Pittston Gazette

              ESTABLISHED 1850. [ VOL. XLV. SO. »1 \ Oldest Newspaper in the Wyoming Valley. PITTSTOiN, LUZERNE CO., PA., FRIDAY, KEBRUA RV 8, 18'.).-). A Weekly Local and Family Journal. I 91.00 PER ANNUM 1 IN ADVANCE CH1CKAMA0GA. Minnville thaii this. Why didn't yo take sworn, ana then tue major ottered to swear Miss Baggs. The girl showed a slight confusion. I hain t goin ter do no swearin, she "Oh, I got a friend at Franklin col-1 Ka'd defiantly. lege. She una and I nns alius ben power-1 "Oi'm glad to hear that, " remarked ful thick. " Corporal Ratigan. After getting the data as to all the "What fo\ flro top?" she asked, surparty the major called a mounted man prised. and directed him to take it to headquar- "Ot'd be breakin me heart at partin ters and ask for instructions. roati, and regarding htin sternly ordered him to halt. quire for Betsy Baggs at the sit. Cloud hotel, Nashville " sonny, haven t you?" he asked absently, and his (laughter took an oath not to while he was studying the pass, though give any information concerning the it is questionable if the inquiry was not dispositions of tho enemy, and the boy intended to show some facetiousness be- j8 profoundly stupid " fore the pretty girl. i There was a sound of hoofs without t8? ,.r . , mingled with the rattle of wheels. Oh, Jakey, said his sister, don t Looking through an open window, an fall back into that habit of asking ques- ofiicor was seen to dismount and hand tions instead of answering them. You a womail flom a mnd covered, paint know how hard they tried to break you rubbod bnggy A11 rec0gnized Miss of it at school. And say 'hair,' not. Elizabeth Baggs. The general arose * E* . from his chair and went out to meet got a name, said Jake. Dy her at the frontdoor. From there he reokon a boy 14'a goin tor git on 'ithout conducted her into a room where they a n . t . .,,,, , , , could confer togother alone. Well, what is ltr asked the ofiicor, ' "What luck?" "".Vj11?- ,, - "I struck their wires within their ««tv , f„, lines midway between Murfreesboro and ..oi , MacMinnville at midnight, and no one ' answered tho farmer. was nt.ar i throw my wire over the Those two uns is my children. They ; liuo and made 1DJP conneotions with my been tor skulo up in Ohio. 1 hey got lots instrument. I waited till nearly dayo larmn. Reckon they'll down tho old light befor0 Miy me88agee of lmpor. • „ , , ... tanco camo along, though dispatohes Union or Confederate sympathies?" were passillg all the whila At last one , ,, came in cipher. I took it down, but aft All right Go ahead. wo haven't the I key fear it will avail Leaving the picket, thoy camo to an UB nothing " opening in the country which enabled .CLot me see it" said the general, them to got a view of tho region lying Miss Baggs handed him a piece of to the \vest. Tho farmer, though do- paper on which was written: sirous of getting on. could not resist a muhfrkkbobo, Tenn., June 28, 188a temptation to rein in his horses anrl Volunteers Garfield with circling between watch the fighting, or the distant evi- you possession turn an be cob Bumble at to dences of it, that morning going on at gC,t t'lat possible by move Benjamin pony chief Hoover'a Gap. Vol.«r3 of m^ketry were mingled with tho deeper tones of the bv of noiiiwog of plateau Niggard if desir® cannon. Then the firing ceased for 811(1 top,J IO™ara nana move ngni » ... , ,, , , . command and moon tain order staff. awhile, when the booms began again, continued and rapid. A white smoke The general read the dispatch over rose above a ridge on which Confederate care* u^y» au(* then, looking up at Misa cannons were shelling tho advancing Union troops on the ground below. . Souri Slack thought of tho lives that * ** interpreted, general?" were passing from under that smoke and _ r not without the key. It is covered her face with her hands. doubtloss an important dispatch, and I Whon tho sounds ceased, Farmer sha11 scnd ifc afc onoe to general head- Slack drove on and soon reached the 1uarters. If they can decipher it, they Confederate picket. Tho party were sent ar" „ ome (*° so* * don't care to in charge of a trooper to the headquar- lt" ters of an officer commanding a body of Calling an aid-de-camp, the general cavalry on tho Confederate extreme left. baC1° him cari7the message to the army His headquarters were in a house besido telegraph station, a short distance to the road. It had once been in tho cen- the rearD and repeat it to General Bragg. NYE ON SYMPOSIUMS. When Senator Vanoe was ill in the mountains of his own state and dying not far from his boyhood home, one day Senator Edmnnds climbed up from the Black Mountain station and carried with him a basket of Vermont apples. "I've been thinking of you a good deal of late, Vance," he said, "and trying to think of an excuse for ooming down here. I remembered that at the Centennial North Carolina took the world's highest award for apples. I had some in my orchard that I thought you might like, so I have brought down a basketful that I picked myself." "Oi'm followin the young lady, sir. Oi'm on official business for the gineral, oommandin the th cavalry brigade."With this sho throw him a kiss from tho tips of her fingers, which, now that her glovo was removed, he noticed were white and round There was really something sympathetic in the last glance she gave him. In it was a regret that it had been necessary for her to deceivo so honest and manly a fellow. It was the final dart that pierced tho Irishman's heart and completed his inthrallment HE GIVES AN ACCOUNT OF HOW THE Y ARE CONDUCTED IN WASHINGTON. By Captain F. A. MITOHEL. "Well, my man, you'ro a well dis- [Copyright, 1HW, by American Press Association.]A National Pest That Bids Fair to Take CHAPTER I OPENING OF A CAMPAIGN. with yo." Up the Kntlre Time of the Senator and "Do ye know who to take it to?" he asked of the man as he was about to ride away. "You hain't got no heart nohow, or you wouldn't be in the Yankee army." Illustrated by a Story. 1—The Power of Imagination The Army of the Cumberland is awakening. For months its SO miles of torpid length have been marked by clusters of white tents like the rings of a gigantic anaconda. But now there is an arousing from its long period of lethargy. The tents are being struck, the men are stuffing knapsacks, rolling blankets or swallowing from tin cups a last draft of invigorating ooffee. Wagons are being loaded with all kinds of camp equipage — tents, camp oots, cooking utensils, the pine tables and army desks of the staff departments. Here orderlies are holding horses, waiting their riders, and there men are strapping blankets or ponchos behind saddles or cramming bacon and "hard tack" into haversacks, while strikers empty the oontents of the demijohn into oanteens. Each regiment as soon as formed mores ont into the road, the whole taking up the line of march by brigades and divisions. "Don't ye believe it," exolaimed the major; "his hoart's as warrum as the color of his hair. Come, young leddy, tako the oath. Oi'd be sorry to be partin yo from yer mother and she sufferin." Leaving tho corporal and his men gaping in tho road, the party moved away. The last thing Ratigan heard was a hoarse laugh from one of the Confederates, which was rebukod by Miss Baggs and reprimanded by the officer. [Copyright, 1885, by Edgar W. Nye.] "The gineral? Man, would you get me court martialod for disregard of the regulations? Take it to the chafe of staff, ye lunkhead, and from him ye'U "It's to the gineral I'm takin it." Since locating bore for the winter I have received a cracker box full of letters from people who are getting up what they call symposiums on various questions of national interest, like "What woman would you select for a second wife?" and such vital subjects as that Washington, D. C. The stricken senator was a good deal affected by this, and then and there the two senatorial warriors stacked arms to eat apples and tenderly talk of thete peaceful boyhood in widely separated states. "Won't ye tako it for moi sake?" queried liatigan, with a mock appeal. "I won't" Tho corporal led his party northward in no good humor. At the picket post ho loft the men ho had taken with him and rode on alone meditatively. In pass- "You'll hov ter git some nn uglier'n you uns ter move ma I hanker after ugly men, but you uns ain't quite ugly enough fo' ma " The writer generally says, for instance: "I am preparing a symposium on the question, 'Do you think that literary work done between meals is likely to endure?' "I shall have Dhe opinions of Dr. Tal mage, Steve Brodie, Mrs. Frank Leslie, Marshall P. Wilder, John L. Sullivan, Rev. Thomas Dixon, Rudyard Kipling, Senator Proctor sheds maple siruj every spring in the senate. He calls it ' 'scattering sweetness on the desert air." By doing this he has convinoed the senate that most of our ' 'genuine Vermont maple sirupV is made in Louisiana. One morning in the house several years ago every member found on his desk a little jar of the finest and moat fragrant of Lorillard's snuff. "Now ye're talkin with a seductive tonguo," quoth Ratigan. "If the major will permit, Oi've a mind to see ye through the lines meself without the oath." lie tjave his horse the spur. olplined orderly. You keep the regulation 40 paces to the rear. Qivo your horse the spur and catch up. " Ratigan, who could not well explain to an officer that he was running a race, and fearing to lose his e h:\rge, p.-.v■■■ his horse the spur and dashed after her at a gallop. He reachod hor in a "blown" condition. Tho corporal looked slyly at the major, and the major returned the oorporal's sly glance. "Very well," said Burke. "Ye go with her, andmoind that she isn't keepin her ois open to Bee things for Gineral Bragg's benefit Miss Baggs, if ye'U just keep lookin roit into the oorporal's blue arbs, ye'U get through all right, and if ye're tempted to look aside just fix 'em on his head, and ye'll be blinded."Cariosity got the better of discretion, and before the prayer was half completed 27 states had voted on the Lorillard matter, while tears were flowing down the furrowed cheeks of as many more representatives. It is the right or head of the monster that awakens first The main body of this wing moves diagonally toward the front and left while cavalry pushes directly south to conceal the movement and produoe a false impression on the enemy. All day the infantry and artillery work their way over dirt roads, the men marching at will, smoking, chatting, laughing, the Irish regiments cracking jokes, the Germans singing, all with that esprit which pervades an army just starting after a long period of idleness on a new campaign. A lashing of artillery horses, a cursing of mules, words of command, bugle oalls, picket firing, the occasional boom of a gun, mingle oonfused ly and in a country used only to the peaceful lowing of cattle or the song of birds. Throughout its whole length the Army of the Cumberland is in motion, advancing on that campaign which is to maneuver the Confederates out of Tennessee and lead np to the battle of Chickamauga. "Oi've lost" ho cried out of breath. "Reckon you have," was Miss Baggs aole reply. "See hyar, Mr. Officcr." "The money's yours." Congressman Humphrey of Wisoansia arose at the oouclasion of the prayer and moved that the little jars be takea away from the house, as thoy were then ia violation of unbiased legislation, fat they were evidently placed there for the purpose of influencing unduly the ayei and noes. get the answer. It's not the loikes of you can approach tho gineral. Moind now, and don't spind the time talkin with the guard." "Yer always reckonin. Mohbo yo reokoned about the end of the race loiko the ant ye were talkin about " "Reckon it air, " repeated Miss Baggs. Sh-c threw him, a kiss. The corporal went for his horsey buckled on his revolver, and coming back started out to play diplomat—in othor words, to acquire knowledge by strategy. ing a part of the road where thore was no one to hear ho reined in his horse and exclaimed aloud: While the messenger was away the party listened to the voluble tongue of the young Confederate sympathizer in the buggy. She entered into tho causes of the war, depicted tho benefits of nogro slavery, especially on tho slave, spoke admiringly of all Confederate soldiers and ransacked the dictionary to find words to express her loathing of Yankees. At that moment they spied tho outpost ahead. "D—n it! I believe tho witch is carrviiic imnortant information." "Waal, hyar we air," said Miss Baggs. "Don't want ter part from you uns, Mr. Sojer. I'm powerful bad struck hyar. " And she pnt her hand ou her heart The thought filled him with horror. Who was sho? What was she? What was the box sho called a galvanic battery? For more than an hour ho had attended a rude country girl, who, when under the protection of Confederate officers, bloomed into a handsomo woman. Ho was as much chagrined at his own stupidity as he was bewildored by the cunning of Miss Baggs. The motion prevailed. Life in congress is not so uniformly sad as The Congressional Record would make it appear. CHAPTER IL A WAU OF WITS. Corporal Ration rode gallantly beside Miss Baggs, the two keeping up a constant picket firing, which occasionally warmed to the dignity of a skirmish. Miss Baggs was in an excellent humor and the corporal qnite delighted at the role ho was playing. He pretended to watch her carefully whenever anything belonging to the army was passed on the road, while he was secretly farming his pluns for getting far enough on the wav to determine the m-oximitv of the enemy. He felt no snsploion as to Miss Baggs carrying information. Being on the flank of the army, she would not be likely to havo much information to carry. The country people were constantly passing between the lines, and considering their harrowing excuses no one exoept with a heart of stone oould well prevent them. "Like enough Oi can find some reason to go with yo a bit Oi'm all broken up meself, sure enough." "I hopes you kin. " Last summer a mysterious crime oocurred in K street, northwest, whioh wm never given to the pnblia On a sultry midsummer day a man might have been seen glancing furtively about in thai neighborhood as if to see if any one might be observing him, while under hit arm and partially concealed he carried an inanimate, cold and pulseless body. The servant who saw him from the window of an upper story near by thought it looked like the body of a deceased dog. While she watched htm from behind a closed shutter he C' ixterously concealed his burden beneath the shrubbery in the adjoining grounds and Qed on swift pinions, so to speak, being soon loet to view. "Come, now, Miss Baggs," 6aid the major good naturedly. ' 'There's a young fellow in me regiment who'll suit ye exactly. He is an Oirishman from the crown of his head to the sole of his fut. He only came over a few years ago. He is iw smart as a whip. There was but one gurrel in County Cavan who could outtalk 'im- That's the reason ho left Oireland." "Lieutenant," s?id tho corporal, saluting an officer who camo out from the picket post "Major Burko ordered me to see this young lady out of the 'ines She has a pass to Dun lap.'' ter of a neat country Dlace. The fences, the outhouses, the walks, had all been in excellent condition prior to the first passage of troops. Now of the fences "General," said Mils Baggs in an undertone, * 'if you will let me have the original or a copy, I will try to decipher it. I may find a clew that will aid me lintcring the camp, he slunfe away to his tent and did not report the outcome of his mispion to Major Burke till just before "taps." Then he only said, "Thoir pickets are three miles down tho road b«vond ours. " there was an occasional upright post horeafter, though I fear it will be too THE HOTEL COCKROACH. On a road running parallel with the Cumberland mountains, which flank the Union army on its left, a strange looking vehicle is going at a breakneck paoe toward the south. The horse is a rawboned animal with long legs and neck, while the vehicle—a boggy—is so bespattered with mud that what paint remains on it is invisible. The bottom is partly gone; the dashboard would let through a cannon ball without being injured; the springs are badly bent; the top, which is let down—there are no props to hold it up—is shriveled and torn, its tatters flying behind in the wind. A woman in a striped calioo dress, a sunbonnet of the same material, a pair of colored spectacles on her nose, holds the reins and urges forward the horse. Yet strange looking as is the oonveyanoe and its occupant, for that time and region there is nothing unusual in the appearanoe of either. The oountry people inhabiting that portion of Tennessee are not cultured, and unoouthness is rather the rule than the exception.The lieutenant read ".ht pass •aid tola Miss Baggs she might go through. left; the walks were overgrown with weeds and grass; the outhouses had nearly all been torn down. The place late to take advantage of information contained in this one." "Certainly. Lieutenant, return the Mrs. Cleveland, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, General E. Burd Grubb, Li Hung Chang and a diversified opinion also from Millie Christine, the two headed nightingale."Are ye shure?" Ratigan was racking his brains to know what to da Ho had been instructed to go through with Miss Baggs under some pretense, but his ingenuity when put to the test failed him. Miss Baggs came to his relief. "Oi am. Oi left the young lady—Oi mean tho counthry gurrel—among 'em. And tho vixen blow me a kiss at partin." less tho general who temporarily resided was a picture of desolation. Neverthe- after it has been repeated." dispatch I have given you to this lady "When I want a man, I reckon I can find one right hyar outen tho yarth o' Tennessee 'thout goin to Oireland ter find one. Is he redheaded?'' there was making himself very comfortable.Tho wagon drew up before the house, and the conducting trooper sent in word to the general that a party, who had oome in from the Union lines, were waiting outside, desiring permission to go on south. An order came to send tho party all inside. The three travelers entered the house to find a tall man with an iron gray beard reclining in a rocking chair with as much apparent unconcern as if war were simply a pastime. "You have just come from tho enemy's lines, I hear," he said to tho Tho officer departed. The general turned again to Miss Baggs with a serious look. "Do yon know that you are engaged in a very hazardous service?" "Perfectly." "And do you understand the penalty if caught?" "Death, I suppose." "There's no telling whether it would be death or a long imprisonment in the case of a woman. A man would hang." Miss Baggs' countenanoe changed from an expression of indifference to nno of thoKe flashes of the suDerhumaQ attributes that lurk within the human "By giving me an answer of 600 to 800 words for publication over your signature you will do me a great favor and aid us in settling this long vexed question regarding literary methods and as to what character of literature and at what time -executed must be the literary work to outlive the corroding efforts of erosive centuries." "Ah, Rats, ye're a sly dog. Oi'm shure ye did your work welL'' "Red as the linin of an artillerj offi- "Mr. Corporal," she said, "I don't hanker ter part 'ith thet bloomin head o' ha'r o' yourn. Would you mind seein a pore lone woman ter the Confederate lines?" "Major," replied tho corporal, "don't ye believo it. All the divils in hell if they be men are no match for a wom- cer's cap." In a couple of days the neighboring servants began to complain of the odor, and as the owner of the grounds whereon the body had been deposited was away temporarily it was suggested that the boys who played on the adjoining grounds every day should get over tha hedge and secure the remains, so that they might be entombed. "What kind o' eyes?" "Blue as a robin's egg." "Waal, trot him out I'll taks a look "What's in the box ye have with ye?" asked Ratigan, looking at a square little box on the seat beside her. It bad been covered with a shawl, which had {alien from over it, exposing it to view. an." at him." The corporal whispered a few words in the lieutenant's ear. The result was that in five minutes four cavalry privates were placed under tho corporal's orders, who held in his hand a pole cut from« tree at the side of the road, to which ho had attached a white cotton handkerchief. "And if thoy be women, Rats?*' "Then God save 'em both." "Oi'Il call him meself," and the major went into one of the tents. There he found Corporal Ratigan, the man he •ought A dozen people reply to this letter. Some are literary, seme are pugilists, some are bridge jumpers, some are nobody at all, and you find, after you write your own opinion and see it published, that Mrs. Cleveland did not reply. Only you and Steve Brodie wrote, with the exception of Mr. Seely cf the National Shoe and Leather bank, perhaps, or some other person who has risen to prominence at Sing Sing in a purely ephemeral way by means of his pen. "Thet? Tbet's a philosophy machine. You see, my friend, Sal Glassick, she knows a heap o' things. She's tryin ter beat some on 'em inter my pore noddle. Reckon she won't heyio easy time." "What branch doesshe teach ye with CHAPTER IIL A DEVOTED CONFEDERATE. On the morning of the general advance of tho Army of tho Cumberland a drizzling rain set in which lasted at intervals during tho wholo campaign. Day aftor day tho men tramped through the mire, often to lio down at night with no moans of lifting themselves out of pools except by cutting tho wet branches from tho trees, and on these making a lied in drenched olothes. The artillery soon cut up tho roads ao that the guns sank to the hubs of thdwrieels. The right continued to march toward the left and in tho direction of the base of tho Cumberland plateau, whero Miss Betsy Baggs and tho others were passing between tho lines. The Unionists were moving upon gaps in tho foothills hold by the Confederates, and necessary to tho latter to provont their enemies getting on their right, and thus compelling them to leave their fortifications at Tullahoma and fight on open ground. "Corporal Rats," he said—every one oalled the corporal Rata—"there's a gurrel out there that wants to go through the lines. Oi've sent to brigade headquarters to find out if they'll give her a pass. I want ye to make her acquaintance."The boys crept up toward the shrubbery with patent clothespins on their noses, but could not approach nearer than 25 feet, though they could see the still, calm features of the little pet Then tho old buggy, which rattled at every turn of tho wheel and threatened to collapso at every murthole, proceeded down the road. Corporal Ratigan cantered alongsido, whilo tho four privates followed directly in rear. soul. "Am I to make anything of my life when thousands of the sonth'a defenders are giving theirs every day? Have I not seen our homes laid desolate? Have I not seen my brothers, my friends, that?" farmer. "Yaas, sir." "What force did you seo in tho region through which you passed?" The farmer explained that ho could not answer tho question, inasmuch as "Waal, you see, mother, she's sulterin with palsy, and this hyar box is a—waal, Sal, eho calls it a gal—gal"— RAISING A WINDOW. "At your service, major," said the oorporal, saluting. And the two walked out to whero the travelers were waiting. "Thet's it You hit it right thar. A galvanic batteiy. We uns 're goin ter try 't on mother. Lord a-massy, what's thet?" "Galvanic battery?" But a few miles hail been traversed when a horseman—ho proved to be the unomy's vodette—was seen standing in tho road ahead. As the party approached they saw a dozen moro advancing to his support But tho Confederates evidently saw the white flag, for no other demonstration was made than the riding forward of an officer with half a dozen men to meet those who were advancing.those I have loved, those I have played The symposium turns out to be an article of merchandise, not prepared especially for a great magazine, as represented or implied, but to be worked over into soap advertisements and quack circulars and heaven knows what else. Coming to a place where she can get a full view for some distance ahead, the woman glances ovor the intervening space between her and the next rise in the undnlating ground. Seeing nothing to deter, sho drives her harse-on as rapidly as she can foroe him to go. Her buggy careens till it is In danger of going over; Bhe is bounced from her seat with a prospect of being sent over the dashboard; the mud flies, the horse wheezes, the buggy groans, but there is no slackening of paoe. "Miss Baggs, " said the major, "allow me to presint Corporal Ratigan, oommonly called Rats by his comrades, one of the most gallant men in the regiment " he had been permitted to pass after tak- ing an oath not to give any information. "H'm. You are quite right not to answer under tho circumstances," ob- with as children, out down by either bullet or disease? For months I have devoted myself to tho care of the sick Sho directed his attention from the box to a cloud of smoke hanging over tho gaps in the hills far to the west They were crossing a mountain spur and could see it quite plainly. served the general. "Did your daugh in the hospitals. There I learned to ter take the same oath?" "Yaas, general," said Souri. "Surely they didn't administer an oath to a boy of your ago?" he said, dread a long continuance of this struggle. There I conceived the idea of doing something to win snooeaa for our armies by giving them an advantage In a cloakroom the other day this subject came up, and several senators expressed themselves. They suffer a good deal from miscellaneous pests because anything addressed to them in oare of the United States senate will reach them. Corporal Ratigan bowed and uncovered a bead of hair fully up to the major's description of it. It surmounted mo of the most honest of countenance. There was an air of gentility about the man despite his private's uniform, and the smile with which he greeted tho young woman could not have been moro bewitching had he saluted a marchioness. Admiration for the strapping Irish Yankee soldier stood big in Miss Baggs' eyes. "There's foightin goin on thexe," remarked the corporal. turning to Jakey. "Reckon th' thought I war too little to swar," said Jakey. Ho thrust his not possessed by the enemy. I consulted one high in rank. 'How can I give my life to the best advantage?' I asked. "And you uns air gittin licked," observed the rebellious Miss Baggs. "What do you want?" asked the offloer gruffly. hands in his pockets, a sure sign that he 'In the secret servioe.' 'Point the way.' "Go on, Bobby, go on!" "How d'ye know that?" asked Ratigan, surprised that she should know anything about it "Oh, I reckon I" "Flag to see the lady to your linos. " "Under a commissioned officer?" "Only meeolf, a corporal," said Ratigan.was steadying himself for a oonfiict of wits and words. But tho general was 'Do you know anything of telegraphy?' 'No, but I can learn.' 'Go and study a I watched a liotol cockroach of this class yesterday at Willard's. He came into the reading room, with molasses on his whiskers, and I was about to say that he entered sirip-titionsly, but we will let that pass. He watched his chance and nipped a morning paper while the owner was looking the other way. He then gradually worked his way into the most comfortable chair, and after he had read the paper up one side and down the other he espied a spare sheet of hotel writing paper on one table and an envelope on another. Turning a curve in the road partly hidden by trees, she sees a cavalry camp ahead. In the road an offloer stands talking to a man in a farm wagon, beside whom, on a board seat, its two ends resting on the wagon's sides, sits a boy of 14, while on a back seat, evidently borrowed from a more pretentions vehicle, is a young girl, perhaps three or four years the boy's senior. It was the day that the Union men attacked these gaps that Miss Baggs passed under Confederate protection, and tho fanner and tho two young people with him wore also pursuing their routo south. Fortunately for him, the farmer, being on the flank of the two armies, was not forced to pass over roads cut up by either. After Major Burke had administered the oath not to divulge anything they had seen concerning the Union foroes to the farmer and the young girl in the wagon with him (ho considered the boy too young to treat in the same way), the party were suffered to depart and proceeded down the road. not acquainted with the peculiar characteristics of Jakey Slack and prepared month and then come to me.' For a month I studied night and day. I learn- "It's a quare thing-—the reckonin of gnrrela " ed to read words from the clicking of the keys as readily as I can read letters. I returned to my adviser. You know the rest" Tho general paced the floor with a clouded brow. "I dread a catastrophe," be said, "in the case of one inspired by such noble sentiments. I dread to see a woman "How de?" she said, with something that was intended for a bow. "Yer a purty likely lookin feller of yon air play- In Yank Yoa'd bettor 'a' staid in Oirelaud than oome down hyar ter mako war on women." "Well, you can turn about pretty quick ana get oacK to wnere you came from. The next such flag sent out will be taken in and won't get out again." to question him as unconcernedly as he would pump water from a well. "What route did you como?" ho asked of the farmer. "I met the children at Qalletin, " replied Slack. "I driv* 'em from thar through Lebanon and Liberty." "Sonny," said the general, turning to Jakey, "did you pass any troops on '' w aai, 70a see, women aun t got t&e big beads men hev. They oan't reason things oat They her tor jump at 'em mebbe, like auta Ants is powerful small, bat they're most times right when they reckon." "Captain, don't you know mo?" said Mies Baggs, smiling at the officer. The woman of the striped dress drove tip to the group, and drawing rein listened to what they were saying. "And have Oi overpainted the beautiul tint of his hair?" asked the major, laughing. "It'd mako good winter hair; needn't hev no fire in the house. " "Well, upon my word. You don't mean"— Ratigan made no reply. He was thinking that Miss Baggs did not appear to be so plain a personage as be at first thought her. He looked at her hands, incased in coarso gloves, and noticed that they were small for "poor white trash." Miss Baggs put her finger on her lip through the green leaves of the currant bushes. Evidently in life it had been a watchdog, and even in death it suooeeded in keeping the boys away from the fruit It was kind of touching to see the little dumb brute lie there so still In death, yet so eloquent withal that even his voiceless olay made people pay attention."These men came at my request," she continued, "so I hope you will not find any fault." the way?" "Lots." "InfantryT" "What's tbet?" "Soldiers who walk and carry grma " "Didn't see none o' them kind." "Did you soe any artillery?" "Don't know what them uns air." "Men with great bfg guns—cannon." "No, sir. Didn't see no 'tillery." "Then what you saw must have been Cavalry." "Didn't see none o' them uns nuth exposed to iynominy, perhaps death." "If that time Gomes, general, God will give me strength to bear it,'* The general was silent a moment and thou asked abruptly: "Is your brother aware of what you are doing?" "He ia" "And he consents?" "He does nflt. We are individuals. Ho is one of tho noblest of the south'a legitimate defenders, but be is not responsible for my acts, one of its illegitimate machines." "Tho pitcher that goes often to the well is at last broken." "Thou some one else will spring up to carry on the work." "God grant that the day may be far distant—that it may never coma I can hardly approve of it, though you are working in my causa" "General," said the woman, her face again lighting as if inspired by some absorbing thought, "each side has an organized secret service. What general would daro report to his government that ho had acquirod information which would enable him to destroy his enemy, but it had been obtained by illegitimate means, and he would not take advantage of it? Yet what general would care to be oalled a spy himself? Wo aro engaged in a terrible struggla Before its olose any and all means will bo used to conquer. Cities will be burned, vast districts will be laid wasta Must I cease to employ the most effect* ive mothod of all because I am doing illegitimate work? Ja my work more illegitimate than trying to conquer a people fighting for their independence?" The general made no reply for a time. "Yours is a singular family," he said presently. "You are all alike, and yet you differ." "We are united in the oause; we differ as to the means. " [TO DE CONTINUED.] Quick as thought he acquired them and very likely became the head of a "symposium." Such a man has it in his power to annoy a good many industrious peopla He can write to congress inside of a week on smutched stationery and ask several hundred other people to please state what their views are on the question, "Did Joan of Arc do right in wearing pants?" "Cap," said the farmer—all ofHoers in the Union army were called by the people of the country either cap or gineral or mister—"cap, I want ter go through the lines powerful bad." Horses' hoofs were beard down tba road, and in a few minutes the messenger who had been sent to headquarters rode up The officer raised his hat, but said nothing. "Good morning, oorporal," sho said. "I'm much obliged for your troubla " " Jake," said the farmer, Blapping the horses' backs with the reins, "what hov you Taruod at skule?" "Well, Oi'm thinktn, me good man," replied the officer, with the brogue of an Irishman, "that's exactly what old Rosy wants to do unless he prefers to get behind 'em and bag 'em from the rear." "Where's the answer?" asked the major"Divil"Divil an answer did Oi got, major," said the man, saluting awkwardly. Her attire was very cheap, and her cowhide shoes did not betoken refinement, but somehow he began to gather a notion that Miss Baggs was not so dreadfully common as she appeared. The corporal came of an exoellent family in his native land, and under ordinary circumstances could detect refinement He looked for Miss Baggs to use some expression beyond the ken of a "poor white" girl, but she did not So ho dismissed the matter from bis mind and began to wonder what excuse he could make to go on with her under flag of truce when she should pass the Union piokets. "You're quite welcome, miss. " Both parties moved slowly away simultaneously. They had scarcely started before the corporal heard his namo spoken in a woman's voice, but one with which he was not familiar. "L'arned how ter play 'hop scotch' and 'shinny.' " The boys came back to report that the dog seemed to crave that part of Washington mostly for himself, and that he was not only contented with his lot, bat desired most of it for his own use. "And what d'ye mean by that?" tf- "Well, Oi kem up to headquarthera. and the gineral was gettin off of Mr harse to go in feis tint 'Have ye anythin for me, me man?' he asked. 'Niver a worrud, gineral,' Oi answered, saluti:* respectful 'What's the paper ye havo in your belt?' 'It's for the chafe of staff. 'Well, give it to ma' 'Divil a bit, gineral; it's not for the loikes of me to bo givtn yez a paper. Oi'm instructed to give it to the chafe of staff.' 'Give mo the paper, ye cussed Oirishman,' ho said, 'or Oi'll Bind ye to the guard tint' 'Niver will Oi be guilty of broakin tho regulations or the articles of war, gin • erai.' 'Corporal of the guard) yeue-t the gineraL Grave senatorial grandfathers are expected to shut themselves up in the congressional library with a tin bucket of lunoh and stay there until they settle this question. Earnest peoplo all over the Union are asked to lay aside their various jobs that they may assist in getting together an opinion on a subject which interests nobody but the two legged "syndicate" with the billygoat beard and the buttonhole bouquet of soft boiled egg. "Oh, I don't mean flghtint I wants ter go hum peaceful." "I don't mean thet kind. I mean real l'arnin." "Jakey was at a great disadvantaga pa," remarked the girl on the rear seat, "because he was obliged to go in classes with littlo bits of boya You remember he didn't know his letters when he went to school." "Can't pass ye, me good man. Oi've orders not to pass any one south while the army la movin. There's no need to be tellin ye that all day. Onoe ought to be sufficient" "Ratal" •r." By and by the neighbors got uneasy about their health. Washington get! pretty hot in summer, and even a moderate sized dog under the genial rays of an August sun will attract more advent criticism sometimes than the nriminli tration. He turned and saw what must be Miss Baggs, for her dress was the same, thongh her head and neck were changed, standing in the buggy, her back to the horse, her face directly toward him. Her glasses were gone, her sunbonnet hung in one hand, while sho hold reins in the other. Never had the oorporal beheld so great a change in so brief a space of tima Tho jolting had disarranged a mass of dark hair which had partly fallen over hor shoulders. Her eyes were black and lustroua hor complexion an olive relieved by a ruddiness on the cheek. Her superb head was sot on her neck as if it had been placed there by an artist The face was lighted by a smile of triumph—a smile so bowitching that it haunted the corporal to his dying day. The general looked surprised. "Then what did you soe? That's al) the arms of the service I over heard of, and I am an old soldior." "What's thet?" cried a shrill voice from the buggy. "You don't mean to' ter tell me I can't go hum?" "No more did you," Raid the father. "Critter companiea " "Oh, yos, I did. I began to study them a month before I went away, and I taught Jakey, so that ho know something about them, too, when he got thera " "Oh, I see!" exclaimed tho general, rememboring tho mountain Tennosseoans' namo for cavalry. "How many sol diors belonging to tho 'critter companies,' as you call them, did you soo?" "Oifoar, me dear that ye can't, If ye live beyond our lines." This one did. "Wo uns air goin slow enough ter worrit a snail," remarked Miss Baggs. Speaking of aesthetic decorations brings to mind a parlor ornament which I saw in a country home last summer. It consisted of a bunch of hay colored hair under a glass receiver which stood on a marble top table in the sitting room. I learned afterward that when little Ambrose was a lad he had fried cake tresses, with a damp welt of this gingersnap dough in a roll on the top of his head. So a lady on the corner, whose house and grounds are next door to where the dog seemed to be taking place, sent word to the police department asking that a cart and a good offhand memorial orator be sent up to K street "H'm! And so you uns hev kem down hyar ter make war on women." "And why should we be goin faster?" "Air theydoin much talkin 'boat the war up no'th?" "Waal, I counted 20, 'n thet's's fui as I got at oountin in skulo." "Well, now, that depends on the kind of war. We've come down vi et arm is, as my old preceptor at the university used to say—God bless 'im I Like enough the vi is for the men and the arm is far the women." "Whar'd you steal thet critter?" she asked, instead of replying, looking sidewise at the corporal's mount. "It's likely null fo* Tennessee blood." "Well, it fan t at all like it is down nyar" (no southerner will evor change the pronunciation of this word). "Thoy tako lots of iutorest in it and all that; but, laws, it's one thing to get up in the morning and read the papers 'bout battles and such things, and another to have soldiers running all over you, 'specially taking tho garden truck and the horses outen the barn—I mean out of the barn. readier, she had the hardest w.ork to oreaK me trom saying 'outen' for "out of.' It seems she hasn't quite done it yet." She spoko the last words with a sigh. Souri was about to remind her brother that he had provod himself ono of the best boys in the school at mental arithmetic, but desisted. "The oorporal kem and saluted tho gineral, him red as Corporal Ratigan 'h head. 'Tako that paper from that man! he roared. Well, bein surrounded by the guard who were at the corporal's call, Oi surrendered." Meantime the owner returned to his residence, and the lady who lives next door went over to speak to him about how his animal was violating a city ordinance on those grounds. Before she could get at the subject however, the owner's son came along from the garden with a life sized china dog. "Oh! That's United States. Don't ye boo the 'U. S.' branded on him?" "H'ml" The general thought a mo ment and beat a roveille with his fin gers on the arm of his ohair. "I don't keer," replied the woman. "You uns hain't got no business to' ter Oome down hyar nohow. You're a mis'- able set o' black abolishioners. I'm a gal 'thout nothin ter fight with, and yoa Uns"— "He can beat anything in the brigade.""Can he trot?" Had little Ambrose been called away to his celestial abode we oonld have stood this perhaps, but he is past 45 now and is his own hostler, I judged, by his general air. "And thin?" gasped the major, glar ing at the stupid messenger. "D'you think ho can trot with thiB hyar critter o' mino." Batigan had not rocoverod from bis surprise before she spoko to him iu a rioh contralto voice, as little liko that be bad heard from her as a fifo is like the mellow tones of an organ. "What were thoy doing within the Foderal linea just beforo you left the outposts?" "There," said the father, "I thought I had concealed that china dog in the currant bushes where it wouldn't be found any more, but he's gone and discovered it" "And thin the gin oral said, 'Go to yer camp and tell Major Barko to pat ye in the guard tint for 24 hoars. And whin he Binds another orderly to me not to Bind a recruit, or Oi'il put him in nrreat'"Ratigan looked at her rawboned brute and burst into a laugh. "Waal, I only noticed ono man, 'n he war doin somep'n very partickeler." "What was it?" "Beauty and the beast," interrupted the officer, bowing "Waal, now, you needn't take on so. Reckon I o'd give you a brush ef yon was minded." "Now, see hyar, Mr. Tank, I got ter go hum. Pop he's away, and mother she's sick in bed." "Corporal, please present my compliments to Major Burke and thank him for me for his kindness, and tell him that when he sends another woman through the lines under pretonse of keeping her eyes shut, when ho has an especial purpose of his own in view, not to send an'Oirishman'for an escort. " Tlio smile on her lips broadened and showed a set of white teeth "Tlio 'OiriEh' race as diplomats are not usually successful. Au revoir, corporal." "He war lookitt at tho sky through n flat round thing what looked like a big squashed appla'' Little Ambrose soils sewing machines and wears an umbrageous beard, thus saving enough necktie money to buy a side bar buggy. His neck has dashes of olive green freckle work on the back and wrinklw across it like snail tracks on the beach. He still regards himself as strangely beautiful and ridos with one foot outside the buggy, thus exposing to view a tight boot with immoral beels, such boots as those generally worn by the lost and undone. "Is that* the dog that has been there in the bushes the-past two weeks?'' "All right, me dear. Here's u straight bit of road.'' "Lordy, Souri, y' talk like a fine lady compared 'ith what y' did afore y' went no'th. Jake, would y' like ter drive •em?" The officer scratched his head and thought "By the howly 1 Ye infernal, raw 1 Did ye get no answer?" "Fo' what stakes?" "A $5 greenback." "Not a fieldglasa was it?" "No, sir. Reckon 'twasn't thet." "Was tho man of high rank?" "Reckon he war. Ho had stripes 011 his arm." "Yes." "Well, me friends," he said presently, "Oi'm thinkin Oi'll refer the case of all of yez to brigade headquarters. Would ye moind sittin where ye are till I get an answer?" " 'Oi'll sind an answer by a soldier who has been properly retained,' said the gineraL Didn't ye tell me right, major?" "Well the police will be here after 11 in a few minutes." "Why?" "Agin Confederate money?" "With pleasure." "Reckon." The father handed the reins to hia son, who, considering that ho had not driven a horse for a year, handled them with considerable skill. "Well, we thought we could smell it a good deal lately, and people threatened to move away if the police didn't do something with it Some of my friends said that the odor kept them awake nights. One family whose home is at Constable's Hook, N. J., and who are used to the clover scented air of Elizabeth and the Standard Oil works, moved away yesterday on account of it" The corporal drew forth a crisp $6 bilL And Miss Baggs put the thumb and finger of one hand in the pnlm of the other under her plovo and drew out a Confederate shinplaster. "Tut, tut, he wore chevrons. Ho was only a noncommissioned officer. Can't you describe moro nearly the object througli which ho was looking?" "Reckon not," from the farmer. "Hurry up, " said the woman in the buggy. "Mother's waitin fo' me." "Corporal of the guard!" cried the major by way of reply. "Take that man, " he said when the oorporal came, "to the guard tent." "How did you leavo ma?" asked the daughter. A Hopeless Suit, There was a grin on tho faces of the Confederate lookers on and astonishment on tho honest countenance of Corporal Ratigan. "Waal, I think I liearn soino'un call it a can—can"— Looking at little Ambrose at the ago of 46, with a soft hat, formerly plum colored, but now fadod to the color of the Bad Lands, and with that droop and sag of tho stomach which tell of salcratus biscuits and blue mass, one would think that to burn those old tresses and sell the glass oase would bo no sin. The officer stepped into his tent near by and came out with a pencil and the back of an old letter. With these he proceeded to take down the information required. Approaching the boggy, he said: As the messenger was marched away, protesting against the injustice of his treatment far obeying orders, a staff officer rode up. Taking the irajor apart, he instructed him to lot the applicants go through, provided they woald take an oath not to give any information concerning the Union troops to the enemy. With the passes he brought a suggestion from the general to send some person with one or the other of the two parties under pretense of an escort, but really with a view to discovering the proximity of the enemy. Now that the main uriny was moving, it might be well to discover if the cavalry on its flank had fallen back. The ground was unfavorable for a reconnoissanoe; hence the suggestion to get information by stratogem. "Who holds the stakes?" asked the corporal gleefully. "Waal, y'rmaw sho war a heap lone somo 'thont y' una, and who's beou ; worritin fo' fear y'd git sick up tha 'ith no one tor tern I tor y', but 8bucu th time fo' y'r coiuiu hum hez dra\veC nigh Rho'a puckered up pretty peart." "Not a canteen?" "You una. "Divil a bit The lady shall hold "And, Kate," she continued, evidently enjoying bringing oat the word with her rich voice, as one loves to roll old wine on the tongue, "when a woman desires to race, it is not always for the money up. " She tossed the bill she had won toward biin. "Yos, thet's it," 'em." Tho general looked sharply at tlie boy, who lookod stolidly stupid. He determined to try another route through which to lead Jakoy's infantile mind. Sho took the bill ho handed her and gave the lines a jerk with a "Git along thar! Remember, it's a trottin race." And soon afterward the police did come along to relieve the neighborhood of tho poisonous and pestilential odor of a china dog. This is a true story told me by one of the victims. "Will ye plaze favor me with your patronymio"—he paused while he looked to see if she were young or old— "miss?" Tho boom of a gun came faintly fror. far down on tho lower level, and tin cannonading heard by Corporal liatigai and his chargo began. Taking up tin whip, the countryman gave his horses r. out. Ho is living with his second wife now and trying to draw her late husband's pension, but a hated rival wrote to congress about it, and now little Ambrose has ohanged his name to Pantaloons. '.'Were the troops you saw in camp, or on tho march, or In bivouac?" Ratigan wits at a disadvantage from the first. Ho did not dare to use his spurs lost his horse should break from a trot Miss Boggs' animal began to reach his lank logs out, triangulating in a lumbering fashion that put him over tho ground at no inconsiderable speed. The corporal did his best and kept pace pretty well. "My what?" "And, Rats, don't raco again with any one with a rawboned animal with long legs. Bobby Lee is from the blue grass regions of Kentucky. There's something wrong about his breathing apparatus, but even with that disadvantage he cau trot a mile over a good road In 8:50." "Don't know what tliet ar' last air, but tho trees 'n brush war so thick 1 couldn' soe plain." Imagination is a great thing. I have seen a fresh air crank, after hours of restlessness on a Pullman car at night, raise a window and sleep sweetly all night, forgetting that it was a double window. "Your patronymio." "Oh, talk Tennessee 1" "I want ter make hum afore Bomep'n happens. Thar's goin ter be a big fight 'bout Tullyhooiny. Thar's forts all round the place and big gons on eui." "Can't you tell mo if you saw any infantry. Soldiers who walk and carry guns, you know?'' In Hagenbeck's justly celebrated congress of animals there were at one time 17 ferocious carnivorous animals of different species mixed up together in a big steel cage. Thoy sat around there for half an hour, half of them on the Republican side and half on the Democratic sida of the cage, looking fierce for the purpose of earning their salaries, but, in fact, perfectly at pcace with each other. There was also a Pefferian boarhound that seemed equally at home on both sides. "Well, then, your cognomen." "See hyar, Mr. Officer, ef you want ter git anything outen me, you want to talk squar'." The horses trotted on briskly for a short distance, when, looking ahead, the farmer oould see the picket post. He got his pass ready, and when they reached tho post an officer camo out to exainino it. "I never looks at them kind o' sojera," replied Jakey contemptuously. "I only notices 'cm when th're on critters' backs." Thirty years ago I wrote a composition upon "Tho Powers of Imagination," and I then said, "The powers of imagination are certainly many and wonderful." Pungent and radical as this, statement seemed to me at the time, I can say now truly, even after the flight of years, that I see no reason for r ing my mind. "Please tell me your name." "Betsy Baggs. And yours?" "Major Burke, at your service. Ara ye Union or"— "Rebel!" "Reckon my Bob Lee kin knock the stuffin outen your critter, Mr. Sojer. Git up, Bob." Had Miss Baggs appeared less bewltohing as she stood thero under the protection of half u dozen Confederate troopers, Katigan would have turned away impatiently. As it was, sho seemed to hold him by a spoil. The major hunted the camp for a Bible on which to administer the oath and called on Corporal Ratigan to bolp him. He explained the general's request and told Ratigan that he wanted him to go with Miss Baggs. Having given the oorporal a full understanding of what was required of him, he went baok to the party with a Bible, followed by Ratigan. With that Bob Increased the length of his triangulations, increasing their frequency at the same time The result was that ho carried the old buggy with Betsy Baggs in it right away from the corporal. Indeed Ratigan fell behind steadily. If ho should break from a trot, he would loso the race; if he should keep up his trot, ho would lose Miss Baggs. "That will do," gaid the general. Then, turning to a staff officer near him, ho said: He—But you say yourself your step father is anxious to got you off his "Whore do ye want to go?" "Hum." "And that is at"— "Dunlap." "Why are ye hore?" "Is your namo E»ekiel Slack?" he asked of tho farmor. "Captain, you may pass theso people south," and added in an undertone: "Rido over to division headquarters and say that nothing has yet been obtained j of the enemy's movements in this vicin- J ity by questioning citizens. Only one party has come through—a farmer, | with his son and daughter. Tho farmer Si.e—That's why I am afraid h« won t listen to you.—Life. hands. "One thing more; my bonny cardinal flower. Tell the major that I like 'the yonng man from County Cavan' he has recommended to mo very much. " Her eyes fairly danced. "When the war is over, I hope vou will look mo up In- "Zoko Slack; yaas, thot's my nama" "And yours?" to tho girl, raising his forage cap admiringly. "Missouri Slack." A Remarkable Deal Seeing the senator from South Carolina continually lingering about Don Cameron's desk the other day reminded mo of the peace that soemed to hover around Hagenbeck'a. "I been ter MocMinnville ter see mother's old doctor." "Did Jones find the horse he bought of Brown all that he expected?" "Great Scott, no I He was perfectly eouiid. "—Lew is town (N. J.) Herald. "Tho other name on tho pass refers to tho boy, I suppose You have a name, "There's a shorter road from Mao- The farmer and his family were first Suddenly an officer appeared on the Lodge rooms for rent. G. B. Thompson