Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-11-20

GeCOIu, 1 Iiluk, CCllClCu upOA
Fred D. Mussey, one of the founders of the
now famous Gridiron Club of Washington.
Mussey and were chums at the time. He
was serving 1.-THE Cincinnati Commercial
Gazette" and 1.-THE Philadelphia Times. I"
We occupied large offices on 14th-st., Wash
ington, on the ground floor, at the head of
old Newspaper Row. Here, after office
hours one night, Fred became reminiscent,
and said:
"You know l have lost brother; but
have never told you the story. l want to
do it now; for my heart is full of it. l had
letter from Mother. to-day. She says she
She wants him home for Thanksgiving this
year, because she believes it will be her last
Thanksgiving Day on earth. You know
Thanksgiving Day is no ordinary holiday
in New England: and on the hilsides of
Vermont it is really holy day, as well as
holiday l hope Mothers prayers will be
effective this time; for they have not been
answered during all these more than thirty
years.
albert enlisted in the First Vermont In
fantry when l was not quite sixteen.
finally won parental permission to enlist in
the Second Infantry. Both went to the
front, Albert in one army and | in another.
He was wounded; l not even scratched.
After the war we met at home. We soldiers
and our kindred never forgot that first
Thanksgiving Day after the war.
"Not long after this memorable day AL
bert announced that he was going VEST
our great and glorious West was the lure of
many soldier in those days. Self conf
dence led Albert to boast bit of the fortune
he was going to make out West,-not little
fortune, but a big one. Some of his fellows
chaffed him about his visionary castles over
flowing with glittering double eagles, and the
prettiest girl in the neighborhood, with
whom Albert was in love, exasperated him
into vowing that he would never return to
claim her as his bride unless he brought the
fortune he had promised to make.
"That was in December, 1865, and, al
though Albert wrote letters occasionally for
about a year, we have not heard one word
of him for more than thirty years. And now,
as dear old Mother is nearing the inevitable
end of life, she is praying constantly for Al
bert's return Poor Mother! 1t is my be-
lief that Albert is dead long since, that he
died in some western mining camp, and was
gotten; but, yet, he may be alive somewhere.
God only knows!"
The Involuntary Instrument
NOV, to make my story clear, you must
~ understand that there was man named
Hunt IN washington, VINO went daily 10 all
executive departments and gathered up
certain class of news for all the men in
Newspaper Row; and he laid the matter on
their desks sometime during the evening or
hight For example; ON my desk Hunt
would place list of all patents granted,
postoffice changes, and pensions granted for
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware,
because that was all THE Philadelphia
Times" cared for On Mussey's desk Hunt
would put the same class of news for West
Virginia, Ohio Indiana, and Kentucky, to
cover the territory of 1.-The Cincinnati Com
mercial Gazette 1t was practically i'm
possible that Hunt should place on my desk
any news concerning California; nor was it
within the bounds of reason that he would
place any California news on Musseys desk.
And, moreover, it was we'll known that Hunt
never made mistake of that kind. He is
now a veteran, still at work.
have always said and still believe that
it was the power of God that directed Hunt
to make the one mistake las humans call it)
of all his work.
On the Monday evening following the mar
ration of the story, when Fred Mussey
walked past the writer and back to his own
desk, he suddenly called:
MY God, Smith! Look at this!"