"and I decided that you should be the favored one."

Again I would have taken her to my heart, but order prevailed, and I was not allowed to do so.

"And why, pray, was I selected?" I inquired, angling for a compliment.

"We never told you the story, did we ?"
"No."

"Well, last spring, brother Avery was badly wounded down in Virginia. A rebel-I mean a Confederate-officer was very good to him, giving him food and water, and protecting him from a fire which would soon have burned him to death. When he was able to move we brought I him home, and he often said that when he recovered he would return the kindness to some Southerner. He has never regained his strength sufficiently to return to the army, so he decided to pay his debt by releasing one of the prisoners, all of us promising to help him. The selection. of the victim was left to me, and I thought you -you looked-nice, and I felt more sorry for you than any of the others, and-"

Again I tried to do the clasping act, but she ran out to attend a ring at the door, not trusting

"Well! well! well! you are the very man, old fellow! Since the first time I saw you I had a notion I had seen you somewhere. What a fool I was not to have known you!"

There were tears and a general handshaking all around. The two old ladies hugged me again and again, and I thought at one time that Esther would do likewise, but she thought better of it, and only whispered in my ear: "Why didn't you tell me before ?"

A proposition was submitted by Avery to kill the fatted calf, but the old gentleman insisted on adjourning to the dining-room and making a night of it, which was done in the most thorough manner.

Next morning old Mr. Chauncey and Avery came up, bringing my breakfast, and as they crawled through the doorway, Avery said:

marry her. I can take care of you both, and you shall live right here with me."

There was another handshaking, varied by a kiss from Esther.

Ah, those were happy days, indeed! The servants were dismissed, and my " den " was bidden a final adieu, and the run of the house given me.

The wedding didn't take place, however, for I could not consent to leaving Lee's army to do battle without me any longer. So one night, armed with a railroad ticket to Baltimore, a little purse of gold, and a photograph of the dearest girl in the world, I took my departure for the South, if I should happily succeed in getting through the lines.

Providence (or the photograph, as Esther said later) protected me from shot and shell from Petersburg to Appomattox, and I returned home, but not to stay.

When something of quiet was restored, I once more took my way to Elmira, but with emotions very different from those which filled my breast on my first visit.

The wedding was a quiet one, the family not being quite ready then for my story to be known.

This was twenty-seven years ago, and my Esther, gray and more sedate now than then, is yet the dearest woman on earth to me.

Another Esther, her mother's image, was the

"What was that, my daughter?" Hesitatingly, she continued:

"He said that he loved me, and-wanted me to marry him—but I didn't think you would let me."

'Let you! Why, my boy, you couldn't please me better. Yes, yes, I say, certainly you shall

we gave her to the son of a neighbor, and her baby Esther, a toddler of three summers, spends half her time with us in the old homestead, not far from the capital of the old Palmetto State. Avery has paid us a visit once every year from his home in Albany, and the dear old people are long since in their graves, near the scenes of their honored and useful lives.

I

T must not be supposed that in those dire, dreadful, and dreary times we had nothing but horrors and havoc; nothing but lamentation, wailing, and woe; nothing for the "boys in gray" to do but fight, whilst the lassies stayed at home only to sew and pray.

It would be all wrong to suppose that even in a city before which the great ironclads did sentinel duty, whilst monster cannon, with devoted energy, sent shot and shell, with an occasional sprinkling of grape, into our midst, and oftentimes over our heads, by night as well as by day, there were no times of hope, happiness, and hilarity; of merry-making, love-making, and match-making; of music, dancing, and balls.

In the effulgence of silvery beauty still shone the moon over our beleaguered city. The soft salt zephyrs sped their way over turret and topsail, and there was no "blockade to the perennial bloom of our rich tropical flowers. with their ravishing odor upon the midnight air. If there were brave boys in Dixie, they were gay ones, too; and maidens ever ready for fun, frolic, and mirth.

We had learned, by the spring of '64, to gauge the distance of the shot and shell thrown by the fleet into the "City by the Sea." It was noticed that beyond a certain street no missile had fallen. In consequence of this, the lower part of the city was deserted, beautiful houses became tottering, dismantled walls, broad piazzas hung like the gardens of Babylon, and in the busy thoroughfares, once echoing with the tread of prancing steeds, the grass grew, long and damp, with no sound save that of the whizzing bomb. Life existed only in the suburbs. Here every house assumed rubber-like dimensions, and-a seeming paradox-without peace there was hearty good-will.

On the broad bank of the Cooper River, stood an ancient residence, whose Ionic columns gave support to wide and beautiful piazzas, and commanding from the summit of its picturesque cupola a full view of old ocean, with the besieged fortresses and the flotilla beyond.

The sunlight played between the folds of a graceful flag-not the "Stars and Bars," nor yet the Stars and Stripes"; but, high up

66

lifted from the dome of this mansion and given to the breeze, floated the Cross of St. George, making the headquarters of the British consul, also the abiding-place pro tem. of himself and family, whose guest chambers were always full. Out of the reach of the guns and their fiery work, the house became the centre of attraction for the soldier beaux of the times. The spacious parlors held gay gatherings, albeit the tell-tale mirrors betrayed the incongruous dress of the fair ones and the paucity of their wardrobes by reason of the wear of time and the vigilance of the blockaders outside our harbor.

It was under these circumstances that whispered rumors reached us of the social event of the times, and soon we were overjoyed and yet dismayed by an invitation to attend a ball to be given by the commandant at the arsenal, all the way "cross town." There were two things to be considered, confronted, and overcome,two things quite startling to us young maidens of the mansion, and most nearly concerned,viz., how to get there and what to wear.

The edict had gone forth that we could not avail ourselves of "outside escort"; "proper chaperonage" would be necessary for the decorum of such an event. The distance was too great to be walked, and conveyances must be had for the "discreet " ones, as well as for ourselves. The depleted stables stared at us gloomily, as all "able-bodied" animals had long ago been conscripted and sent to the field, and we retired to our rooms to breathe treason, denunciation, and rebellion; but, nothing daunted, to find a way to go, and, with certain reservations, a way also to get back.

A venerable quadruped, whose hoary age rendered him exempt from military duty, but which was sufficiently imbued with life for his latter day avocation of hauling wood, was led from the stable and subjected to a process of massage and grooming, administered by a small boy, whose sympathy had been enlisted by the stimulating aid of a teacup of molasses. Then followed a fortuitous discovery of an old set of harness, which, with a splicing of twine, was made to "do." Remembering an old, battered, and wrecked "carry-all," long ago consigned to disuse, we repaired to the darkened and musty

quarters of the carriage house, and, by united strength and working with a will, brought out into the light the ancient vehicle. By the aid of mop and brush, with greasing of lard applied by our own hands, safe from observation under cover of luxuriant foliage, we effected a metamorphose which quite recompensed us for our labor. The conduct of our gayly caparisoned steed, during a trial trip around the carriage house, gave us every assurance that there would be no runaway accident. Our pride was assuaged by the knowledge that, since we would leave under cover of darkness, no one at the ball need know the state nor the speed which marked our journey. All we had to do was to go slowly," sit lightly," thus running no risk of a breakdown.

Next in turn loomed up the dress question. As the fortunate owner of a "blockade runner (all articles coming in this way were so termed), my friend's pale-green muslin paled further before the greener jealousy of my heart, until I was appeased by the discovery of some scraps of lilac silk, out of which a hasty jacket was constructed. This, worn with a skirt of pink and white muslin,-strongly suggestive of the striped lines of mint candy,-made the wearer thereof sincerely hope that the analogy would not be further carried out, and that she would in no way be found to "stick."

But the greatest trial awaited us in the contemplation of our well-worn, well-rubbed, and sickly-looking boots. No slippers ever slipped the blockade, and we wore only home-made brogans of the times. Blacking-we had none. As necessity is the mother of invention, so an improvised polish of soot and molasses, diluted with water, gave to our faded footgear a most gratifying "shine." All things being ready, it only remained to go to the ball.

Driving slowly along, in diligent search of secluded by-ways, "sitting lightly," holding our breath by way of a precaution the value of which was not clear to our minds, but indulged in by a sort of concord of agreement that it might lessen our weights-thus we went "cross town." But there was no subduing the steady creak of the wheels, the alternate grating drag of the one, whilst its mate seemed to have become too short, and inclined to spin; then the swaying, leaning, and lurching of the topcover awakened great fear of a turn-over at any moment. We began to ask each other, nervously, would the ball be over before our arrival, or would we get there at all?

But we did get there, and, alighting at a distance safe from obtrusive eyes, wended our way up the graveled walk between stalking sentinels with glistening bayonets, around murderous cannon, and pyramidal piles of shot. Met by gallant swains, the vicissitudes along the way were forgotten, our stiffened limbs caught inspiration from the full strains of the band, and, without formality, we fell into the mazes of the waltz under the sheen of the silvery moon, and upon the greensward under our willing feet.

Our late arrival gave us an opportunity for a survey of the ball, now at its height, with the accompaniment of gliding steps to a strange medley of sounds. Far above the exhilarating and joyous strains of the military band, and at short intervals of studied precision, came the ominous whirring and whizzing of bombs in midair, quickly followed by the reverberating roar of explosion-harmless agents doing work only among abandoned homes and forsaken streets.

The brilliant uniforms, in gray and gold, with crimson sashes and dangling swords, stood in beautiful contrast to the quaint, unique, and old-fashioned but picturesque costumes of these war-time belles. Antique relics of heavy silks and velvets had been rescued from the depths of trunks, and donned by demioselles who danced vis-a-vis with maidens looking lovely in the latest calico "blockade runner," costing far more in dollars than any ancient dame's heirloom! Resuscitated tarlatans and checkered "homespun" lent additional brilliancy to this kaleidoscopic scene. Then supper, of strawberries, cream, and sorghum sugar. The "grand promenade" gave an interval for that delightful saunter under moonlit skies amid the perfume of sweet flowers and the rhythm of soft music. And how we plotted, planned, and intriguedmy companion and I! How we agreed that it was too unsafe to venture to return the way we had come, and, going back to the ball-room, plead in plaintive tones to be allowed to accept 'outside escor,t" for, as "a merciful man is merciful unto his beast," we would thereby lighten the load, and, with a fleeter steed, we would get home ahead of our chaperons, and be "waiting!" How we promised not to "lose the way," and many more promises of a conciliatory nature! I distinctly remember that after devious detours and serpentine wanderings, conveniently losing the way, and finding it again, we arrived to find them waiting for us. What matters it all? Those were war times, andall's fair in love and war."

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T

\HE boom of cannon and heavy artillery at intervals and the constant crack of sharp-shooters' rifles had been heard since daybreak. From the house in the valley the battle on the hill was plainly visible. Now and then shells hissed through the air, just grazing the tops of the grand old oaks, and fell with loud explosions in the grove beyond. From time to time, children playing in the old-fashioned yard, frightened by the whistling bullets or by some deserter dashing by with clanking sword and panting horse, scampered into the house.

The house (built in the irregular style of architecture so common in the South "'fo' de wah"), with the surrounding plantation, was the property of General , a wealthy Southern gentleman. While loving his sunny birthland devotedly, he still clung to the old flag under which he had served during the Mexican War, believing that "in union there is strength." Thus it was a trial hard to bear that both of his oldest sons were soldiers in the Southern Army, and almost as bitter was the knowledge that wife and children were sympathizers with the same cause, though this, through deference to the husband and father, was rarely even hinted at.

The day was as warm and balmy as if a June, rather than a March, sun was smiling-a day musical with the voices of many birds, some wanderers just returned, while others were old friends who had remained faithful through the short winter months. The trees were peopled with the ubiquitous tree-frogs, with their unending challenge and answer; and early spring flowers nodded coquettishly in the gentle air, as if daring the zephyr just gone by to kiss them again; a day filled with the airs and graces spring knows so well how to assume, when all the world is flattering himself or herself, as the case may be, that winter is a thing of the past, and that summer, with her beguiling way, is almost within reach. It seemed a sacrilege that anything so gracious as that day should be marred by so ungracious a thing as war.

In the battle on the hill one of General 's sons was fighting, and father and mother, knowing so well his daring spirit, that

scorned any place but the thickest of the battle, were fearful that any hour might bring the tidings of his death.

The day is closing with a great display of brilliant coloring, alternately brightening and fading. The birds are twittering in the low cedar hedge separating the yard and orchard, fluttering from place to place in search of a suitable night's lodgement; the frogs in the hollow over the way are furnishing a deep basso to the shrill falsetto of their cousins, the tree-frogs; while the swish and hum in the air reminds one that the bugs are out for an airing on their new wings. The dying sounds of the battle chime. strangely with these peaceful sights and sounds; and General walking hastily back and forth on the walk over which the maple boughs meet fraternally, turns for the first time a deaf ear to Nature's wooing. His youngest child toddles after him, striving in vain to keep pace with her father's impatient steps.

At the gate opening on the highway his wife. stood watching, her heart aching with the suspense of waiting for news of her brave boy. The twilight lingered, as if anxious still further to lend her light; and the children, who had been playing "hide-and-seek," for which gam the fine box-trees offered such splendid inducements, were now gathered in a silent group around their mother.

Just as the moon came up from behind a distant hill, smiling serenely, as if sure of her welcome, there fell on the ear distantly, but distinctly, the beat of horses' feet. After some moments of breathless waiting, a squad of soldiers came slowly around the bend, the greater part of them mounted, while a number were walking, and bearing on their shoulders what, at that distance, seemed a litter. The moon shone on buckles and swords, making them flash brightly, and each soldier's form stood out clearly as they advanced in perfect order. As they neared the gate the mother's heart chilled almost to death as she saw the gray uniforms; but before her mind actually conceived the thought that they were bringing her son,-wounded, perhaps dead, -a handsome soldier rode from the rear, and springing lightly to the ground, caught her to him, exclaiming: "Little mother!" Then, as