The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1891-03-08

next she implored her brother by all tn
love he had always shown for her, by hi
love for his mother, by his love for TIL
girl who was gone, by his love for ths
/ baby his sister held in her arms, to saw,
that baby's father. She came to him
she said, when she could go to no one
else -he alone could do anything.
As Will jackson sat there far into the
night needless of military calls fearful
struggle went on within him. He knew
as every man in the fast gathering host;
know that a great battle was pending
His sense Of duty to his country, hi:
| pride in his own good name, his soldiers
| instinct alike made the idea Of desertion
! intolerable to him. And yeti was
Mays husband and Carries brother
AS ne thought he toox our the picture Of
| bis dead love and kissed it passionateIy.
| If he waited for the battle he might be
killed, and then May was right, there
was no one else who could do this thing.
But the shame Of It'll the bitter, intol-
cradle shamel Men would say, and
say with apparent reason. that he had
deserted coward fashion! He, VIII
Jackson, through whose veins no drop
Of towards blood ever ranl He would
be false to his country when it needed
him, false to that flag he loved and idol
lied as he loved and idolized the MEM
Dry of his motherl He would be false to
the oath he swore before God and man
to fight for the Union until the end;
he, who had never consciously broken
his 1ightest word, would do this thing
It was too much to ask, too much to de-
mand of HIN, and burying his head in
his hands he prayed the cup might pass
from him.
Carries brother, Mays husbandi
Mays husband, Carries brotherl"
It rang through h. brain like dull
refrain of torture. Could he refuse to
sacrifice himself 1t was true he was
asked to lay himself on the altar, and
with his own hands he was asked to tear
out his pride. his loyalty, his honorl But
could he refuse2 Could he refuse? 1t
was Mays husband aud Carries brother
who would go-who would drown before
bis eyes in the foul waters of crime and
shame unless he jumped in to savei
Could he refuse? Could he refuse?
To give his life for the man who had
brought this misery on him would, he
thought, have been so easy. But to give
himself. his honor, his word, his loyalty;
it was very, very hardl It was character
istic of the man that he spoke nor
thought no word Of curse against his
brother-in-law. To him the supreme
decision he was called on to make was
all in oil On theone side were his pledge
to his mother (and in the still night he
seemed to hear her words AGAIN., his love
for the sister and his love for his dead;
on the other were his honor, his loyalty,
his pride, his plighted faith! No wonder
when he rose from his seat and walked
down the long line Of the bivouac he
should have staggered as one who has
taken strong drink. For when the
morning roll call rang out Private Will
lam jackson was absent. A hurried
search and yet more hurried court
martial followed, bat Gettysburg was
but one day off and men had too much
10 think Of to spend time in wonder
over the absence Of one. His friends
mourned for brief space, but many of
them died in the angle or along the thin
lines Of blue which charged and repealed
alternately, and the desertion was for
gotten save and except for brief para
graph in the note book Of the adjutant
of the regiment.
That May should weep and laugh as
she felt the strong arms of her brother
around her once more, and with the
childlike faith she always had in him
should know it was all right now, was
but natural. It was natural, too, that
she should send for her baby, and with
the air of a queen bestowing the most
cherished Of all decorations hold the lit
tie one out for VIII to take. He had
never seen the child before, and he was
conscious as she looked up at him with
her dark blue eyes-this little Carrie
with the other Carries eyes-and
laughed at the grave, sorrow worn face
that bent over her, of great wave of
love swelling in his heart God was
good to VIII Jackson. Already he felt
his sacrifice had been accepted. The
deep lines which suffering had craven
on his countenance with her fr1nest
| touch attracted Mays attention, but be-
yond exclaiming, ssWhy, VIII, how old
you lookr' and 'supposing it came from
''this awful war;" she thought little OF
it. Her brother, as he answered her
gently, smiled somewhat bitterly.
He had reached his sisters house about
10 o'clock in the morning, and Charlie
Farnham did not come back until din
ner, at 6. When he saw his brother-in-
law he flushed up rather uneasily, fol-
while he had known nothing Of Mays
letter he instinctively felt something
was coming. After dinner he proposed
to take VIII around to the club, and the
latter went gladly enough. In hotel
corridor afterward Will noticed thai
Charlie was hailed by two or three meI
who looked decidedly fast. One of them
In particular, a Mr.. Cochran, Mr.. Jack
son felt sudden dislike for. The mar
was tall, well dressed, with blonde mus
tache and sufficiently pleasant man
ner, but he had shifty eyes. About hall
past the two went home, where they
saw May for a few moments, and she
then bid them good night. AS she kissed
her brother she whispered, you prom
ised," and he satisfied her with a look
For all day long May had pleaded will
/ III