Connecticut western news., 1899-01-26
SAVED THE BABY.

"Run,z honey, runi Heah come de YankeesI''
 Such was the cry which reused Nell Tarleton from her bed that summer evening when General Butler, at the head of the Federal troops, swooped down upon City Point, va., and block ed the road to Petersburg. Nell Tarleton dwels with her mother and baby brother in their old fashioned home on the James river The father of the family was away on the Potomac, fighting the battles of the Confederacy, and only few faithful negroes remain ed to guard Mrs. Tarleton and her ohil- dren.
 As Nell sprang from her bed she heard the rattle of musketry mp the river. A shell tore, screaming. over the house, followed by another and another. Then there burst forth from the stables lurid glare. and she heard her moth- er's distracted voice ahrieking that the negro quarters were afire.
 Nell's fingers trembled violently, but she managed to don her frock and shoes before old Aunt Drusilla came lumbar ing up the stairs and drove the child, shoes in hand, from the room.
 "Doan' min yo' shoes till yo' gifts out O fiah," exclaimed Aunt Drusilla resolutely, and so, barefooted and half clad, Nell hurried through the confu- sion of the hall and into the lawn be. fore the house.
 There she found her mother hysterio- al and helpless, and there, too, was the baby, snugly wrapped up and carried by his nurse, the mulatto Phoebe. Some valuables hastily put together lay in bundles on the grass-plainly reveal ed in the ruddy light from the blazing huts. Nobody seemed to know what to do till Aunt Drusilla swept upon the scene. Then movement took the place of inaction.
 "Heah, yo' fool niggahsl' cried the old oolored woman. "What for yo' star in en doin muffin? Want de Yankees to cotch yo', huh? Grab dem bundles an run for de woods. An yo', too, Miss
 -, an yo', honey. Run, tell yo'. Phoebe, min dat ar chile, or warm yo CrOA Douy BOb bO FULL
 And everybody ran--even fat Aunt Drusilla herself. Down the dewy lawn, with the Federal bullets whistling among the tree tops hard by, ana the flames spreading to the barns and sta bles, they fled. For in the night attack no one was safe. Neither north nor south warred against women and ohil- dron hnt rndor of lo~b,~aoc &he gravest danger threatened all within the area of attack.
 At last they reached the dense woods, and the sound of firing came but faint ly to their ears, though the glow of the distant fire still showed it's grim reflec- tion upon the sky line.
 Dis far 'nough," grunted Aunt Dru- silla, who, despite her age and oorpu- lence, had kept well in front of the race. I've can rest now. Put dem bun- dies down, yo' boys, an. O my Lawdl Whar's Ph9bef"
 Poor Mrs. Tarleton turned at the old woman's frightened cry-turned to see that the young mulatto was indeed missing, together with her precious charge, the babyi The unfortunate woman's brain reeled at this last terri ble calamity, and she fell fainting upon the path.
 Kneeling by her side and chafipg her hands, Aunt Drusilla cried frantically to the negro boys, who stood around, to search the woods.
 "Go back de way we come," she shouted. "Phoebe mus be captured or shot. Go back an fetch young marse fore de Yankees git him.''
 But the negroes hung their heads sheepishly.
 "We'se 'fraid, Aunt Drusilla. Deed we'se drefful 'fraid, !" they moaned.
 Wrathfully the old woman rose to her feet.
 "An yo' call yo'selves men P she ex- claimed. "Yo's muffin but pack O cowardly possums. I'll go back mah- self. Yassur Ole Aunt Drusilla ain [ scared O Yankee guns when young Marse Halls lef' behin'.''
 True to her word, the stout hearted Drusilla turned in the direction of the burning outbuildings and shufhed down the pathway as fast as she could go. But another pair of feet were lighter than hers- A little girl in a fiimsy frock, with her shoes olutched in her hands, sped past the old negress. It was Nell Tartleton, trembling no longer, but wild with eagerness to save her baby brother.
 "Come back. honeyi Fo' de Lawd 8 sake, come back P' gasped Aunt Drusil- la, as she snatched unavailingly at the small fguro which rushed so swiftly by. But Nell only shook her head and ran the faster. Farther and farther be- hind dropped poor Drusilla, until at least she lost sight of Nell all together. Then she threw up her hands and sank despairingly upon log.
 "Dat ends it all, <" she sobbed. Boy an gal bofe gone now. What'll Marse Tahleton say when he comes back? An poor missl Boun' to kill her daid when she hear dat Nell's gone too" On through the woods ran Nell--her mother's agonized face ever before her and the determination to save little Hal strong within her. A jagged stone out her bare foot, but could not stay her ,ven for an instant. Now she saw the roofs of her fathers house illuminated by the spreading fire, and now again the shells went whistling over her head. Rabbits and squirrels skurried madly past her, escaping from the advancing troops. She heard the sound of many footsteps and the sharp banging of the Federal rifles. On the rising ground be-