The National tribune., 1901-05-23

field. All are gone-the generous "Old
Virginians,' the gay cavaliers, SambO and
Dinah, the banjo and the bandana turban
are gone. So far as those who peopled
that fine old Virginia mansion and they
who were my comrades are concerned,
the Shenandoah Valley is a cemetery. l
sigh
For the touch of a vanished hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still"
The bugle is silent; the camp-fres are
all out; the cavaliers have pitched their
tents beyond the borderland. The COM
rades whom l loved have gone with the
past; the present is heeting, the future
unknown.
Il feel like one who treads alone
Some banquet hall deserted;
Its flowers all dead its lights all out,
And all but me departed"
Lee and Jackson, Breckenridge and
Cleburne, Stuart and Morgan, Lanier and
Father Ryan, are resting 'oyer there"
Crossing the bar, / hope to meet the com
rades of my youth in the encampment
I,where the light never goes out and the
flowers never die Over there" at the
great reunion-the reunion of the Blue
and the Gray in the unfading light of the
Great White Throne" the music and
the flowers will be perennial.
"These in the robings of glory,
All with the battle-blood CORY
In the dusk OF eternity meet;
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment day
Under the laurel the blue;
Under the willow the gay"
THE RETURN liARcH.
When we started to rejoin Breckin-
ridge the weather was excessively cold,
our horses were nearly starved, and ra-
tions for the men were short and uncer-
tain. Just at this time, however, the
suits of most excellent clothing, English
blue" which had recently run the block
ade. The prevailing Spitzbergen weather
made the English uniforms the more well
come, and ! hope We were duly thankful
to our British cousins.
One of those cold nights / shall never
! forget The nor'wester was a bowling
blast The force of the storm was not
unlike the EuroclydOn of the seas or the
tornado of the woodlands No sky, nc
stars were visible. The moon had the ap
pearance of a white flower in leaden
vase. Capt. Guerrant and myself, more
fortunate than others, secured wisp OF
straw for a bed and the Captains buffalo
robe served for a coverlet. But the wind
whistled through the old tent, the trees
moaned, the tent creaked and finally feI
down, the horses neighed, and we longed
for the dawn of day. Naturally we
thought of the comforts OF nome and tn,
cost of Southern rights" The heavens
ohscured by leaden snow-clouds, resem
bled polar sky; the Lapland fields bound
ed by mountains deep in Alpine snow anC
swept by Siberian blasts, made us fee
that in some mysterious way we had beer
transferred from the Sunny Southland t,
"Greenlands icy mountains"
FAMOUS VIRGINIA SPRINGS.
Our route led us by the way of tn
noted Hot Springs, Warm Springs, Whit
Sulphur Red Sulphur, Red Sweet Sui
phur, and Gray Sulphur Springs, all in
narrow, romantic-looking valley, not NOR
than a mile or two apart. AT each o
them was n large hotel and number o
other buildings, such as shooting galleries
, bowling-alleys, and cottages.
As we we're marching somewhat leisure
: ", Gen. Cosby permitted a short halt a
: each "health resort" that the men nigh
3 inspect the buildings and sample tn
/ waters CT the various springs. We Ell
. camped one night at the White Sulphu
A Springs, where the cavalrymen freel
. roamed over the grounds and through tn
4 hotel and other buildings, all of which
ike buildings at the other springs, wer
4 banquet halls deserted"
i Capt. Guerrant and | were the guest
1 one night in an unpretentious mansio
c where resided the WldoW OF zen. Jonn 4
: Floyd, formerly of President Buchanan
e Cabinet Mrs. Floyd, quietly knitting bt
e side a marble bust of her dead husband
b was an exceedingly gentle, cultured an
motherly lady.
Near Dublin / saw the humble grave q
), Capt. Cleburn, whose brother, Gen. Pa
Cleburne was killed at Franklin, TenI
d Capt. Cleburne had long been rose an
Il fair expectancy" of Morgan's commanc
e he had been killed in fight with Crook
5 raiders and his comrades buried him wheI
he fell On simple board at the hea
Is of the lonely grave was inscribed the 70