Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1896-12-24
CHAPTER L

THE LONG ROOM AT sUNNYsIOE.
Gen. Frederick Holiday. ry uncle,
served his country in the field from the
opening of the civil war to it's close.
He entered the army as a first lieuten-
ant and rose DO the rank which have
coupled with his name. Few soldiers
of that war participated in so many bat
ties; and his tremendous energy urged
him ever to the front. 1t is therefore
the more remarkable that not a drop of
blood was exacted from him as the price
of his devotion to the cause. Horses
We're shot under him; comrades fell
dead at his side; but neither steel nor
lead could touch him. Yet his name
was written on bullet; and it was or
dained that, when scenes Of violence
had become mere dreams, in the home
of his peaceful old age, and in an hour
of absolute tranquility, the death he
had SO often gone TO meet should come
to him.
1t was drowsy summer afternoon.
lay in hammock under the trees be-
fore nay uncle's home, called Sunnyside,
on the banks of the Hudson. some miles
below West Point. Some ono passed
along the concrete walk near me, but l
was so near to sleep that l had not the
energy to turn my head to soc who it
was. l supposed, however, that it was
Capt. Charles Marshall, an officer of the
United States army, and the accepted
sutton Of my uncle's daughter
My feeling for Marshall was not cor
dial. Iwould have much preferred to
see Margaret engaged to Horace Preble,
whom l liked exceedingly. Two years
before, had believed that they would
make a match; but my uncle's influence
had turned the scale IL favor of Mar
shall. / say this on my own authority,
and as an expression of my belief at the
time. The accepted theory, however,
was that Preble's loss of his small for
tune, through tho dishonesty of trus-
tee, had caused him to withdraw from
the contest. had seen comparatively
little of him since, though recently
had begun to meet him in society.
where, being of good family and re-
markably attractive appearance, he
was favorite despite his utter lack of
interest in the gayeties of that world.
Marshall was forty years old, and
typical soldier. The idea of Margaret's
marriage to him suggested an incar-
ceration in military prison.
A few minutes after the steps which
| took to be Marshall's passed me,
suddenly remembered that the general
had asked me to confer with him upon
a matter of business that afternoon.
l knew that l should find him at that
hour in the Long Room" as it was
called, an apartment extending the full
length of one side of the house. This
somewhat unusual feature had been
added to the house, considerably to the
detriment of its external appearance,
by the general orders. He made it his
parade ground in bad weather; and
there he used to march up and down,
attended by many soldiers wrath,
summoned by his OLD commander from
q grave in the south. The furnishings
OF the room were as peculiar as its di-
mansions. Atone end was the generals
desk where he wrote his letters. There
was also an easy chair for reading, and
some small, revolving bookcases. The
other end had somewhat the appear
ance of a conservatory: aud midway
was a couch with cushions, work
basket with colored woods, and other
indications that Margaret often kept
her father company in the Long Room.
I found her there seated She lay
on the couch fast asleep. l stood by