The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1898-06-29
THE GLORY OF WAR.
Written Tor The NEWS BY 2. q.


/ Day dawns, the sun rises higher and
higher. The man is now delerious. In
his vaparies lie lives his whole life over.
He Is back amid the scenes of his child
hood, at his home in a quiet Kentucky
village. He romps aud plays with his
youthful chums in all the dear old spots
that were his favorite play grounds.
The transition to manhood comes and
he is speaking TO his sweetheart, utter
ing the same words OF endearment that
he did TO her, before he departed, light
hearted and gay, to join the army and
help to fight his country's battles.
Just twinge OF heart-sickness attend
ed the parting. He did not fully realize
the terrors Of war. His eyes were filed
with the glamour OF its pomp and cir
cumstances. He was proud OF his uni
form and as he took parting embrace
he told his sweetheart not to worry,
that he would soon be back without
scratch to remind him that be had been
TO war.
Now he is child. He is lying on
his bed at the old home; at the side Of
the couch sits his mother. One OF her
worn hands lays on the snowy counter
pane and the other, with a soothing
touch, rests on his fevered forehead and
from fretful slumber, he passes into
dreamless sleep.
But the fever OF heat and thirst are
upon him again and added their tor
lures to the thousands pains that
shoot through his frame from the
swollen hands and leet. The cord cuts
into his flesh cruelty and the slightest
movement brings on food of agony.
He, however, is maddened and strains
at his bonds with the anger of a maniac.
The serpent is aroused and it also works
itself into fury. Its eyes, cleaning
with hate and anger burn deep into
those OF the soldiers. They become
magni6ed a thousand times and when
the man ceases his struggles he is con-
scious that two orbs CLEAN down upon
him that have in their depths all the
malevolence and fury Of the DEVILS.
They fascinate him and their mesmeric
influence produce an hypnotic condition
that makes him insensiU le to all else
save the fear OF the terrible reptile be-
fore him.
And so the day wears on.
The Spaniards who had captured the
soldier and had devised this fendish
torture would, indeed, be fends incar-
nate if they could not gaze on his suffer
ings unmoved.
Tue soldier, whose capacity for ply
sic Al and mental pain had been strained
to the utmost. in the past thirty-six
hours, has grown weaker and weaker.
His delerium is now at its height
and his vagaries are those of the in
sane. He takes to his youthful chums,
to his soldier comrades, he sings the
popular melodies of the day, sobs,
cries and cdrses.
Rain is falling. The fever consumes
the soldier, aud oyercomes the
cooling effect the water has on his body.
He is unconscious of the fact that
there has been a change in weather con-
dtions The moisture penetrates thu
rawhide thongs and they loosen and
stretch The soldier makes restless
movement and gets within the dead line.
The venemous fer de lance, enrsged by
the movement, strikes at the mao aud
this time its fangs sink into his jugular
vein. In few moments the poison per-
meates his entire system. After a few
terrible struggles the soul of the soldier
leaves the body and his sojourn in a hell
of pain is fnished.
After the rain the lizard comes out
from its refuge in the assure OF the rock
1t is curious no longer. The cold
shsrd of the man and the lifeless fer de
lance have lost their interest.