The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-04-06

young man was only twenty years of
age, and had been on picket duty two
nights in succession, having taken a
sick comrades place the night before.
He has won the golden opinion of all
by his upright, unselfsh life while here
in camp, and a great deal of sympathy
is felt over his unfortunate case."
Mr.. Eastman was a reticent, silent
New Highlander, a man whom the
world called proud; but they who loved
him best knew that a deep and affec-
tionate heart lay beneath his undemon-
strative ann
He was also not unused to sorrow
and hardship. His eldest Sol had been
killed in the battle of Bull Run, and he
had thought it not unlikely that Don
aid, frank, light-hearted, boyish Don
aid, might, in the vicissitudes of the
terrible war now begun, meet perhaps
a similar fate. But q dishonored, I'M
timely death like this, the remotest pos
sibility of such a thing had never en-
tered his mind. Unnerved and deep
ly grieved, with faltering step and Ia
bored breath, he sought the outer air.
1t was a beautiful winters night,
despite the singing cold. All COM
mon, familiar objects had been trans
formed by q mantle of pure white snow.
"Silently n by one, in the infinite
meadows of heaven, blossomed the
lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the
angels" And a full moon shed its sill
yer radiance over all the fairy-like
scene.
But Mark Eastman saw not, needed
not. Over and over the words, which
he had read repeated themselves in his
brain. His heart was heavy as lead,
and his power to resist the penetrating
cold, of small avail.
Never in all his life had the road
home from the village seemed so long.
"Poor Donald Poor boy!" he said to
himself, no wonder-he slept at his post.
But an almost lifelong habit, of
steady perseverance, in anything which
he undertook, helped Mr.. Eastman
now Also the knowledge that a sweet
faced, gray-haired woman, a~nxiously
waited and watched, through long
hours.
And 30, by an effort of will, he
slowly, bravely struggled on, until at
last, he gained the shelter of his own
dear home. Once there, under his
wife's skilful care, he soon rallied from
the attack of heart trouble, which bad
news from Donald, combined with over
exertion, had brought n
With an attempt to soften a little,
the dread news he brought for his wife,
he observed: "Donald is in trouble, |
read about 1t down to the office, in the
evenings paper, but l have a letter
here from him, which may explain
things somewhat"
And 80 these two, long past midnight,
in the silence of the farmhouse kitchen,
broken only by the ticking of the clock,
bent with an eager tense, aborbing in
terest over their sons letter. This is
what they read:
Camp Griffin, Va, Jan. 4, 1862.
Dear father and mother :-Doubtless
ere this letter reaches you, you will
have learned all the sad news through
the papers, and yet not all. In justice
to myself, l must now speak of what
otherwise l should have passed over in
silence. For several months there has
been an unusual amount of sickness in
camp. Fevers, intermittent, and ty-
phoid, and pneumonia, have been, espe-
bioilJ plCNdlCnl3 anu l. uhNG Dttu Duby
by day, and often by night, to the ex-
tent of my poor ability, trying to relieve
the sick. 1t would make your heart
ache, as it has mine, to see the suffer
ing among these poor fellows, away
from the comforts of home and the care
of those who love them best. And
then the night before l went on picket
duty, l took Percival Trent's place, as
he was threatened with pneumonia.
This l did, not alone for his sake, al
though l have always found him true
as steel and worthy of my deepest re-
gard and friendship, but also for his
sister, Isabel's, IS l have reason to
know that she almost idolizes this
brother OF hers.
Speaking of these two reminds me
that l wish you to know from my own
pen, what perhaps you have long sur
surmised. How shall tell it best?
| do love and have loved, for a long
time, and with all my heart, lisa.
bel Trent. Before l left home, for
the army, l sought her love in return
and received only friendship. Perhaps
| was p~recipitate. Be that as il may,
since that time, my love for her has
grown deeper, and more manly with
! very passing day, and l had not, could