Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1906-09-13
"REMINISCENCES
By E. S. CHAMBERLArN.

By E S. CHAMBERLAIN.
Colonel Porter Downs was in a guam
;ary. He had accepted an invitation tc
Mrs. Fenwick's dinner and he had
found himself seated beside Mrs. Gle
nert Gordon. Now, in ordinary circum-
stances. the presence of this woman
would have filled the gallant colonel with
the most agreeable anticipations. Brt
Just at present he wished her anywhere
else than at his side.
The fact was, he and his friend Har-
vey were operating little corner in
Manhattan Consolidated, and among the
unlucky shorts" who had been caught
BY the rise was the firm Of Pratt & Cor
don, Of which Mrs Gordon's husband
was the junior member Harvey, who
was managing the pool, had insisted
upon showing no leniency; and as re-
suit of the squeeze it was pretty certain
that Pratt & Gordon would be forced
Ito the wall Just how much Mrs. Cor
don knew of her husbands affairs Downs.
gof Saurse, could not tell But if she hap
lpened 10 be aware that he held her hus-
bands financial life in his hand, il was
Iquite possible that trouble awaited him
/ before the dinner was over The colonel
twas justly proud of his reputation with
fthe ladies', but to discuss a matter OF
business with woman, however attrac-
hive she might be, was something he
would never voluntarily consent to do
IAnd whep the question was the saliva
stion or ruin OF her husbands firm, It's
discussion. was clearly not to be
\'thought of,
! But there the lady sat, and it was quite
pippossihle to neglect her. He must do
something. And, like all great captains,
believing a vigorous attack the best de-
Efence, he started in to entertain her to
the very best of his ability. For, If any
Thing could divert her attention from inn
bending trouble, it was Downs converse
tion when he really threw himself into it.
He commenced by telling her some hui
tnorous incidents of his recent Southern
"trip, and driftcd by degrees into a de-
lscriptinn of Southern life and the beau
Ties Of Southern scenery. Obviously he
was leading up to some of his war
"reminiscences, for in extremity the col
cnel always fell back upon the adven-
army life in the South.
"And the Shenandoah Valley he re-
marked, after time, the Shenandoah
Valley is certainly one OF the most beau
iiiul spots in all the South"
"Yes, 1t is" Mrs Gordon agreed. az
passed my girlhood there, and go back
nearly every year. / don't know whether
its altogether the beauty of the scenery
-Ethaps it's the old associations that
give It the' -charm--but ! have never
found place That seems to me to COM
pare with it"
'Indeedl' said Downs. II had no idea
you we're a Southerner. Where was
your homer
"A few miles out of Winchester on
Che Martinsburg road. II was my grand
hther's estate. Brentwood. one of the
old Virginia places"
sWinchcsterS" exclaimed Downs,
aWhy, ! was there in the old war days,
when ron must have been" He
glanced at her and checked himself
abruptly. "Ah! Brentwood did you
sayP Indeed, believe / have seen the
very place you speak of, though didn't
know the name In those days" And he
added. impressively: 1t was near there
that had one of the narrowest escapes
of all my army experience 1t was really
that which gave me such high opinion
Of Southern women"
II He paused, and, seeing that he wished
encouragement. Mrs. Gordon asked him
to tell her, about it.
I'll was when Ewell went through the
valley in o. he commenced, with cheer
full alacrity. ''He headed Lees army,
You know, which was going north to
Gettysburg. | was with Milroys divi-
sion when it was caught at Winchester
.hy the rebel advance. You wouldn't
pre- TO hear about the fighting, of course,
pit the outcome Of it was that those who
Fcaped were very glad to get away. and
ne campaign wasn't ended there, as
bcme of us supposed II would be.
We'll. had a shot in the foot and
vas limping along the road next day.
when came TO this old fashioned Vir-
gina plantation was faint from my
wound and the long tramp in the dust
and heat, and ! cant tell you the pleas
ure | felt when l came upon a spring
house by the side OF the road. A little
girl was sitting on the step. She was
not over eight or nine years old, should
say, with big black eyes and a very
pretty face. always did have an eye
for a pretty face" he added, glancing
effectively at the one beside him.
Though the girl was only a little
thing, she appreciated my condition and
helped me into the spring house. where
II could get seat out of the sun. Then
Zfhe dipped up pail of water and helped
lNNhle | drank. and afterward helped
he and bandage my wound
then, while ! was resting, / heard
coming TIP The road. Horses there
Y rebel cavalrymen, aud IL they
ID me, knew | should be promptly
south to prison hospital and to
k;y certain death. But couldn't get
hy, and when they drew up before the
= Icr gave myself up for lost You can
imagine my situation There | was with
6St-sss rhance of escape from the spring
house. and with squad of thirsty cav
alrymen drawn up before the door.
And certainly should have been cap
f,,rad 70 70 t,nl,'s ha.,, srr tlat t,,sia s,svt