Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-10-19
| paratus. No., sir, you can have all tho
cannon balls in your stomach, and glory

I II
you want. y
And so Tristan would not. There came
along young man in a day or two
hunting place in a company, and iris
tam paid him small sum to take his
place, and as strange as it may appear,
this young man in one of the seven days
fights around Richmond in 1862, while in
line with his comrades. under that gal
liant old soldier whom we delight to call
odd sTige". Anderson. had piece of she'll
to pass through the front OF his abdomen
and take away the greater portion of the
stomach 1t was my province to find the
poor fellow and attend to him tho few
days he lived in the Second Georgia Hos
pital at Richmond. From him l learned
these facts just before his death. He was
brave Georgian and died as thousands
Of others did fighting III defence OF their
honest conviSt ions.
When soldiers were needed and the
Confederate Congress passed what is
known as the conscript act, requiring
every able-boded white male to go to the
front, his friends thought that Tristan.
was certainly cornered; that he had no
chance but to so. But not so; Tristan
proved himself prepared for the occa-
sion.
In a few days a call was made under
this act for all able-bodied men under
| So years of age to report at once Aor
duty. Now, some four years prior to this
Tristan had married lovely girl Of some
eighteen summers, giving her to under
stand that he was only %. Of course,
Mrs. Shuiman was much troubled at the
thought of Tristan being forced to the
front and at once began to fmproV1Se
wardrobe and other belongings. such as
soldiers might need on the tented field.
~. c;r CT fn9
she spared not the expense in her pur-
chases and preparations for Tristam's
comfort.
In a few days, however, Tristan sum
moned courage to candidly tell her not
to worry, that there had been, when they
married, little want of candor on his
part in telling her his exact age. 70 be
Of good cheer, that he must tell her in or
der to set her mind at rest, that he was
just little over So and did not have to go
yet awhile. Mrs. Shuiman did not relish
this very kindly. but JOY at saving her
husband from the front was so great that
she allowed the good to supersede the bad
and did the best she could to look over
this little fault. For several months all
was apparently serene. Yet, Mrs. Shul-
man had married a consistent church
man, and in all her intercourse with MIN
during her four years OF married lie a
single inconsistency or act looking to un-
truthfulness had never before occurred
It was weeks before she could become
reconciled, bearing her cross in silence,
telling no one. At the time OF
their marriage she felt that
eight years disparity in their ages
was too great, but now to supplement
this disparity with ten additional years
oh. the thought was too much.
STILL TOO OLD.
TheI, the call came that all men under
20 should report at once. AT this news
Mrs. Shuiman felt certain Tristan would
row, and no mistake, have to go. But
Tristan this time did not walt SO long,
as his wife had seemed to rejoice at his
being too old before to go he soon called
her aside and told her that he was still
too old to co. That he had not only de-
celvcd her in being under IS, but could
| face her now and tell her he was over
20 years OF age. This the good wife did
not at I'LL fancy. The double fact OF de-
cepticn on the part Of her husband, and
being tied to an old man. proved to her
feelings a great nervous shock. So much
SO that the poor woman for several days
took to her bed.
All the Measures that she had first ex-'
pericrced at the announcement OF his not
being subject to a soldiers duty was thus
displaced by the thought of duplicity.
her that she had married liar and an
old man. But as criminal as he had
proven, it was still a pleasure that he
was exempt from musl1et duty. A good
wife can school herself to many things
for the benefit Of the man to wnom she
had vowed before man and high heaven
to love and cling to above all others,
and just as this woman's schoollns was
about being perfected and she brought
round RI he pojuf of recOnClua ton and
resignation, there was another call for
all the able-bodied men under 40 to report.
This order was more imperative than
the preceding ones, and gave less time
for preparation. BY this time this
good woman had within the last twelve
OF eighteen months gone through such
tribulation she was prepared to look for
any emergency, and with less ado than
Oh former occasions set about to fix up
Tristam's haversack and other accoutre-
ments This Tristan readily preceived.
Her calm resignation to the trend events
had taken so affected him that all his
courage to talk to his wife on the sub
ject Of the late order had so deserted MN
it was the trial of his life to come for
ward and own up like a little man that
he was even over %. This he did,
however, in a few days. He owned up
to her that he was really over %,
consequently still exempt from military
duty. When he did so she Immediately
caught him by both hands, exclaimins,
MY God, Mr.. Shiuman, how old are
you?"
She fell to the floor in a swoon. The
announcement was such a great shock
to her nervous system that she kept her
bed for at least two months, then re-
covered, and for many years made TITS
tam good wife But all who knew OF
Tristam's war record and his wife's trou-
bles always fanced that as long as she
lived there was a tinge OF sorrow ana
trouble always crossing her path.
After the war Shiuman waNed rich, and
TO his honor be it said that every three
months the good mother Of the poor
boy who took his place and died OF his
wounds was the recipient of handsome
check as long as she lived.
Tristan still lives. To his intimate
friends he admits that he did at first de-
ceive his wife as TO his age. That ne
was over So when he first married, and
that, as he had so easily kept her in the
darl; as to his age, he would practice a
still further deception on the Confederate
Government He always justified himself
by quoting the old saw that AL is lar
in war.
1862 the Confederate Congress felt SO
greatly the Importance OF gettlng l lh.o
the field as many troops as possible. that
various acts were passed faVorlng enlist
ments One was that any man held N
prison VIII chad not already been convict
ed of a crime or felony, or any man VINO
had committed a crime or felony, but
bad NOT been arrested, or any one SuS-
naoto5 If such should be free from ar