The National tribune., 1902-10-30
WASHINGTON THURSDAY,

children, or offanother self from whom he
| was far sepafated. Dwelling on such
| thoughts would tend to draw him away
from present prevailing duty. Yet his
heart must have Event. and as conse-
quence it went auk with peculiar affection
| toward an ar1Ry c4mrade by his side, who
/ was congenial Esprit. or whose needs
appealed to lgsssSmpathies. 1t was this
| that made army friendships so close and
precious. and that gave them, in many a
case, touch of romance beyond the crea-
| tiOns of fiction. There was every grade of
these friends6ips7 from the most refined
and poetic to the most commonplace and
| even ludicrous: vet in them all was the
disclosure of the, true soldier heart.
During the slast year of the war there
was an influx of substitutes and "bounty
! jumpers" including foreigners of all de-
leans who had before filled our ranks.
Among these substitutes, desertions were
numerous, and executions were frequent.
There was, in my regiment, an intelligent
Swede, by the name of Lundman, in whom
l became quite interested. The Swedes
were as class good soldiers and good
men,. This one helped me in the putting
up of my chap l-tent, and he afterwards
brought one of his countrymen to me who
could not speak English, but who wanted
to talk with me. One day l learned that
he had deserted and been arrested, and
was now in the care of the ProvOst-Mar-
shall. An Irishman came to me with the
first news of this affair.
"Misther Chaplain" he said, I've
grayOus news for ye. Yer frind, Misther
Lanman, who was afther fxin' yer tent
for ye, sthrayed off the picket line, and
they found him, and think they're calm
him desarter."
Then, with this mild putting of the
facts, he began to plead for his tent-mate
as l had never heard one man plead for
another of another nationality. 1t was
evident that here was one of those pecu-
liar and powerful army loves that take the
whole heart, as only a soldier affection
can. My own heart was moved in SYM
pathy, as the poor fellow poured out his
for his other self.
For the love of God, Misther Chaplain,
save him ev ye can! For Gods sake spake
to the Gin'ril! o God! I'd die ev they shot
m! And !! know he was niver afther
maneing it."
In his rude, tender speech, he told how
he had come to love the Swede.
Its never 1 saw him till we got to
the camp togither; but ey he wuz me own
brother l couldn't luv him more. Ev he
wuz me own counthryman I'd niver be
here a spakin' for him. He had mighty
attractive ways on him. He cud spake
Swadish and Jarman and Inglish, but he
cud only write the Swadish. And he waz
for asking me to write down a little song
for him, that he cud write it ont in Ing
lish. And there he wuz three days at
the writin'. All! he wuz a crate figurist.
I'd go across the ocean with that man all
alone in a ship. Why-wOuld you b'lave
it?-he was afther mar!in' out on a paper
the whole of a compass, ye see. And sez
he, I'll be maxim sailor Nv ye, Pat
Nothin' wuz a mysthery to him. And the
more I saw Nv him, the more l wuz think
in Nv his ways, and the more plazin' they
were to me-"
The eloquence of unselfish love was in
this plea for his friend, and l could not
refuse to do what might in the Swede's
behalf. 1 went to the Provost -Marshaps
quarters, and found that the evidence of
desertiOn was clear, and that the man did
not even denyiit. On my return the Irish
man was watching for me.
"Hev you seen tim, yer riv'rince? Can
you riv-rince do anythin' for him."
Then he told me- feelingly how he hoped
my prayers ut :tTdress-parade, = and my
"tacheings atdthe,, meetings" had had n
good influence over him; as if he wanted
his friend to be ready at the last for the
sad end that threatened him.
Appomattoxe Court House ended the
war, leaving the Swede unshot, and his
Irish tent-mat5 happy; but the incident of
that army friendship freshly impressed me
with sense Of thk tenderness of the un-
common common soldiers heart.
To be continued)