The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1894-05-24


As grow old. That was my brother.
that never agreed with very we'll. an
hadn't met for some years, and cant
really say that | wanted to. Hello,
.Jim.' he says, in his queer, off-hand
way: i stepped in a minute to apollo
giZe for never agreeing with you. and
to make an explanation why We never
understood each other, why we couldn't
! hook our ideas and feelings together.
but I've found out that it wasn't either
Of our faults. 1t won't be piled up az in
either of our doors: it II all come out
right before long. 1t was the mistake
! of some OF our fore 'athers, generations
ago. It'll all BE- explained when we
see each other again. and we shall he
as good friends as we ought to Ee--I
can stop but minute now-.go9d-by.
Sam died that same evening in Buclls
army, hundreds of miles away"
Just Il kind of half think and half
dream, objected Russell.
We'll, maybe it was: but it's kind
OF half dream | don't have every
night in the week, replied his ccm-
panion. AT any rate, | believed in
gho is FOR a month OF two after that.
Then. for a year or more. it seemed t.
me 1t was all nonsense again. But Just
is the war was over, an we were a-gOin
t. start for home the mex day. an
was as happy as any time i'll my whole
e.-ahout III dnight | woke almost up.
an my little hoy. that l s'posed was to
home. safe and we'll, he come an put
his a! m, round nv n ck-"
This part of the story was t fin
ishcd. There wa, u miniature grave
in one corner of the cemetery that
concluded the faltering speech. Rus
sell quietly placed a flag at the head Of
the boys NIB before he left the in
closure.
An then it run along from that
time to this" continued Bar ker. The
little girl was now walking hand in
hand with him. her head down. She
knew that the little dead by in the
grave, shorter even than she was, had
been her Uncle Freddie" She had
dreamed a great deal by that tiny lit
tie mound, thinking how nice it would
have been. had he lived, to have a
baby uncle, forgetting that he would
have grown by this time much larger
than she.
Its run along from that time to
this. continued the old man, thought
fully. But last night l was comm
along. in the furder edge of the even
in, past the graveyard; l was sort of
Old-man tired, an maybe a little sleepy:
| leaned up az in one of thu feace post,
an fell t. considerin' about the diff
ferent folks had known that he'd all
come here to dwell at last Just as yOu
was thinkin' little while ago. /
can't believe | got asleep, an don't
ledge it cud have been a dream 1t
sremed to me that Albert Sutherland
rose straight up from behind an old
wide gravestone, an cud sec him as
we'll as ny one could be made out in
the night. Then it appeared rs if he
spoke, an says: Jimmy. is that YOU
He used t. call me Jimmy even when
he was a little boy, and liked il, from
him.
Il didn't seem al ]c TO get up :.xy an
swer: cOuldn say word; nothin' per-
tainin' to ne would move cxceptin my
hair. and that was tryin' to get away
I,y creepin' up forge the top of my
head. All the rescrdue of me Just
hung onto that gaterOst an stared.
But the ghost went right on 4 talkin'.
OF so it appeared to me. Jimmy, it
said, 4 can't stay away. had to come
back. even for ever 50 little time
I'm now in hell, Jimmy, actually in
he'll. [ can't bear to think that my
! father an mother is both down on me
SO because fought on the other side.
What could do, old friend My wife
was all Southern: her relatives, that
had been kind an true an honorable
! to me from the minute first got there.
| a poor Yankee schOOlmaster, they was
| ali SOutherners; the air was full of it
and | had to breathe. The South
| seemed to me a country within coun-
! try: and II it stepped out, wasn't | still
i in my own adopted land: WHAT was
the whole country to any of us except
an adopted one: All our ancestors
came from other parts of the world
| And sol enlisted-in the Confederate
army. And then down came a letter
from my dear old Yankee father-l
had always loved him, to say nothing
! of my sweet mother the ghost
seemed to me TO hitch a little an choke
LIKE had hoped to bring my wife
! home en- a visit next year. and she
everybody in two days - but down
came this letter from my father, and
| it said:
You have joined the enemies of
your country and are as much of a
traitor as Benedict Arnold ever was.
More. he fought in favor of the nation
| before he betrayed it. and YOU have
never done anything for it, except to
live on its bounty and enjoy its protec-
ton. Coward.
You had the best of New England
blood in your veins and as good teach.
ing as | WIS able to provide. All the
worse that you have done YOU did.
You have probably fallen into such
a slough of treachery and disgrace
that the contempt Of Il mother and the
curse of a father are of no account t.
you: but remember. traitor. you have
them. However this unhappy wal
may terminate, never presume to come
near my door again-never send us 9
word. You are not even dead to me
you arc as though YOU never existed
do not say good-by-any more than
would TO a stone or stick
And then the ghost continued
ahead-Ol its own hook: I wen
through the war. Jim. as bravely as
could. and tried to do my duty. But il
bore hard on my home. Long before