News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1901-06-12

wounded in a camp hospital, that he |
was somehow lost or mislaid and could !
not afterWard be found, that there was |
every reason to suppose that he had
died of the combined effects Of wound, |
fever and exposure, was officially re-
ported to his home.
BY this time the war was over, and |
the stage had been reached when every
community must have its hero, and
Stubs. having the monopoly Of hero
ism at Mossfeld, received the full bene-
fit thereof in posthumous celebrity.
Local ina hination, stimulated to the
highest pitch by patriotic fervor sup
piled the lack OF detail in the official re-
port
The local press came out in black
borders and teemcd with compliments
to his memory and anecdotes Of his life
from earliest infancy, all tending to
show by signs prophetic the promise
Of heroiam Of late 50 grandly fulfilled.
His widow shared and gloried in his
glory, glowing, as it were, under her
Grape, which she decorated here and
there with little specimens Of the stars
and stripes.
The Grand army Of the Republic and
many Of the fratcrnal organizations,
along with the various Sunday schools,
assembled in the town hall to extol his
memory Speeches were made, songs
were sung and the bands Of all the adj
jacent villages struck up patriotic airs
in as much harmony as their combined
resources could muster.
There was some trouble in finding his
will. which, in his Warlike hurry to be
Off he had mislaid. But at last it was
discovered and read, to the inexpressi-
BILE grief Of his widow and the gratit-
cation of the public, for Except leg
acy of 81 to his dear wife) he had left
the benefit of the veterans of the civil
and Spanish wars.
The lady, however emembering the
peculiar state of mind in which he set
out and fortified by the advice of coun
sci, resolved to fight the will.
a stranger came to town by way of
the road that led down from the hills
past the cemetery and, pausing there,
beheld a new and shiny monument
erected by 9 proud and loving widow
and an appreciative community, to the
memory Of Orrin Stubbs, killed in bat
tie in support Of his countfys cause.
One side was devoted to his special
honor as a hero, one to his civic vir-
tues, one to his domestic merits, the
other to his eminent piety. Nothing was
too good to be said of him.
The Traveller smiled and passed on in
to the village and into the tavern. The |
office was deserted. In fact, everybody |
who could had gone over to the coun-
ty seat to hear the will case, for today |
was set Tor the contest between the |
Widow Stubs and the veterans of the
civil and Spanish wars. AN if know |
the widder," said the stranger, reading
a notice in the local paper, shell win.
But, b'gosh, wen see?'
The probate court was crowded.
The widow was testifying. The judge
evidently was favorahly impressed.
WAS his determination to 90 to the
war premedtlted or sudden" asked |
counsel for Mrs. Stubs.
"Oh, very sudden. SO sudden it clean |
took my breath away" said madam.
"Ah. What, if anything, had Mr..
Stubs formerly said concerning his |
possible enlistmeDtT
Gle wouldn't 30 it-not on no ac
couui."
"AnS what reason did he give for thia
to go?"
HE couldn't bear to leave me-" said |
the widow.
Madam, l can well believe it," said |
the judge calamity.
what, if any, reason had he for this |
sudden change of mind"
Didn't have no reason, Mr. Quilts. |
He acted dcmented. He cried an said |
If war was-somethin that | don't like
to say right out in court-then he was
a-goin."
The stranger had arrived in court and
heard all this. He was a very thin
stranger, with a great scar upon his
face and a nose that had been diverted
from its original course.
Counsel for the will put in evidence
Of sanity on the part of Stubs, but
sanity is hard to prove.
Counsel for the will uttered eulogies
on the said Stubs, deceased, and said
1t well accorded with his high patriot
ism and public spirit to leave his all
for the benefit Of those who, like him,
had risked their lives in their country's
cause.
Counsel for the widow uttered fur
Their eulogies on the said Stubs, de-
ceased, and maintained that it i'll ac-
corded with the patriotism and spirit
aforesaid to leave the partner (and
such a partner of his joys and sorrows
unprovidcd for, inasmuch as love was a
heroic virtue Getting instances and the
more inasmuch as the fondness of said
Stubs for said widow was well
Known, to which the loneliness Of coun-
sci might say sol Of said widow was a
living testimony.
The Judge said that happily, the
strong arm Of the law was long enough
to reach even beyond the grave and
project the very dead from the conse.
quences, borne by those near and dear
to them, Of the errors committed by