The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1908-11-12

On the nineteenth OF May, said
the limping veareT Of q ragged grav
ccat. as be stood ia Mrs. Ponsonby's
presence. with the crown Of a hat sur.
rounded By a broken halo OF brim In
his hand. -our regiment held a posi-.
ton on the right Of the Tenth Ala
bama. the attacking force Behind an
old house. set al jus; the right angle,
as 1t seemed TO US. to hide an ambus-
cade. a party Of sharpshooters was
carefully and all too accurately pick.
ing of our men Suddenly an aim
was uneuingly taken-oar flag trem-
bIed and fell
And so It went on, the familiar but
ever moying tale OF a fag.bearer
killed. a soldieT-thc narrator Of the
BtoTy-springing TO the rescue Of his
standard. himself TO be laid senseless
By a bullet. From this oblivion he
had been wakened from a drenching
cold waterbeth TO hear the verdict,
Poor fellow; leg badly shattered"
pronounced over him by a voice with
a slight nasal twang a voice, 4:
chanced. that he was destined to hear
daily during his tedious illness. for
the man who had picked him up on
the field was also the assistant in the
hospital, and quite a friendship grew
up between the young doctor and his
patient. through their many conver.
sations. SO it was that on the day
OF the narrator's discharge. the sur
geon, along with congratulations on
the others recovery and approaching
exchange, gave a confidence and asked
a favor. as he said, while your ardor
Is yet at white heat"
Three years ago" the doctor con.
tinued. before this hateful war was
ever dreamed OF. and while I was a
student in Philadelphia. I became ac-
quainted with "A young lady from Rich.
mond. The circumstances were 70.
mantic-well. never mind them-it's
long story--tell you some other time,
perhaps" he added, dubiously, five
years after a treaty OF peace, as the
confederate bills say.
Well. without going through the
various stages of the an.ir. from rap
AhA' W h'oBhAAs anu AlbAAl htHId4A UdNAs
through faint glimmerings OF hope, to
ecstasy again, the decision was finally
reached that we were. well, after a
fashion, engaged; quite, ! assure you,
on the order OF poor Harry and the
well.nigh forgotten Flora OF Madison
Square fame. Just then, with abom-
Unable inopportuneness, ! felt, Mr.. Lin.
coin asked Virginia Cmind you, when
the day was, after many delays, actu.
ally fxed) for her quota OF troops.
Poor old Virginia had with her usual
deliberateness, been slow 10 move,
but this call moved her-out Of the
union-leaving me. as Miss Elizabeth
thought, on the wrong side.
One day, II must have been by the
last through mail, received a most
astounding letter from the young lady
herself; terrific headlines, shockiu.
sentiments, Southern confederacy,'
and all the rest % u. Quite a doubling
up OF fists all round. a regular one.
southerner-can-whip ip-fye-Yankees' epis.
tie. She said ending everything
said Never, with a capital n. Well,
to come to the pith Of the affair. we
hear through personals of each other
-awfully cut and dried way OF writing
love letters though, you know; so
ask you, as man TO man. To get let
ter TO Elizabeth for me. OF course
you can't carry written communica-
tion. | don't care to treat the camp
TO specimen OF my ability as a miii
/ tary Romeo, so ! am going To read
the epistle which you, once safe In
Richmond after Your exchange. are
/ to write out in my name and hand to
her In person. Now will you do this,
without altering iot or little. except,
20 throw into 1t all the fe.rog you can
convey on paper; and will you remem.
/ Der that under no circumstances are
I you 90 give this precious document in.
to any hands save those of the terri.
BILE little rebel VINO wrote the wonder
ful letter of 1861; or, II impossible to
see her then into those of her moth.
err"
To that question the letter that now
passed from the hands of the 'raggedy
man" to the feminine fingers that
dropped the unfinished havorsack TO
receive It, was the silent and sufficient
answer.