The Climax-Madisonian. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1914-1917, 1914-12-02

in 1872 Again and again it had been
| cheered through the British ranks until
the tears had sprung into mems eyes
at the mere hearing of the mighty
| British voice so exultant in their valor.
| and there was not drummer boy but
knew the legend that wherever the
two friends. Major Taunton. with the
/ dark, bright eyes. and Ensign Richard
| Doubledick. who was devoted to him.
were seen to go. there the boldest
spirits in the English army became
I wild to follow.
One day at Badaj OS-not in the great
storming but in repelling a hot sally
of the besieged upon our men at work
in the trenches. who had given way
the two officers found themselves rum
ming forward. face to face. against a
party Of French infantry. who made
a stand. There was an officer at their
head encouraging his men-a coura-
| geous. handsome, gallant officer of five
| and thirty. whom Doubledick saw hur-
riedly, almost momentarily, but-~saw
well. He particularly noticed this Off
| Ger waving his sword and rallying his
men with an eager and excited cry
when they fired in obedience TO ges-
ture and Major Taunton dropped.
1t was over in ten minutes more and
Doubledick returned to the spot where
] he had laid the best friend man ever
had on a coat spread upon the wet
| clay. Major Taunton's uniform was
| opened at the breast and on his shirt
were three little spots of blood.
Dear Doubledick," said he, 81 am
dying,
"For the love of heaven. nor ex-
claimed the other. kneeling down be-
side him and passing his arm round
his neck to raise his head. Taunton.
My preserver my guardian angel, my
witness. Dearest. truest, kindest of
human beings. Taunton. For Gods
saker'
The bright. dark eyes-so very. very
dark now in the pale face-smiled
upon him, and the hand he had kissed
thirteen years ago laid itself fondly on
his breast.
Write to my mother. You will see
home again. Tell her how we became
friends. 1t will comfort her. as it COM
forts me
He spoke no more. but family signed
|
| fluttered in the wind. The ensign I'M
| derstood him. He smiled again when
he saw that and. gently turning his
face over on tie supporting arm as If
for rest, died. with his hand upon the
breast in which he had revived a soul.
No dry eye looked on Ensign Richard
| Doubledick that melancholy day. He
buried his friend on the field and be-
came a lone. bereaved man. Beyond
his duty he appeared TO have but two
remaining cares in life-one. to pre-
serve the little packet of hair he was
to give Taunton's mother; the other. to
encounter that French officer who had
rallied the men under whose fire Taun-
ton fell. A new legend now began to
| circulate among our troops. and it was
that when he and the French officer
came face TO face once more there
would be weeping in France
The war went on. and through it
went the exact picture of the French
officer on the one side and the bodily
reality upon the other until the battle
of Toulouse was fought. In the re-
turns sent home appeared these words:
Severely wounded. but not dangerous
,ly. Lieutenant Richard Doubledick."
At midsummer time in the year 1914
! Lieutenant Richard Doubledick. now a
Drowned soldier seven and thirty years
of age. came home to England inva-
| lided He brought the hair with him.
near his heart. Many a French officer
! had he seen since that day; many a
dreadful night. in searching with men
| and lanterns for his wounded. had be
relieved French officers lying disabled.
but the mental picture and the reality
had never come together.
Though he was weak and suffered
| pain. he lost not an hour in getting
down to Frome, in Somersetshire.
where Taunton's mother lived. In the
sweet. compassionate words that natu-
rally present themselves to the mind
tonight. ''he was the only son Of his
mother. and she was a widow
1t was a Sunday evening. and the
lady sat at her quiet garden window
reading the Bible; reading TO herself in
a trembling voice that very passage in
| it. as | have heard him tell. He heard
the words. Young man, | say unto
thee, arise"'
He had to pass the window. and the
bright. dark eyes of his debased time
seemed to look at him. Her heart told
her who he was: she came TO the door
| quickly and fell upon his neck.
He saved me from ruin. made me a
human creature. won me from infamy
and shame. o God. forever bless him.
/ AS he will. he wilI!'
He viii" the lady answered. "I
know he is in heavenr' Then she pite-
ously cried, But, oh, my darling boy.
my darling boyp'
| Never from the hour when Private
Richard Doubledick enlisted at Chat
ham had the private, corporal, SER
geant, sergeant major. ensign or lieu
tenant breathed his right name, or the
name of Mary Marshall, or word of
the story of his life. into any ear ex-
cept his reclaimer's.
But that night. remembering the
words he had cherished for two years,
Tell her how we became friends. 1t
| will comfort her as it comforts me-" he
related everything. 1t gradually seem
| ed to him as If in his maturity he had
recovered a mother. 1t gradually
seemed to her as If in her bereavement
she had found a son. During his stay
in England, the quiet garden into
which he had slowly and painfully
crept a stranger. became the boundary
of his home. When he was able to join
his regiment in the spring he left the
garden thinking was this indeed the
first time he had ever turned his face
toward the old colors with woman's
] blessing
He followed them-so ragged. so
! Scared and pierced now. that they