Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1893-12-23
written for the Herald
THE GRAND ARr1Y REVIEW.
A Realistic Vision.
By DAVID. THE SCRIBE.

lug wall through tne trees anu NdH
dered in fitful gusts in the hooks and
crannies of the building, whose years
were more than the memory of man
gave evidence of, together with the
cosy surroundings of the room in
which l sat. lulled my senses into
that underlined state in which the
mind goes out uncontrolled and I'M
trammelled by the body, and visits
the unexplored realm that lies between
sleeping and waking, between time
and eternity, between fact and fancy,
where the impressions of lifetime
are reviewed i'll moment;and I slept
I awoke in my dream to the fact
that some wonderful or remarkable
occurrence was taking place, such as
never had happened before, and at once
enlisted all my attention to observe
its phenomena and understand its
causes and consequences.
stood on a prominent part of the
Capitol at Washington; the brightness
Of the sun and clearness of the air and
sky were phenomenal No limit
seemed to contract my vision, and the
whole broad land, even to the ocean
pillows lay before my sight palmer
than map, and apparently for my
delectation and inspection
My quiet view was soon broken,
however, by seeing the starved and
murdered inmates of Andersonville,
Libby, and other prison pens of the
South, rise in companies, regiments,
and brigades, their skeleton figures
clad in the tattered blue, well-worn in
the Union veteran service, and with
weary steps turned their fleshless
faces toward the Capitol where l
stood, and with measured tread and
soldier step, advanced as great army
to the solemn roll of the dead march.
Just in the rear of this skeleton
army, were hundreds of thousands OF
soldiers in blue. irregular ranks-the
halt, the MANNED, the sick, even n
beds and stretchers carried by their
friends. The missing limbs, the tot
tering steps of the once stalwart sol
der, who had left all, wife, children,
and happy homes to battle for the life
of the nation-had given up all that
makes life dear that government by
the people should not perish from of
earth made up the scene of which |
was now a spectator. The, faces of
many were familiar to me, and tears
fell from my eyes as l recognized the
playmates of my childhood, the COM
rades of my youth, and the dear,
cherished friends of my maturer years.
But when my dear brothers, who had
given up their lives, when life with
its brightest prospects was just open
ing before them, my heart sank with
unnutterable anguish and sorrow as il
the cold waves Of the sea had passed
me.
And again l looked, and the line Of
march of this spectral army in blue
the dead, dying, sick, and crippled,
slowly passing along, was crowded Oh
each side by the countless thousands OF
women and children-widows and
orphans, fathers, mothers, brothers,
sisters, children, and other relatives,
who looked in sadness and in tears
IN this array of the wrecks and
ravages of war, and asking why, and
for what purpose this great assem-
blage had come together.
My mind was filled with perplexity
md l longed to know why these brave
people were disturbed in their rest
and called together, for it seemed to
me that some great occasion such as
had never known, was now before me,
and as looked around for some one
to explain this great mystery, a
female form, tall and majestic, with an
ineffably sweet but sorrowful coun-
.enance, responded to my inquiring
glance II am the Genius of Liberty,
the Spirit of Free Government, said
she, land the passing army are those
who have fought in my defense, and
those weeping mothers are Of the
grand and heroic women who reared
and inspired with patriotism these,
the defenders of the American Gov
ernment.'
'Ir further explanation, said she,
"a political revolution, as irresponsi-
BILE as acyclone, disastrous in its effects
and consequences has lately taken
place, and the friends of this great
army now passing are temporarily
displaced, and the reins of control are
now in the same hands which wrought
this great crime against humanity
md good government, and brought
the army row passing into existence
and filled millions of homes with sor-
row and distress, and overwhelmed the
Nation with great debt. This change
in rulers has perpetrated a great
wrong to these brave people, and
their means of living is endangered,
and even the very memory of the
sacred merits of the conflict is being
covered with obloquy and their acts
misrepresented and maligned"
Look" said she, down that broad
avenue of this City Of the Nation, to
yonder White House, and you will
see the Ruler of the Nation, one Gro
yer Cleveland, reviewing the soldiers
as they pass, and by his side a repre-
sentative of the Spirit of Disunion
and Rebellion-Hoke Smith who
passes judgment as pleases himself
and finds favor with the Ruler, his
master, and points with his finger 10
this one or that one, in the passing
army who shall be deprived of his
pension, earned in blood. in defense
Of the National Government, against