The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-09-20
Truth Is Stranger
Than Fiction
By RUTH GRAHAM

truth Is the names Of the actors anu
the locations.
We must 60 back to that period when
q German army was thrown into Bel
gium; when the French gathered their
forces to defend their capital and the
English threw across the channel what
troops were available to assist their
allies. Yet it was not there that our
story begins. but in a colony OF the
British empire. War had not yet open
ed when a girl and her mother In Can
ada were discussing ball dress for the
former, though the girl was more inter- /
ested in the expected appearance at the
ball Of an Englishman than In her ap-
parel.
~ hear" said Edith Warren to her
mother, that q son Of the MacDer-
motifs has come out from bonny Scot
land to see his father and mother.
Maybe he will be at the Scotia ball
this evening"
II think" replied her mother. that
you had better wear your pink silk to
the ball, Edith. 1t is just the shade for
your complexion
Edith wore her pink silk to the Scotia
ball and met Ian MacDermott, a cap
tain in a Scotch regiment. Whether it
was the dress or Edith's beauty or her
charming manners that won the cap
tain there is no record Certain it is
that she won him. and he carried her
back with him to Scotland from her
home in America on honeymoon trip.
| Scarcely had the newly welded pair
| got settled in their home In Edinburgh
when England declared war against
| Germany and threw a force across the
channel into France. The honeymoon
/ of the MacDermotts had not ended be-
fore the captain babe an adieu to his
bride and went i'm command Of his com
pany to the front.
One night the English and Germans
met In q hot fight. MacDermotts regi-
ment was obliged to give ground be-
fore superior force. The captain was
struck by fragment Of shell and
left on the field among the dead and
wounded. Then the British rallied and
recovered the lost ground.
It'll ~ pCCuhlc IyoSiOiC iOl JAC ANVu
Cross and the army surgeons to rescue
the wounded a surgeon, coming upon
the body of Captain MacDermOtt, took
the Identification tag from it and re-
ported him dead.
It was sharp blow to the bride
when she received news Of the death of
her husband. She gave up her home in
| 1l,,A 90 II,
cality, but only temporarily, for she de-
} signed to return to her parents in
: America. She was not able to leave at
once, but as soon as arrangements
, could be made she sailed from Scotch
, port for New York.
There was the usual hustle upon the
sailing Of steamer Mrs. MacDermott
In deep mourning, stood on the deck
looking out upon the country in which
2 so much happiness had been expected
4 grieving over the wreck Of her hopes
l The announcement had been made thai
o all who were to go ashore must leave
, When time had expired for this an or
plank.
At this moment an auto came dash
> ing up on the dock, sounding signals 70
persons to get out of the way. Evi
t IDENTIFY some belated passenger had ar
> rived. and the hauling in Of the gang
: plank ceased. An officer In uniform
h jumped from the car and hurried aboar,
the ship.
A thrill shot through the breast o
the woman in mourning. She saw Il
l. the newcomer her husband. Was sh
If dreaming? impossible! Had she be
It come demented by the shock of passin
q so suddenly from bride to widow
h Her brain was in whirl until the off
a Ger. coming up on the deck, spiei he
and. running toward her. clasped her 1
. his arms.
We left Captain MacDermott on til
lie field of battle. the identification tag b,
sr ing taken from his body. Later Will
Il the work Of removing the wOunde
8. was In progress surgeon coming upo
N MacDermott saw signs Of life In hin
:, The captain was removed to a fiel
hospital. Then he was sent across Il
y channel and placed In a regularly 0
&c ganized hospital for the sick an
wounded Of the war There he lay Il
long while unconscious.
In time Captain MacDermott W,
al brought round and was discharge
;S from the hospital. He made all poss
BILE haste to his home in Scotland
" find that his wife had given up b.
Az home and gone elsewhere. but whe
IS she had gone he was not informe
" His only means Of sscertaining her
lis cation seemed to be to send cabl
no gram To her relatives In America tn
g he did and received a reply that 81
was about te sail from Glasgow (
home.
~ Such is the romance of bride al
err groom which IL told in story DO,
en- would subject the author TO char
ng Of inventing what was so improbat
= as not to be legitimate fiction. In I
war between the states there we
cases Of soldiers reported dead W
were not even wounded. But now
ise days every soldier carries on his pers
IN his name and other information &C
I'm corning him. 1t would seem that t
be- old causes of error are by this elir
mated Yet Captain MacDermott's |
Tho ing discovered insensible permitted {
80 tag to tell false story which was
long while being contradicted.
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