Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-01-16
COMFY STILES
A STORY OF the CIVIL WAR
BY Eugene Field.
cONKY STILES.

ever knew how Conky Stiles came to
know as much of the Bible as he did.
Thirty years ago people as a class
were much better acquainted with the
Bible than folks are nowadays, and
there wasn't another one of 'em in the
whole Connecticut Valley, from the
Canada line to the Sound. that could
stand up 'longside of Conky Stiles and
quote Scripture. Well he knew the
whole thing by heart from Genesis.
Chapter l., to the amen at the end of
the Revelation of John the Divine:
that's the whole business in nutshell!
His name wasn't ConkY: we called
him Conky for short. His real nan1e
was Si!as Stiles, but one time at
Sunday school convention Mr.. Hub
bell, the minister, spoke of him as
veritable concordance of Holy Scrip
tures, and SO we boys undertook In
call him Concordance, but bimeby that
name got whitfield down to Conky, and
Conky stuck TO him all the rest of his
life.
When Couky was eight years old he
got the prize at our Sunday school for
having committed to memory the most
Bible verses in the year, and that same
spring he got up and recited every line
of Acts of Apostles without having
TO be prompted once. By the time he
was twelve years old he knew the
whole Bible by heart, and most of the
hymnbook. too, although. as l h@Ye
said, the Bible was his speciality.
Conky was always hearty and
CHEEKY; we all felt good when he was
around. We never minded the way
he had Of quotin' things from the BIZ
BILE; we'd got used to it, ana maybe
it was a desirable influence. AT any
rate we all liked ConkV.
RIJt np1h1pss won don't TDdprSfa nd
what | mean when l refer to his way
OF quotin' the Bible. 1t was like thls:
Conky, Wen say, would be goin' down
theSroad. and Id come out Of the house
and holler: Hello. there, Comfy:
where be you goin'2'
Then he'd say; John XXi:3." That
would be ali he'd say, and that would
be enough; for it gave us to under
stand that he was goin afisnin'.
Conky never made a mistake; his quo
tations We're always right.
The habit grew on him as ne got old
err. Associating with Conky for fifteen
or twenty minutes wasn't much diff
ferent from readin the Bible for a
couple of days. except that there
wasn't any manual labor about it. /
guess he'd have been a minister OF
the war hadn't come along and spoiled
it all.
Ill the Iali OF 1907 InSFe was q WAL
meetln' in the town hall, and Elijah
Cutler made a speech urgin' the men
folks to came forward and contribute
their services, their lives, If need be
to the cause of freedom and right. We
We're all keyed up with eXcitment. for
next to Wendell Phillips and Henry
Ward Beecher, l guess Elijah Catler
was the greatest orator that ever lived
While we were shiVerin' and waitin'
for somebody to lead eff. Conly Stiles
rose up and saws: 81. KINGS xiX:20"
saws he and with that he put on his
hat and walked out of the meetin'.
tie me. I pray thee, kiss my father
and my mother, and then / will follow
thee"
That's what Conky said, or as good
as said. and that's what ne cant. too.
He didn't put Off his religion when
he put on his uniform. Couky Stiles,
soldier or civilian. was always a Twin
Walkin encyciopedy OF TIL Bible.
human compendium OF psalms and
proverbs and texts: and l had that
confidence in him that I'd have bet he
wrote the Bible HIMSELF if 1 haden't
known ba4ter and to the contrary.
We were with Mcclellan a long spell.
There was heap of sickness among
the boys, for we weren't used to the
climate, and most of us pinned for The
comforts of home. Lookin' back over
the thirty years that lie between this
time and that, / see one figure loouin'
up, calm and bright and beautiful. in
the midst Of fever and suffering and
privation and death,I see q homely,
earnest face, radiant with sympathy
and love and hope, and l hear ConlS
Stiles voice again speaking comfort
and cheer to all about him. We all
loved him; he stood next to Mr. Lin
coin and Cen Mcclellan in the hearts
Of everybody in the regiment!
They sent a committee down from
our town one Thanksgiving time, to
bring a lot OF good things, and to see
how soon we were going 10 capture
Richmond Mr.. HubbeI the minister
was one Of them. Deacon Cooley wa-
another. There was talk at one time
chat ConlIy had Il soft spot in his
heart COR the deacon's eldest girl, Try
phena. but l always allowed that he
paid as much attention to the other
daughter, Trypbosa, as he did to her
elder sister. and l guess he hadn't any
more Lankerin for one than he had for