The National tribune., 1900-05-03

Home at last, home. sweet home. Then
came irving days for me. My family
could not do enough for me, and 1t seemed
the whole community turned out en- maSse
to visit me time and again. had suddenly
become hero iii their eyes, and began TO
think | was the first returned soldier they
had seen. Dear, kind friends! Their in
tentions were the best, but Just then needed
rest most of anything.
Mother had everything ready for my
home coming long before my arrival. The
first night went TO bed early, but, as it hap
pened, not to sleep. AS / had for year
been obliged TO put upwith the sort OF bed
that usually falls TO the lot of a soldier in
active service. now it would be different and
for some time it was, with big majority.
Ny bed must be equipped with the biggest,
softeSt feather tick the house afforded, and
when / rolled into it / thought it would
smother me. tried TO sleep, but could not.
As | had often done when camped on low
ground when ii was raining. and the water
soaked up through my blanket until felt
il. rolled over a little until feltit again, and
kept il up till j was wet clear around, so
rolled and tumhled in that mass of feathers,
trying 10 find an easy place, but i'll vain.
When could stand the torture no longer
got up, pulled the feather bed off on the
floor, lay down on the straw tick; and
finally went to sleep. 1t nearly broke
mothers heart when she found what had
done; but a compromise was effected and L
was allowed to sleep where thought best,
which was part of the time on the floor and
the rest of it on the straw tick.
1t was n hard matter TO make my folks
comprehend my dislike TO a feather bed, but
that dislike sticks TO me even now. Not
withStanGing my long hospital experience,
had much trouble in getting accustomed
to a soft pillow. Ny saddle had occupied
that position SO long that when wanted to
get comfortable nap | would take few
bricks, pile them up on the floor, throw u
blanket over them, then lie down and go to
sleep.
l took my medicine faithfully, and with
that and the home-life began TO feel like
myself again before cold weather came.
DIR. Hall, an old practitioner in the village,
took great interest in me. His long
practice there had piled up a lot of uncol-
lected bills, and he proposed to furnish q
horse and sulky and send me out to collect
them on a fat commission. / started out
with 81 500 in accounts in my bill book and
worked faithfully day after day, but with.
out success so far as collecting anything,
and must have ridden thousand n lies in
my efforts to do SO. 1t worried me not
little over my failure as a collector, but now
guess | did not know that doctors bi Is
were otexpected TO be paid after the ink on
the ledger i'll which they were recorded had
dried. But, though l could accomplish
nothing for the doctor, / was getting as
brown as berry, gaining health and
strength every day, and soon weighed more
than had ever before.
When the weather grew cold concluded
to throw up my job. took the bills to DIR.
Hall and told him was sorry l could not
collect them. but had done uy best and
failed. did not then understand his smile
and the peculiar twinkle of his eyes when
returned the. bills. He said: well, Mat,
never mind the bills. i did not much think
you could do anything with them. Come
and get horse whenever you want one,
and don't be afraid to use it,"
woMEN'S WORK FOR SOLDIERS.
Wise old Doctor! learned later his col
Letting was only ruse to keep me out-of-
doors and get enough exercise in the open
air to build up the cells of my badly-dam-
aged lungs. Evidently his plan was good
one, for, before that hardest of all the Win
tiers had ever known, the Winter of 1863
and 1864, when all the mercury thermome-
ters in theState were frozen solid for week
ct time, felt was man again, ready