The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1897-05-27

festival upon which the nation yearly
honors its dead defenders, and every
member of the group carried some
wreath or floral token, with which to
decorate the graves of departed soldier
friends.
my dear, the story will keep" an
swered the person addressed as
grandfather" tall, grizzled veteran
with medals on his breast; "let us
first of all place our flowers upon the
different graves. This is Old Soldiers
section of the cemetery, you know,
and every tomb covers the body of
some brave fellow. BY the
way, yonder is grave without any
tombstone-not new grave, either.
l wonder who he is that lies be-
meath"
He pointed towards where near the
confine of the Old Soldiers section,
an humble mound of earth marked the
last resting place of some warrior less
fortunate than his fellows.
Come, children" continued Colonel
lbu'u were Ills udllt anu
rank, 81 have n fancy to lay an offer
ing on that poor deserted grave. If
any wreaths are left when we have dec
Grated the tombs of my dear comrades,
we must bring them over there. Who
knows but that some gallant lad lies
beneath that nameless grave?"
''But the story, grandfather Tell
MS the story as we go along" insisted
the flaxen-locked little woman who had
first spoken
Colonel Flanders shrugged his
shoulders, still broad and straight as
in campaigningi days. He knew that
it was useless to contend against this
tyrant in short dresses, and so as they
wandered from monument to monu-
ment, leaving here wreath and there
n fragrant nosegay, he told for the
twentieth time the tale demanded. 1t
made pretty picture, and tender
one withal-this of the old fighter,
surrounded by his hower-laden grand
children, recalling times of storm and
stress, while he lovingly decked the
gravestones of comrades and kin.
Many a passer-by stopped to look after
the little procession with smiles bright
or wistful, and one spectator especially
stared SO hard that he drew the
colonePs kindly eyes in his direction.
This was a lad of twelve or thereabouts,
pale and pinched of face, with great
dark eyes and clothing that was even
ragged.
Poor little chap" commented the
kindly veteran. See how enviously he
eyes our flowers. Perhaps he has got
some relative buried here, too. must
ask him."
But the boy, as though divining his
purpose, had turned, and was already
fastening down the gravel walk.
Colonel Flanders sighed and continued
his story.
'It was at the siege of Vicksburg,"
he said, "and the fighting was fast and
furious. l think 1 never, before or
since, saw war in all its terror or in all
its glory as at that siege.
We had captured Confederate fort
and held it from 10 o'clock in the morn
ing until 4 o'clock in the afternoon;
with shot and shell rafting about us
from dozen different directions. At
4 o'clock the Confederates came down
upon us in force. Our men fought like
the staunch hearts they were, but we
could do naught against numbers, aud
were finally, after a desperate struggle,
driven out of our position and back to
the Federal lines. II was only when
we rallied-with half of our men dead
or missing that discovery was made
dire beyond telling to the soldiers ear.
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