc him
with Il bullet.
LII just fire for fun and not to
hit HIM and suiting the action to
the word, raised my rifle and blazed
away.
i never could tell just how 1t hap
pened-God knows [ didn't aim to
kill him!-but as my rifle rang out
OF the still night air saw the dust
fly from his coat of blue: then he
turned suddenly and faced us-thcn
fell on his face in the road.
"NVc hurried to his side, but he vas
deud. Some cusedfa fate had guided
my bullet to his heart, and all that
we could do for him now was to
bury him there by the roadside.
There were no papers on his per
son by which he could be identified.
We found only alittle testamentwith
the initials, j. H. on the fly lcaf,the
picture of q woman young and beau
tiful, in gold locket, and ring with
the same initials, j. H.: engraved on
the inside"
Blackman paused q moment. and
put his hand over his eyes, as if to
shut out q painful vision.
:.Do you know, he said, after he
had remained silent for several min
utes, chat I can't get away from the
memory Of the thing! l never walk
along a road but that the scene comes
back to me, and I hear the crack of
the rifle: sec him tuln in the road
and face me, then fall to his death;
and somehow. I have a premonition
that my death will be as sudden as
his was, and will come when | least
expect it.
He left me abruptly and retired to
his room. I little thought that his
words would be verified and that [
would never see him again III life.
He left early the next morning for
his home in Mississippi. A telo-
gram that his plantation was in dan
ger of being submerged by the
floods hastcned his departure.
Only a week afterward I read this
announcement in % New Orleans
newspaper:
':News of the terrible drowning of
Mr.. -Blackman and his only
daughter has Just reached this place.
It seem that his little girl had been
playing near the river, which had l:is
en- to within twenty yards of the
house. Mr.. Blackman and his wife
were busy packing up, preparatory
to removal out of the reach Of the
advancing waters, and the little one
had slipped away from them una
wares. They did not know of tic
danger she was in until, alarmed by
her screams, her father rushed out,
only to see her struggling in the wa
ter. Heplrmgcd in to save her, and
both were drowned.
I was panied and surprised by the
moulnful news, and Instantly recall
ed the iorcbodings BlacEman had
impaired to me that memorable
night in the hotel.
He had forctold his death. VAST
chmce-or fate. T. L. STANTON.
The Assessed Value orWire
A recent opinion rendered by the
Virginia Court of Appeal, shows
that the law recognizes graded val
uation of wives.
The complainant had sued for
damages for the loss of his wife,
who had been killed through the
negligence of the defendants. On
the trial evidence tending to show
that the deceased i, I'd been a supe-
rior wife was oftcrc,. and, presrma-
bly, influenced by this, the jury gave
the complainant u verdict for $4,000.
The defendants objected to proof as
to the character of the wife, and car
1ied the issue to the highest court OF
the State.
The tribunal holds that such evi-
dence was perfectly proper as means
of estimating the damage suffered by
the husband
IF the character and conduct OF
she wife" says the Court, "be such
that her death will cause but little
to1row, suffering and mental anguish
to the husband, then the fair and
just proportion of the damages to be
awarded by the jury, will be measur
cd accordingly, But if on the con-