Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1903-07-23
THE BULLET THAT
MADE IT ALL THE SAME
fOriginal.]

EOriginal.]
I we'll remember the day we received
the news in America that France had
declared war against Prussia. l refer
to the war of 1870 l was sitting in
the garden with Aunt Margaret l was
then eighteen and Aunt Margaret was
twenty-eight. She was still beautiful
and was always what may be best de-
scribed as a high bred dame, having
great dignity and reserve. had re-
Gently visited West Point, and every
thing connected with war interested
me. But l noticed when l read the
telegram in the newspaper that Aunt
Margaret shtfddered.
'You don't like way, Aunt Mar
gaetI~ / said. Il think it must be
fine"
"If you had been Old enough to real
ize what we passed through from 1861
So, you wouldn't consider it so fine.
You would consider It horrible"
Cant you tell NE something to make
me feel as you do about It, Aunt Mar
garrett"
She was silent for some time, then
said:
81 shail have to touch upon a con
quest but you must excuse. that and
not consider me vain. I was at West
Point during the civil war when one
Of the classes was graduated There
was little FELLOW in the graduating
class-his name was Hutchins-who
looked funnier tn his cadet uniform
than most Of them. His hair WIS crop
ped very short. and his fhce was un-
usually red, except when he hlushed,
and then 1t was scarlet. He singled
me out from among the girls for his
special devotion. This amused SOME
OF the cadets, and could see them
Laughing together when be came ND to
me all 10 f1dget blushing TO the tips
OF bis eara to Gsk me to go down Fir
tatinn walk az climb to Emt Put or to
dance the second or third time during
q hop. It was rather amusing to me,
too, for I Was used 10 attentions from
only the moa courtly young men at
home
I tried to keep the boy OF without
wounding his feelings, but that was
impossible. He told me his classmates
rallied him ON what they called his as
surance and poked great deal of fun
at him. II know" he said, .that I'm
making fool of myself, but l can't
help it." did all could to show him
that he was not making fool Of him
hY1< OF no coy ~ ~
ed at the impossihiltty of anything Sc
rious between a girl with q position in
society to maintain and an officer of
the lowest grade in the army. He said
he knew It. reiterating that he was a
fool, but couldn't help being fool.
There was a pathetic look ON his face
when he hade me goodby, saying that
asouthern bullet would doubtless make
It all the same to him. OF course it
! wouldn't do for me to laugh at this,
though I fancied he's would be in love
again in less than year, possibly
few months.
At first the war was quite exciting,
and the young fellows who were hur-
rying about in their new uniforms en-
Joyed it, and everybody was interest
ed. But 1t dragged on and ON, and aft
er awhile an unusual number of wom-
en- began to appear in mourning, the
mourIhl>s increasing every year. Then
read an account of an affair where a
number Of men had done something
very wonderful, the whole thing hav-
ing been planned and the men led by
Lieutenant Hutchins l believe they
entered the suutherners camp and
spiked lot of guns, though l don't
know what that means. Hutchins was
very badly wounded during the re
treat A bullet had entered his chest
| so near the heart that the surgeons
did not dare to probe for tt. So, after
ALL the bullet which was to make it
''all the same for him" came and end
ed his career before it had fairly be-
gun.
| "He dfed?'
Eyes; he died in hospital"
l waited for her to say something
more, but she did not Sine took up the
paper, read the war dispatch and laid
it aside 1t seemed to me that there
was something incomplete about her
story. | wondered il the young mars
death had affected her. She had such
admirable control OF herspn that I
could not tell. IRhRd, SO well poised
was she, So used to tine attentions Of
wealthy bachelors, men of the wUrd,
that I could mot believe that IT had
been matter Of much ln1nent
Long after she told me the story 1
one day Went to her dressing case to
borrow an article of jpwehy-fpr was
used to apprunriating her belongings
to my own use-and, rummag1ng
through the drawers, o1un upon an
ebony box curtuusfy mounted. The
key was in the lock and, turning It, l
lifted the lid. The first article that ar
rested my attention was round
leaden bullet closet the lid and bur-
RED away, feeihlS. as II I had tnadver-
tentfy stumbled upon q skrhfUn.
| Aunt Margaret" / said later, Ibid
they ever extract the bullet that killed
your friend Hutchfns?"
i IA.