The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1890-04-19
THE CAMP FIRE.
now A CHAPLAIN DETECTED THE
SHAMMIyG OF A DEsERTER.
An Oidsaiior's War stoty Half an Hours
Chat with Conrad Around the
Hlaxing Camp Fire.

The Rev. DIR. Lamb tells the following
story To illustrate the leading influence
of early teaching:
1t wasan autumn night. past o'clock.
in war DAVIS in the southern land, when
mounted orderly came TO me with a
polite request from Gen. A. =. Williams,
commanding our division. that would
come over at once TO his quarters, half
mile distant. An invitation from a
general has much force in il, and was
speedily in the saddle. and in five min
utes more dismounted at his tent.
The general was a brave soldier, had
served in Mexico. and had one of the
.lndest hearts | ever knew. He told
me that a young man was 10 bee shot
the next day for desertion; that he was
''shamming stupid with some vague
hope OF reprieve, but that the surgeons
had decided that he was entirely sane.
but he won't talk sensiblv," said the
general: land didn't want the fool to
20 TO hell that way, and though lac
sn't in your brigade, thought would
lend Tor you TO zee il you could get at
him." might say also that the bluh
soldier had put an adjective before the
word "fool," on which, however. "the
recording angel dropped n tear"
l stroled along To the place where the
man was sitting, with his ankles fast
ened together. / said nothing Mt first.
that l might not excite suspicion. He
was heating water TO make coffee. A
burnt stick moving, his tin cup would
have slipped, but caught and replaced
it. He looked up at me covertly, and
said in gay tone, Going home TO New
York tomorrow l sat down and
Il -. L. H.
sibly, but he bafiled me. He had been,
however, as learned from some OF his
stories, a wnif in New York streets. APP
parently thoroughly reckless, sometimes
newsboy, sometimes something else.
Whether he had any recollection Of a
mother, | could not make out. While
telling something OF his life. he would
do il in a half stupid but chucklng air,
and constantly throwing in going TO
New York tomorrow"
The case seemed desperate. But some
thing. l hardly knew what, made me
suspect that in his earliest DAYS he had
been under Roman Catholic influences,
and yet il could not have been much
after Z wears OF age. | tried an expert
ment. Taking a short stick in my hand.
said 20 him abruptly, Look here,
what is that and rs quick ~ thought
| drew cross upon the ground. "The
holy cross" he answered involuntarily.
and in perfectly natural tone.
added in the next breath. And what
happened on the cross?' THE blessed
Jesus died for our sins" The sign OF
the cross, reverenced in his earliest
childhood, had taken him of his guard.
"Ah," said |. you needn't sham any
longer. You know you are TO die to-
morrow" You have caught me" he
said: and he gave up his folly. 1t was
notable case OF the sudden awakening
OF an early impression in one who, rs he
told me. had not been in church. or
had the slightest thought of it, for six
teen or seventeen years. The Roman
Catholic Church is wise. IL knows the
value of early training. The iltful
clouds were still passing over the face
OF the moon, and the sentinels were
walking their posts. when at midnight
1 went sudlv lack TO my biVouac fire