The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1896-05-29

W
oen on the grass, gently turned it over
and presented to her the face of he
siam husband; when shrek afte
shrlek broke in quick and startlip
succession from her convulsed bosom
and she was carried, In state of will
ana fearful frenzy, into the house. TIL
homicide was the tory husband, who
having met his victim in the fight
and acting. as he averred, under an ir
reslstble impulse, had singled ont ant
slain one, whom, the next moment, h,
would have given worlds to have heer
able to bring to life. X
The scattered forces of the sky nov
again began to collect, and the rain t,
descend, and the angry winds to roaI
throoh the surrounding forest, com
polling both the assailed and assail
ants to retire from the fields and woods
to their respective places of rsndez
vous for shelter. And soon nigh,
closed over the scene, and shroudec
every object from view with its Egyp
tian darkness.
Widely different we're the feelings anc
impressi ons which the events of that
afternoon had impaired to the troops
of the two opposing armies. The ad
vartages gained, though not very i'm.
portant or decisive, had yet almost
wholly on the side of the Americans.
Their different parties of scouts and
skirmishers, who, with the first slack
ening of the storm, bad filled the
woods in every direction around the
British encampment, had slain or dis
abled, in the various encounters of the
day, more than 80 of their opponents,
and, among them, two Indian chiefs.
proportional to the evaporation with
their presence here had occasioned
And the effect of the whole had been
to Danish the last remaining doubts of
success from their bosoms, and make
them long for the hour when they
should be permitted to meet the foe on
regular battle. The losses and defeats
of the royal forces, on the other hand,
b ad proportionally depressed ther feel
ings, and filled them with dark forebod
ings of the fate which was in store for
them. Nor did these feelings, in con
junction with the natural effect of the
gloom and physical discomforts of
their situation, long fail of charac-
teristic manifestation among the con
trasted bands of that fated army. And
strange and fearful were the sights and
sounds which their encampment eA-
hibited during the night of storm and
darkness that followed. The spllen
oaths and outandish grumbling of the
Germans, delving and splashing away
at their unfinished INTERCHANGEABLE
noisy excavations of the exasperated
tories moving restlessy about from
tent to tent and swearing revenge for
the losses-the sputtering of the Cana
dians-the frightful whooping Of the
savages as their dark
forms were seen dotting about in the
Pickering light of their camp fires and
finally the groans and disappearing
curses of the poor wretches who had
been wounded in the skirmishes of the
day all mingling with the wailing of
the wind and the ceaseless pattering
of the rain combined to form a scene
as wild and dismal as language could
well paint or even imagination con
ceive and throw over this devoted spot
of earth more of the air of the regions
of the damned than of the abodes OF
human beings.
But what in the mean while, we're
the thoughts and sensations OF the
hapless maiden, whose fate and for
tune seemed to have become so
strangely involved in the movements
and scenes we have been describing?
To her the day had been but varying
scene of blood and wretchedness of
terror and painful excite
ment. And night had come only to be
M ade still more hideous by its aecum-
ulated horrors. Shuddering at the
strange and appalling sounds, that con-
stantly assailed her recoiling senses
from without, and panied and dis
tressed at the ctaseless wailing of the
and heart broken wife with
in-often startled and alarmed at the
noisy intrusions of the heartless tories
in the room below, and their frequent
threats. and even occasional attempts
to get into her apartment above, and
tortured by the anxieties, suspense, and
she felt respecting the
fate for which she might be reserved,
of the more Immediately
evils around her, she lay, hour
after hour, during the first watches OF
that fearful night, tremblingly cling
ing to her less troubled companion,
and earnestly praying for death, or the
approach of morning, to relieve her from
some of the horrors of her situation.
But at length her exhausted system |
Welded to the requirements OF nature,
and her senses became locked, and her
ares lost, in the forgetfulness OF
,lumher.
She and her attendant were awak-
med. the next morning, by the reveille
If the dangerous brass drums OF the
+lessians, and the mingling hum OF the
stirring camp around them Attirlne
themselves with that haste which,
whether required or rot, is usually
on state OF great anX
ety, they ran to the window and
danced out over the landscape. But
chat contrast with what 1t yester-
Law presented The black storm cloud,
hat had SO closely broodei over the
arth, had been rolled away, AID the
erulean vault above was as calm ana
.loudess as if storm and tempest hau
ever disfigured its beautiful expanse.
rbe air was full of balmy sweetness
I'd on the golden sun, slowly mount
20 over the eastern hills, poured down
'is foods of light upon the varigated
. odscape. Transforming the still-weep-
no foes into sea of glittering d.
'monds converting the hitherto I'M
'',t;ced upeuings on the surrounding
,ilIsides into bright spots of smlling
ardure and adding brighter tint to
be yellow fields of waving grain, that
t,,.d ripening in the valley, soon to be
rod and trampled by other than peace
For here. far other harvest here
Than that which peasants scy the
demands,
Was gathered in by sterner nanuss
Z it'll musket. blade, and spear; =,