Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1907-02-27
The Last COmrade
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plates for eighteen persons No seat
was occupied except that of the old
man himself, and as the clock on the
mantel licked away the minutes no one
else appeared. Indeed, the one occu-
pant Of the room could not have ex-
pected any one else, for his own dinner
was on his plate. At each place was q
bottle Of wine, but the only bottle IN
corked w&S that before the one diner
At the close Of the Mexican war
eighteen officers who hodStaken part IN
1t and who lived not fAr fEaAn ole an
ether decided to celebrate the peace
with q dinner. 1t was a Jubilee. Dur
Ing the evening proposition was made
aAd decided upon that SAes q year the
feast was to DO rspestSd. ana as each
maa d1epped sut Als psate Rad beetle
Wre 10 p set the same % he were
pAsssot.
All weRo either Kong O. e0mpaH-
atively yWNs. and ka@AS SEINE years
before 4 ssAsis place was vacant. Then
q hilAnaRseA evdk every man % he
entered ~ RESIN and saw tho empty
chair, the pate, b uncorksA bottle.
Of their iatg eMmrsAe. All had looked
upon battleAeldAs but memo hmd expo
Nenced tbs same peculiar psnsat1Ou In
viewing the dead and dying
Several years passed. The seventeen
men were beginning to become some
chair when the clock Of their lives
struck 2. They missed one of the
youngest, merriest Of their number
Then 1t became apparent that the
spontaneous merriment Of their first
dinner would wane under the increas-
ing vacant chairs and exertion must be
made TO keep the dinners from grow
ing painful. A resolution was passed
that each man must contribute some
thing-a song. a story, joke. what
ever he pleased-to enliven the occa-
sion
Slowly the diners watched the in
creasing vacancies till the number gone
equaled the number remaining. When
the nine living men met and drank to
the nine who were dead, 1t was with
an effort Some one proposed that they
should sit together at a living half of
the table, leaving the other half for the
dead, but the proposal was voted down,
and the living and the dead remained
side by side.
Their clock struck 10, II. II, and two
thirds Of the original number had pass
ed away. Six men whose boards were
gray sat together and drank to twelve
who had gone. To them the dead re-
manned at the age they departed, some
on the threshold of manhood, others
at successive ages.
1t was years before there was an
other vacancy; then two empty plates
dropped into line like figured disks re-
cording the revolutions of an engine
shaft. Another dropped in three years.
another in two.
By this time all who were destined
to reach the ordinary limit, threescore
years and ten, had dropped out. OF those
who were to become Uct0genarians
or centenarians but two remained. For
eleven years two old men sat down
together once year and drank to six
teen comrades whose bottles were un-
corked. 1t was not now a question Of
which should be blessed with the
longest life, but which would be SOON
est relieved from painful duty. As
they glanced over the uncorked bottles
it seemed that their dead comrades
were drawn up in line to receive them
when they should appear upon the
eternal parade. With trembling hands
they raised thin glasses to their lips
and drank-drank as much as there
was hope of assimilating with their
wornout systems-then set their glass
es down and without word left a
room which from banquet hall had
become sepulcher.
And now the last. man, eighty-nine
years old, sits alone. A myriad of
wrinkles radiate from a scar on his
forehead. the remains of a wound re-
ceived at Churubusco. A few snow
white hairs are scattered over his
head. His eye Is fare of intelligence
about to go out. His dinner Is untast-
ed, except little toast water, of which
he has taken few sips. He sits at
one end of the table and looks down
the long line or bottles on either side,
every bottle representing a dead COM
rade. He raises his glass and speaks,
not with his lips-lips are not needed
to address the dead-.but in spirit
Comrades, l, about to die, greet
you. 1t has pleased our great com
mander to place me in charge Of the
rear guard. have seen you all safely
over the river, and now, my work be-
ing finished. am permitted to cross
myself. The din of battle sounds far
from me-a confused murmur of shout
ing, OF musketry, Of. cannon. l have
no desire to return to mingle with 1t
| only wish to join you in your LONG
rest. Comrades, greet you"
He touched the rim of his glass tt
his thin lips and set It down. Their
he rested his chin on his breast and
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