The Princeton union., 1899-04-13
TIL 3 PRIN CETON UNION: TIURsDAY, APRIL Is, 1899

1899.
About him were the rows and groups
Of men that he had dimly seen the
previous night. They were getting q
last draught Of sleep before awaken
ing. TheTgaunt, careworn faces and
dusty figures were made plain by this
quaint light at the dawning, but it
dressed the skin of the men in corpse
like hues and made the tangled limbs
appear pulseless and dead.
He heard the noise Of fire cracking
briskly in the cold air, and, turning
his head, he saw the loud soldier pot
tering busily about small blaze. A
few other figures moved in the fog, and |
he heard the hard cracking OF ak
blows
Suddenly there was hollow rumble
of drums A distant bugle sang faint
ly. Similar sounds, varying in strength,
came from near and far over the
forest. The bugles called to each
other like brazen gamecocks The
near thunder of the regimental drums
rolled.
The body of men in the woods rustled.
There was general uplifting of heads.
A murmuring of voices broke upon the
| air. In it there was much bass of
grumbling oaths. Strange gods were
addressed in condemnation Of the early
hours necessary to correct war. An
officers peremptory tenor rang out and
quickened the stiffened movement of
the men. The tangled limbs unrav-
eled. The corpse-hued faces were
hidden behind fists that twisted slow
ly in the eye-sockets.
The youth sat up and gave vent to
an enormous yawn. "Thunder!'' he
remarked, petulantly. He rubbed his
eyes, and then putting up his hand
felt carefully of the bandage over his
wound. His friend, perceiving him to
be awake, came from the fire. ''WeI,
Elem, OIL man, how do yeh feel this
mornin','' he demanded
The youth yawned again. Then he
puckered his mouth to bitter pucker.
His head in truth felt precisely like
melon, and there was an unpleasant
sensation at his stomach
"Oh, Lord, I feel pretty bad," he
said.
At the ireside, the loud young SOL
dier watched over his comrades wants
with tenderness and care. He was
very busy marshaling the little black
vagabonds of tin-cups and pouring into
them the steaming, ,iron-colored mixture
from a small and sooty tin-pail. He
had some fresh meat which he roasted
hurriedly upon stick. He sat down
| than or1 o1ofo %1,o
petite with glee.
eth regiment lost over half tn men
yesterday he remarked, eventually.
II thought a course they was all
:, dead, but laws, they keep a-comin'
:, back last night until it seems, after all,
we didn't lose but a few. They'd been
scattered all over, wanderin' around in
:, the woods, fghtin' with other regiments
an everything. Jest like you DONE"
). A sputtering of musketry was always
+ to be heard. Later, the cannon had
entered the dispute In the fog-filled
air, their voices made thuddine
sound. The reverberations were con
:. tinual. This part of the world led a
. strange, battleful existence.
q The youths regiment was marched
to relieve a command that had lair
long in some damp trenches. The mer
. took positions behind curving line O:
>, rife-pits that had been turned up, like
!, a large furrow, along the line of woods
Before them was a level stretch, peo
J, pied with short, deformed stumps
: From the woods beyond came the dull
y, popping of the skirmishers and pickets
- firing in the fog. From the right came
\ the noise Of terrific fracas.
4 The men cuddled behind the small
embankment and sat in easy attitudes
s awaiting their turn. Many had theil
!, - backs to the firing.
!, The youth leaned his breast agains
= the brown dirt and peered over at tn,
\ woods and up and down the line. Cur
- tains of trees interfered with his way
- of vision. He could see the low line O.
-. trenches but for a short distance
e few idle flags were perched on the dirt
hills. Behind them were rows of darl
bodies with few heads stickin,
- curiously over the top.
Always the noise of skirmishers cam
h from the woods on the front and left
d and the din on the right had grown t
- frightful proportions. The guns wer
roaring without an instant's pause fo
e BREATH 1t seemed that the cannon ha
=, come from all parts and were engage
. in stupendous wrangle. It becam
- almost impossible to make a sentenc
a heard. Among the men in. the riff
- pits, rumors again flew like birds
q However, they were now, for the mos
n part, croaking creatures who happe
h. their wings drearily near to the groun
~ and refused to rise on any wings @
- hope. The mems faces grew dolefu
: from the interpreting of many omens
n, Tales of hesitation and uncertainty O.
the part of those high in place, and re
o. sponsibility, came to their ears. Storie
<e of disaster were borne in to their mind
~ with many proofs. This din of mus
t. kerry on the right, growing like re
h. leased genie of sound, expressed an,
ID emphasized the army's plight.
of Before the gray mists had been tota!
a ly obliterated by the sunrays, the reg
ri iment was marching in a. Snread 20