Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1894-06-07

The ink was hardly dry on the
order before volunteers began to
step up to the Captains Office and
tender service, and i suppose, IL all
are taken that will volunteer there
will be no one left to be waited on
bat the artillery and the s'lushers. .
And so the Captain thinks he has
at last solved the riddle that has 80
long laid that of the Egyptian
Sphinx in the shade, and made the
duty of dining-room waiter q place
to be sought after, envied, and ten
derby cared for, when got.
The hearts Of the boys were glad
dened to-day by the arrival of q lot
Of fine Susquehanna shad for our
Sunday dinner, and the doner sent
enough Cor couple Of dinners, ct
least. These shad were a present
from q kind friend, who did it from
pure love, and does not wish his
name TO be known; but ! hope the
recording angel will keep his wealth
er eye on all such transactions, and
see that the account is squared up
when the books are opened for final
examination.
We have here q nice large hall,
called the Memorial or Relic Hall.
In it the bodies of deceased mem
bers are laid in state, pending their
removal to their final resting place
in Loudon Park. In it, also; balls
are given, fairs, festivals and con-
certs held, and the band meets week
ly, to practice and amuse the old
Vets, with a musical taste. The
walls of the hall are hung with the
framed likeness Of prominent Con-
federate soldiers, mostly those OF
Maryland birth. It also contains
cases filed with uniforms worn by
men famous in the history of the
war, and many other rare and Gu
rious articles, deposited here for safe
keeping and to be looked at. Bat
tle-fags, drums, sabres and many
other rare and interesting articles
are displayed on the walls or in the
cases, and the hundreds of visitors
that come here never fail to pay it q
visit, and gaze on these mute wit
nesses Of that bloody drama, now
happily, in the almost forgotten
past. But rare as its contents are,
it holds nothing that appeals SO d.
rectly to the rising generation as dc
the war tales told by some of the bat
tle-scarred, grim-visaged old Vets
that are always on view-for q con.
sideration. They can tell you rare
tales of the war-of hairbreath es.
capes-of bloody slaughters done
of wounds given and received--ot
daring charges made-of hurried
retreats, and if they be In humor'
ously-reminiscent frame of mind
can tell Of things that the not over
credulous can believe; of midnight
forays on some outlying hen-roost
of forlorn hopes led against some
unguarded distillery-the risks run
the narrow escapes made and Of
the booty safely brought away-and
many other blood-curdling recitali
dear to the heart of the reader oil
the blood and thunder .'yallel
kivered" novels of the present day,
A short time since some boys from
the McDonough school were here,
and were greatly interested in the
tales told by some of the Vets, as
this extract from their little paper
will show. It says:
"In the morning twenty or thirty
boys were at Pikesville. Some were
attracted by q sale near the Home,
but the most of the boys went to the
Memorial Room, where they walked
around and looked at the photos oil
Southern soldiers, old uniforms,
broken swords, battered drums, and
other relics Of the war. Every boy
was anxious to hear some story Of
the war, and would ask old soldier:
how they received certain scars or
their faces. This was quite a good
way to get story from them, fol
they all seemed perfectly willing to
answer our questions. One of the
men had q piece of his side taken
out by a shell during the war, and
he told us how it all happened. II
renders him unable to lie down, and
so he spends his nights in q chair. .
Now, this remarkable story 10 &
daisy, and no mistake. The shell
is nicely introduced, and the side
flesh neatly and scientifically re
moved, and everything made good
as new. and no ugly marks left tc
mar his beauty. But wonder o.