The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-30
May 3D..


They were only lads in 81, most Of
these whitebeards, graybeards, these old
soldiers OF none too soldierly appearance,
who are in the parade to-day. Their
costume is unafectedly gawky. They
are no longer spry on their legs. The
cheapest little TOMMY in Halifax car
ries himself better than most OF them.
The grand marshal OF village cele-
bration is much more inflated and I'M
posing.
Forty years ago they were gay enough.
What a store is in their minds OF grief
and love, what memories OF perilous
days, of dead comrades, of battles, OF
the awful strain Of inactivity and wait
ing and fretting, OF hospital or prison,
OF weary marches, Of hardship, OF
misunderstood movements, incompetent
Generals, perhaps, OF monotonous, kill
ing work in tho trenches, cursed heats
and swamps, long inconsistencies.
From '01 to '85-those were the really
strenuous times; then was the heroic
age, too busy to know it, There are
consultations for the creeping Of Time,
that thief In the night. We can see
the company marching along the streets.
The drums or buges are playing. The
sun shines brightly. What makes the
women and girls cry? The old men are
sad, too On the sidewalk there is much
embracing and kissing, the last for many
a poor devil. Many an old maid re-
members that day. She was young
enough then and her eyes were bright
enough. Cheer upl Don't cry! o,
we're just going to march through the
South and come back" A boast half or
wholly believed in the first days.
OF marched tho young men. The peo-
pie at home hoped and worried. The
Northern soldiers were unfortunate At
first, many Of the youngsters thought
that the art Of war consisted In being
brave and exposing yourself as much as
possible. What black bulletins came out.
Those Internal extras burned Into the
brain of anybody who had a relative in
the war. List Of dead, wounded and
missingl You hung around the news
paper offioe for useless hours. You
clutched tho nswspeper at last, breathed
hard and feared to open 1t. In the vii
lagos tho possessor Of tho first extra
read It aloud at the post once or on
the common. Not . sound, scarcely .
brssth In the little crowds. The names
are read loudly and slowly, after the
reader has looked ahead and satisfied
himself that none Of HE people is gone.
Dead, wounded and missing! A SYM
pathetic buzz and murmr: PATsEY,
HuoHEs's fathers killed. and PATsRY,
tie LITTLE red-headed hunohbaok, yells and
blubbes and runs homo, where there
arc nine or ten more little HUaHEsEs
and only GOD and tho Overseers Of the
Poor know how the mothers to take care
Of ON. Twas Q sweet time and reading
the newspapers was an exciting occu-
patton.
Enough Of this sort Of thing. 1t is
'e5; the war is over; there Is q grand
Dag raising everywhere and tremen-
dous cheering. The little boys yell
their loudest. Old men-and LORD,
how old old men looked forty years ago
cheer in their cracked voices. In 1882,
in the dark days. these old fellows
swors they would carry q musket before
they would give up, 1t must have been
then that young NAPoLRoNs Of ton nib
bled bareback to accustom themselves
to q military life. As the flag COOS up,
some Of the old men look little wet
about the eyes. And that's strange, too.
1t Is 30 hard for the old to weep. And
what q lot OF women are In mourning
that spring.
The boys came back, some of them;
and some Of them are still left. The heart
kindles at the thought OF what they were
AID did. Be good enough to remember
exactly what they did. They saved
tho Union. They were no apostles Of
emancipation, no sentimental worship
pers Of the homicidal humbug, JOHN
BROWN. no disciples Of seoessionist
cranks and rhetorioians like GARRISON
and PHILLIPS. They set out to keep the
United States ono nation. And one and
indivisible 1t is, and the South is glad
Of it.
- When you want to sec men that were
really strenuous in really strenuous
times, look at the G. A. r. men. They
stand out from the tin soldiers like bat
tie flags among the newest product Of the
bunting factory.