The Penn's Grove record., 1892-09-16
THE COLONIES WIFE.

THE COLONIES WIFE.
Fort Ludlow Is a beautiful place to
the few people from The city who,
nervous aud tired from Q long win
ter OF oyerwork, do down there In q
sunny springtime for a days rest.
When upon landing from the little
transfer steamer. You are received by
an officer, the number of whose stripes
Immediately decides in the minds OF
tho garrison your position In the
world. and taken to his quarters,
there TO receive the hospitality OF the
fort; when, later. you wander out
alone upon the green, grass-grown
ramparts, and look away over the
sparkling blue water which nearly
SUR ounds you, then you feel as II at
last you had reached . place Of abso-
lutte rest and peace from the every
day worries Of life. You envy those
blue trousered workmen piling stones
with the great derrick far down to-
wards the waters edge. You smile
contentedly to yourself - with half
closed eyes you drowsily breathe in
the salt air, and just before you sink
on into your comfortable sun-nap
think, 1.-THE soldiers life Ia certainly
the pleasantest and most peaceful In
the world" / know that this is what
you would do and think. for 30 thou
sands have done and thought. and 30
which, by the way, is far more Inn
portant to this story-I myself have
dono aud thought
But q little later / was Weakened
from my comfortable nap uDon the
ramparts, and taken, most unneces-
sarily. as it seemed TO me. to call
upon the officers wives Then it was
that / began TO think differently Of
the pleasures Of this soldier life. We
began at the Coloners house, and
never finished until we had said our
last glad farewell to the little wife Of
one of the lieutenants. All the ladies
were most hospitable, insisted upon
our drinking tea and eating crackers,
and refused utterly to allow US to tire
ourselves by talking, they themselves
attending to that part OF the enter
tainment. And, ~curiouslv enough,
they all said the same thing In a
slightly different way. Each spoke
OF the long, lonesome winters at the
fort, when for DAYS communication
with the city was shut of; each said
how good 1t vas to see new faces, and
each, with the exception Of the Col
onel's wife, who talked about all the
rest, had something to say or init
mate about the wife next highest in
command. The talk raj Of y general,
but very suggestive, nature. The
Lieutenant's wife had Q .sbut" for
the Captains better half; the latter
lady smiled knowingly when the
Majors wife was mentioned, and
asked II we had yet met young Lieut..
Bowles. The Majors wife said that
she was so sorry for the Colonel, with
his large family and young wife. who,
OF course, being only q stepmother,
could not have had much experience.
When, finally, we had finished our
round Of calls. and we're wandering
slowly outside the walls. I said to my
friend, Life here 10 hardly pleasant
as it at first looks. Heyl old man?n
and my friend only smiled.
All of which goes to show that
things In the old days being much as
they are now, the heroine CT my
friends story led anything but q hap
by life, and, upon the whole, proved
herself . noble woman By deciding
and acting as she did. It proves,
moreover, that my friends conclusion
was correct As we lay outside the
rampartA in the warm afternoon
sun, he told this tale;
During the war this fort vas com
manded by Col. Baxter. He was 4
brave old man. of more use out Of the
active fighting than in It, and just
the Officer to command this place,
which at the time was Of some Inn
persance from the fact that 1t served
Is q prison for Southern captives.
They told odd stories Of old Baxter, and
from all accounts he was not Of the
mildest disposition towards either his
prisoners or bis own men. OF all who
suffered from the Colonel's tyranny,
however, the most tried was bis
young wife. She had been married
to him by her parents when she was
still very young, and having gained q
right to bis name and money, had
lost, az 1t seemed, all hope of happi'
ness. The old man undoubtedly
loved her. as was often proved By the
license he allowed her In many
things, hut be loved her In a way that
could call for no response, aud he
made her life most wretched. II
add to her distress, she was almost
worshiped by every oficer In the fort,
and as a consequence sincerely hated
by their wives.
$50 matters stood there at the fort
In midwinter of '63. There were al
| the time few prisoners confined here
and, II the Colonel had chosen, tn,
lifc might have been almost pleasant
As it was, tho only bright spot in tn,
long, monotonous days was In tn,
morning visit OF the Colonel's wife Il
| tho pri,oncrS The old mans per
mission that this daily visit might b,
paid had cost the young woman much
pleading and many tears. but now
that 1t "a accomplished, the deed Of
.harity seemed to bring . little Joy
nto her sad life. To the prisoners II
sas a deeply-felt blessing while te
the Union soldier In the fort It also
brought pleasure. for they saw that
The Colonel's wife was happier for hel
work, and they all loved the Colonel's