Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1895-01-24

ter Of difficulty to pass the sentrl
lines that invested the whole city
To obviate all these difficulties Mis-.
Deane had her friends one by one
to leave her house i'm the early gra,
OF the morning. BY different route.
they all came together again in the
Cathedral, where early morning
mass was being celebrated. None
OF the six was . Catholic, but all
vent through with the ceremony ii
best they could b. doing what sh.
rest Of the audience did. After
the service three men came out
through the entrance on one side
of the Cathedral and found waiting
there carriage with two iron gray
horses hitched to it.
Drive to Benton Barracks said
the last one of the three as he step.
ped in.
! 1t may seem that this was a
strange order to be given by u man
who had just escaped from Benton
Barracks. However, the coachman
bowed and said nothing. He was
one of those wise people who know
that a man frequently means one
thing when he says another. This
command had been suggested by
Miss Deane, and the coachman was
in the secret. Accordingly, he let
the three men ont one at a time,
each at the house Of one of the most
ardent Southern sympathizers in
the city. The other three had
found a similar carriage at the op-
posite entrance to the Cathedral,
had given a similar command and
reached similar destinations.
For over a month these six men
remained in their places of conceal
ment. Then Miss Deane obtained
from the authorities permission for
herself and quite a large party of
ladies and gentlemen to 90 horse
back riding beyond the city limits.
Alas for Southern gallantry! Six
of these ladies who had gone out
Eiih Gantleman= asaarts- came shaek
nrafsnrdad Sir fnrann< ss~i~s :. -
Of war were on their way South to
join the boys in gray.
Some months after this Captain
Bronaugh was visiting the ladies of
the family of DIR. Sandige in Bosier
Parish, La. While there he met
Miss Deane, who by this time had
been expelled from st. Louis by the
Federal authorities on account of
her Southern propensities. She
related the incidents of the escape
just narrated and expressed a great
desire to meet Colonel Stemmons
again.
THAT wish,' said the Captain,
can be very easily gratlfied. He
is with his regiment stationed near
here, and will be over to see you
the moment he knows you are here.
Next day the Colonel came over,
and the reader may imagine some
thing of the scene as the fair res
cuer and the manly rescued were
together once more.
1t would seem as if something
were still lacking. Did the Colon.
el eventually marry the devoted
little Southern girl, who so gallant
ly assisted him to escape from Ben
ton Barracks: II l were merely q
novelist writing to please people, l
should certainly say that he did.
The tale would hardly seem COM
plete without it. But as I am
writing history and not novel, ]
must say that he did not. The All
Wise Being who makes history. fire.
quently does things in q way that
would not please the only tolerably
wise men who write novels. and they
in turn frequently do things which
am sure would not please Him.
Why did not Colonel Stemmons
marry his rescuer? Perhaps for
several reasons; one was that he was
q married man himself at the time.
After the war Colonel Stemmons
went to Texas, and soon became one
of the most prominet lawyers in the
State. A few years ago he died in
Dallas, in which city his widow is
still living. Miss Deane has mar
ried, and now lives in New Orleans.
MISS Sandige is nov Mrs. DIR. Flet-
cher of Wartrace. Tenn.
p. w. HORN.
Read Ayers Almanac, which
your drurCist will rIadlv hand vo,,