The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1895-03-02
,&Wor)eHS
>aa.'!E"'St'N2plNrEREsTs:
UNCLE BEN'S LETTER.


had been in the family so long.
"What have you in there?" ] asked,
pointing to faded blue plush case origi-
nally intended, fancied, for set of silver
teaspoons. Before answering my question
Bill opened the box and held it so that !
could look into it, and but for yellow
envelope it was empty. He took up the
envelope, touching it with exceeding care
and handed it to me.
"What of it," | asked after reading the
name and address--"NIrs. Mary Hnllett,
Antioch Lake county, Ills"
"You notice" said he. 'that it has never
been opened"
eyes" answered. land what this post
mark written with a pen? Why, it is
Gettysburg isn't it ~
eyes. That's where the letter was
mailed addressed to my mother, and. as
Won see. no one has broken the seal =
"why, that's strange. Tell me about
it,"
In order to get the history OF a relic
had to feel, or rather pretend that felt,
great interest in it. Bill took the letter
and nut it away, and after time told me
the following bit of family history:
"You see. my mother thought more OF
her brother. nv Uncle Ben, than she did
Of almost anybody in the world "hlle
unite Young she married in the east, and
she and father, together with Uncle Ben,
came ON to this state. | don't recollect
much about my father. for he died not long
after | was born, but from what nave
ALWAYS understood the marriage was not a
happy one Well, Urcle Ben finished
having for the farm and had the deed made
over to mother.
az merely mention these small details to
show how much the brother and the sister
were attached to each other, Well, when
the war broke out-and recOllect it we'll.
FOR was o smart chunk Of boy-tncle
Ben swore that it was his duty to go. My
mother was very patriotic woman, but
with the selishness of a woman's affection
she could not see why she should be called
upon to give up her only brother. But
Uncle Ben declared that every woman
should not only be called upon to give up
her brother, but her son, her husband, her
life. il needs be. He was so devoted to the
Union, so strong in his denunciation OF all
people who were lukewarm, that when the
time came he was elected captain OF COM
papy. And so on he marched, leaving my
mother in the deepest grief. At night she
would awake me with her sobs, and many
a time when heard no sound would put
nv hand on her pillow to find it wet with
tears. OF course the violence OF her grief
did not last, for pride and the love OF coun-
try babe her be brave, but whenever we
received news that a battle had been fought
she would lock herself in her room and
there wait to hear that her brother was
dead.
"Thus it went on until his death was
mentioned in the dispatches. He was
killed at Gettysburg and two days later
there came letter from him. My mother
knew that it had been written just before
he went into battle-probably the very last
thing he did was to seal it-and she de-
clared that the seal must never he broken.
| remember that some of the neighbors
argued with her that she ought to see what
the letter had to say, but she said not. 1t
must forever remain sealed. So she never
did open it, and when she came to die she
told me to keep it just as she had kept it
and to leave it to my favorite child, with
the same instructions that she had given
me. My mother was of excellent stock,
and have thought that this prompted her
sometimes to say that the crest of her
descendants might he an unopened letter.
She always said this laughinely, but have
noticed that it is in spirit of fun that we
sometimes show our pride. Well, as you
see, have never opened the letter, and |
never intend to. Pm going to leave it to
my son Andrew
Bill and went fishing that afternoon, as
we did nearly every Saturday during the
summer, and all the time we were casting
! was itching to know what was in that
letter. OF course | knew that it contained
simply few lines telling his sister that a
battle was on, and that he trusted in God
and the right. But | wanted to see the
lines. | could fancy the shape of the
sprawling characters, written with a pen
Gil by the light of candle held by bay,
onet stuck into the ground
Bill, )" said |, 'you would have found
me among the neighbors urging youl
mother to open the letter"
"But not if you had seen that not toe
open it was a sentiment with her.
'Well, don't know about that. Prob.
ably not"
The next time went out into the coun
try to fish with Bill found him in rather
detected state. The drought had con
tinued so long that he knew that the crops
must be failure, and summer boarder
had not come in numbers sufficient t.
insure an offset for the damage. Bill sale
he didn't care to fish "If I were to hang