The herald., 1898-06-06
ROUND THE CAMP FIRE
Is ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

1t was Company l. of the Seventh regi-
ment of California volunteers. They sat
about their camp fire night before last,
sixty or eighty splendid fellows in Uncle
Sans blue. You remember the evening.
perfect as God sometimes sends to add to
California's glories. The great white moon
swan through sea of gray, with starry
islands set along her course. 1t was a
peaceful night, one of those evenings when
recollection awakes and touches the
strings of life with a tender hand.
The hearts of the boys responded to its
tranquil beauty. Pretty soon one of them
began humming the words of the ancient
war song, "Just Before the Battle,
Mother" then another joined in the words,
and another and yet another, until all of
Company L were singing the old words
with tears in them.
And were they thinking lovingly of their
mothers, these great boys who have moth
ing but jest for us? Well, whether they
were or not, the next words they sang
were, where is My Wandering Boy To-
night?" And IL that does not prove the
case, then tell me, some of you, what the
moisture that glimmered in the eyes of
some Of our splendid boys proved. Moist
ure, you say, in some of the mems eyes?
Even so; and, by heaven, they will not be
the worse soldiers for it. Now, do you be-
lieve they will?
Corporal Bishop is one of the Santa Ana
boys, and he is constructed on a good,
square, manly pattern. He took me into
his confidence yesterday. and I will take
the public into mine, for the incident is
He was looking through his valise and
I was sitting by his side. Then caught a
glimpse of something and said:
what is that?"
The "that" was a rag doll in a condition
of dirt and apparent depravty.
So Corporal Bishop told me about it.
II have no child of my own" he said,
"but my little niece Clara-she is years
old-lives near me, and we are great
friends. When was leaving home there
was-well. the regular thing, you know;
goodbyes and God bless yous, and each of
the home folks had some little keepsake
to give me.
Nov, Clara's dearest possession was
ner doll. She thought everything of it,
dragged it everywhere with her and-weil.
you can judge by its looks how much she
lOV6u IL. just us L WAS leaving Ine mouse
she toddled up to me and reaching this doll
out to me she said:
"'Untel Tlyde, amt dot anything else to
div you. but here's Mary Maria, and hope
you'll teep her awful tareful, won't your
and I'll do it," said Corporal Bishop.
| And Judge from the look in his eye as
he said it that he will.
A newspaper correspondent slept in the
tent with Maj. Choate, the chief surgeon of
the Seventh California volunteers, night
before last. In the middle of the night
Maj. Choate was awakened by an unusual
occurrence. When he had gathered his
sleep-scattered senses he found that the
correspondent had him by the shoulders
and was shaking him, at the same time
crying:
Listen! Listen! It's the call to go!"
This he repeated several times, then re-
turning to his bed famed himself with his
blanket for some time and finally settled
down for the night.
The point of this story, II 1t has point
lies in the fact that the correspondent was
asleep throughout his feat. 1t was an in
stance of the ruling passion strong in
sleep.-A. J. Waterhouse in S. F. Exam
liner.