The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-08-01

l
IN his hands as the railsplitter did: as
| great carpenter once did: until the vision
of the man on horseback shall fade away,
| for another century at least.
Mother and son lived together-frank,
| true, and loyal. Between mother and son,
| II there is frankness, truth and loyalty, the
other virtues are pretty sure to follow. If
| young man only does the things which
| he tells his mother, he is doing nothing
| very bad, and if they are loyal and loving.
| 1t seems as if there must have been, or is
| to be. a paradise in the true history Of
| mankind.
And so we come to the first paragraph Of
| this story. which Is to be here repeated
Thomas Barrett Tommy" he was called
| by mother and intimates, much like his
| father He had more intellect. more knowl-
| edge of men and things and books. He
was a member of a trades union which
| taught him parliamentary practice, and
| many other thngs-some of them good
none of them evil; but some things which
were not practical, and which were not
broad.
| The perfect associations find fault with
| the trades unions as, of course, they have
| a right to do. Congress. for instance, from
| its plane of high, exalted craftsmanship.
must, of necessity, spend scorn upon the
! immature efforts Of rude wOrkmen. And
directors of trusts sitting in velvet, or lea
Their chairs, with their legs under heavy
| mahogany, must feel bad when they think
| of the pernicious influence which the labor
| organizations have upon untutored work
men.
But. Notwithstanding all that might be
| said in defense of this, there are some
| wrong tendencies in the trades unions. But
| 1T is not the intention to point out these
| wrong tendencies in this story; perhaps
sometime; and the trades unions of 1861,
| when Tommy Barrett became interested in
them. were not the unions of the present
| day. And it was the good which he learned
| there, and not the bad which controlled
| him. The carpenter boy was young man
| to know. There was in him 80 many ad-
mirable traits of character. First, his af-
| lection for his mother and his Difference
toward her. The ideas which he laid
| hold of he shared with her, and they were
tested by her shrewd common sense. 1t is
not a rare thing to find young men who
| love their mothers. If it were otherwise,
we might as well hang up the world, say
| it is failure, and let it revolve to ultimate
destruction without us-only our carcasses
| turning to mold upon its surface. But the
| quality of love. which listens and confides
| utterly; that is more rare
Then the manlness of the boy; his nobi
| ity of soul. his desire to do right always,
| and to be just always. He delighted in
| proving things, and holding fast to that
| which he found good. He was young to
| take the side of the oppressed against the
| strong. but he did so. And the strong did
| not fall upon him and destroy him for do
| ing it. They admired him, and they knew
| him to be absolutely truthful, and reliable
| at all points
He and his mother discussed all things.
! Patriotism she had instilled into his mind
| while it was forming. George Barrett his
father, not much of a patriot. He
chafed under the restraints of society,
| which, for the life of him, he could not
| see was made to help, and shield the op-
presser against the oppressed, the rich
| against the poor But Tommy was broader
! than his father had been and he loved his
country.
| So, when in April, 1861, there came the
| dire news to those in authority. When
| there arose in the South great war cloud,
| and enthusiasm and martial ardor filled the
| land. Tommy burned to go to war.
Let me go, mother he said, Il cannot
| be of any good at home with the war fever
| in me. The other boys are going, and 1
| must go too
| But she would not let him go. She chung
| to him with tears and entreaty. What
| was the country to her. that she could give
| her all to it? No, she would not let him
go.
| Then he grew quiet and distracted. When
| she asked him what he was thinking about
| he answered:
| Johnny Brown enlisted today or
Il am thinking if you will be satisfied
| with me when the war is over and only I,
of all the boys around, showing the white
| feather"
"Oh, Tommy" said poor Mary, do you
want to break my heart? I cannot spare
| you-indeed l cannot. Nobody shall dare
| to say that you a coward. They will
| say that your mother kept YOU
WELL that may be- answered Tommy
| gloomily, but 1 should go-I should go
with the rest"
What end could you expect to all this?
| 1t could only be question of time when
| the widow would be forced to surrender
| So, after a siege lasting we'll into the sum-
mer, after the three months men had been
| discharged, after the three years men were
well in the field there came Tommy's day,
when he strutted away from his loving
| mother, who was sobbing and crying for
him, and took his place in the ranks with
his country's defenders.
How gaily they march away, these boys.
How unconscious they are of breaking
hearts mothers cry. How heedlessly
they go to the front, flying from love and
happiness at home, to face death and de-
structiOn among enemies.
However soft the nest, the young bird
must fly out and sit shivering in the wind
and rain away from the shelter of moth
er's wing.
Clay must be tried by fire if it would not
remain soft and yielding clay. Chvalry
and mean death and desolation; but
they also mean manlness, sturdiness, and
virtues which come not in the piping days
of peace.
When war goes out of fashion there will
be much rejoicing; but courage and the
best manhood may go out with it; and then
there will be regret to recompense and ball
ance the delight.
Tommy Barrett Joined the army in the
field. He felt himself hero, and was
very proud of his trappings. His heart
beat a little quicker when he thought of
his mother, and something troubled him
at first. Was it his conscience? He did
not think it was anything more than re-
gret at her absence. She had finally con-
scented to his departure, and her struggles
he could not well imagine. Then the feel
ing of regret faded away and he entered
soul and body into the enthusiasm of a
young soldier about to begin his first cam
pagn.
When the year 1862 opened our young
friend considered himself a pretty well
seasoned soldier And when in February
the steamboat bearing his regiment
steamed away for the Cumberland river he
felt that real life was opening for him.
The army landed near Fit. Henry in Ten
nessee, and without a very great struggle
captured that fortification Then they
marched away toward Dover to fight the
stubbornly contested battle of Fl. Donel-
son.
This was Tommy's first real sniff of war
With Oglesby's column on the right, he
stood the calling fire, and saw his brave
comrades fall about him.
Brave, gallant, glorious old Dick Ogles-
by! How well he earned all the glory and
honor which has fallen upon his head, now
white with age! Around many brows the
laurel has been twined. History and fame
have written many names upon their
pages, but they have set down there the
name Of none truer, more loyal, more
beloved by those who followed him through
danger, than that of Richard J. Oglesby