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OUR TWO OPINIONS
XJs two wuz boyH when we fell out
Nlih to the age of my youngest now
Dont reclect wlmt twuz about
Some small difference Ill allow
Lived next neighbors twenty years
A hntln each other me nd Jim
He bavin his opluyln uv me
Xd I bavin my oplnyiu uv him
Grew up together nd wouldnt speak
Courted sisters nd marrd em too
Tended same meetln house oucet a week
A hatln each other through nd through
-But when Abe Llnkern asked the West
Ir soldiers we answered me nd Jim
-He havln his oplnyln uv me
Nd I havln my oplnyln uv him
down In Tennessee one night
Ther wuz sound uv flrln fur away
Nd the sergeant allowed thered be a flght
With the Johnnie Rebs some time nex
day
Nd as 1 wuz thlnkin uv Lizzie nd home
Jim stood afore me long nd slim
He havln his pinyin uv me
Nd I bavin my oplnyln uv him
Seemed like we knew there wuz goln to be
Serious trouble fr me nd him
Us two shuck hands did Jim nd me
But never a word from me or Jim
He went his way nd I went mine
Nd into the battles roar went we
I havln my oplnyln uv Jim
Nd he havin his oplnyln uv me
Jim never come back from the war again
But I haint forgot that last last night
When waltln fr orders us two men
Made up nd shuck hands afore the fight
Nd after it all Its soothln to know
That here I be nd yonders Jim
He havln his oplnyln uv me
Nd I bavin my oplnyln uv him
THE GIRL HE
LEFT BEHIND
R1IINDA BA
teet was a come
ly country girl
fair as a lily up
on whose face the
roses blossomed
after the cows
came home and
Joshua Baldwin
Lad stopped at
We Bateet man
sion on his way
from work at his
uncles farm
Josliua thought nay he would have made
affidavit to the fact that he loved Ar
minda and the seven sisters shining in
the blue dome above the Bateet home
could not have convinced her that she
did not love J Baldwin a tall dark
black eyed curly headed man a regular
Adonis of the country hamlet in which he
and his sweetheart resided They didnt
have much time to waste courting as Ar
niinda had to assist her mother at making
cheese butter and cooking for the farm
hands who were voracious eaters and
never teemed to have their appetites ap
peased not even when Mrs Bateet made
a dried apple pudding with syrup enough
on each dish to make it swim Joshua
also worked from fourteen to sixteen
hours a day consequently between work
ing and sleeping there was little time to
plague the moon in company with his lady
love And so it came to pass that they
had promised to become man and wife
though the day hadnt been set yet nor
had the lovely Arminda ordered her wed
ding trousseau But both thought that
time would not be far distant
One evening while Arminda and Joshua
were sitting as usual on the front porch
they didnt have much winter courtship
owing to the fact that old man Bateet
was logging and the woodcutters slept in
the spare bed room too near the parlor
for undisturbed love making Joshua look
ed rather blue and Armindas face nso
bore a troubled expression Joshua had
enlisted and would start late that even
ing for the recruiting station Both were
-feeling badly and Arminda was bravely
drying to keep back the tears But J
Josh was goin to the war and Armin
das pent up feelings broke forth in a real
hard crying spell
Joshua held her hand for five minutes
and lovingly kissed her cheeks and went
away to the war Joshua Baldwin made
-a splendid looking soldier and for two
lyears stood the separation pretty well
ibut the third year of service those en
velopes with a flag in the corner and Gen
Dixs famous saying If any man at
tempts to haul down the flag shoot him
on the spot inscribed beneath did not
come as often as formerly Joshuas eyes
ietrayed a far away look and the boys
said he was getting homesick a far more
dangerous disease among soldiers than
the camp fever the doctors said
Some of his comrades suggested a fur
lough but Joshua said no he would stay
till his term of enlistment expired and
stay he did
Finally the news of Lees surrender
came to the camp of the regiment upon
the West Virginia mountains and then
general orders for mustering out troops
Joshua Baldwins spirits seemed to re
vive at the reading of these and he told
his tent mate that at last he was going to
meet Arminda He had saved up enough
to buy a nice little farm and life seemed
a bank of flowers to him
Then the regiment turned in their arms
-and marched to the railway station and
in two days the trains human freight of
leroes slowly drew into the station and
Joshuas face seemed emblazoned with a
halo of anticipation
Ill bet Minda will be there to meet
me and as the station was reached he
peered into the crowd gathered there to
meet the returning troops but he saw no
Arminda among that sea of faces Hast
ily alighting his aged father mother and
sister rushed up to him and there was a
scene that no one ever experiences but a
soldier returning from the war The first
words that Joshua said were Wheres
Arminda
Married three days ago to John Meri
tnew a fellow who worked for her father
when you went to the war said Josh
uas father
The soldier of twelve battles and twen
ty skirmishes turned pale his stalwart
form quivered and his large dark eyes
filled with tears for an instant then cours
ed down his cheeks until his poor old
mother drew forth her pocket handker
chief and wiped them away
There Josh dont feel bad she said
tenderly Theres as good fish in the sea
as ever was caught out of it and she put
her trembling and half palsied old arms
around his neck and her quivering lips
implanted a kiss on the cheek of her sol
dier boy now after three years players
and rears safe home again Josh walk
ed slowly along after his family following
1hem in a listless manner to the other side
of the station where the old family horse
and wagon was awaiting to carry him
home
Good by Josh invite us to the wed
ding cried out a dozen comrades but
Josh did not return the recognition with
even a look or a smile
Only a week afterwards I met the old
t
MEMORIAL DAY
-
F
Tread softly A hero
Is sleeping below
Kneel down here beside him
He never will know
Which flag did he flght for
What recks it to day
They are sleeping together
The Blue and the Gray
My papa oft tells me
When soft falls the dew
Of Somebodys Darling
A hero In blue
Who laid down his life
On the red field of Mars
For the sake of the old flag
All studded with stars
And down where the cypress
Bends low oer the way
Where the moss from the live oaks
Hangs ghostly and gray
man in the city undertaking shop and
when I asked him if anyone was dead
up in Halltown he answered in a trem
bling voice as the tears filled his eyes
Joshs gone
What ailed him I asked
Dunno replied the old gentleman he
never spoke moren twict arter he got
home The last words I hearn him say
afore he died was Tell Mindy to meet me
at the depot Im coniin hum I reckon
as how his heart was broke The doctor
said heart failyur wuz the cause of his
bein took off
Arminda attended the funeral She
whimpered a little when they lowered the
coffin in the grave and her big gawky
husband shook her arm rudely and said
under his breath Dry up this arnt none
uv your funeral
As I neared town again I heard the old
regimental band playing The Girl I Left
Behind Me and I thought of poor Josh
who fought bravely all through those
years and hoarded his pay to makea home
for the girl he left behind him when he
went to the war only to find her false at
last
Nearly a quarter of a century has pass
ed since that time and the wild laurel and
balsam grows above Joshuas grave up
in Halltown cemetery while once a year
on Memorial Day the Grand Army boys
place a flag and some flowers upon the
mound where lies a true and honest heart
The girl he left behind him might better
have died for only a week ago I read of
her arrest in another city charged with
being drunk on the streets Long ago
she parted with her husband and entered
upon a career which will probably end in
the dark and turbid river But the soldier
and the girl he left behind him will never
meet again Their parting on the veranda
of the old Bateet farm house was forever
and aye This story is true The names
are fictitious There are flowers on Me
morial Day for Josh and thorns for
Minda
OLD SHADY
A Darky Camp Minstrel Who Played
Melodies for Grant and
One of the attaches of the North Da
kota Senate House at Bismarck is an old
colored man named Blakely Durant His
war history was made under the camp
sobriquets of Blake and Old Shady
and the last mentioned was given to him
on account of a song by that title which
he often sang at the headquarters of the
Army of the Tennessee Grant Sherman
McPherson and other generals of the
Western army were entertained by the
simple melodies of the musical darky who
accompanied his songs by twanging the
guitar which he handled skillfully Old
Shady was the favorite piece of Gen
Grant and he called for it whenever he
spent the evening at McPhersons camp
fire where Blake was employed as a ca
terer for the mess
Blake or Old Shady as he was best
known joined the army as cook for the
officers of the Seventy first Ohio regi
ment and was on the field at Shiloh He
afterward shipped on the steamer Mag
nolia which was used as transport for
Grants headquarters at the opening of
the Vicksburg campaign During that
time Old Shady came to the notice of
the commander and be engaged him as
cook but true to his vagrant nature the
darky asked for transportation home on a
brief visit as a bonus and failed to report
back for duty at the end of his furlough
Subsequently he fell in with the steward
Who knows but at twilight
Some story Is told
Of a soldier who died
Foi the Lost Cause of old
They were brothers these two
In memry to day
We can see them again
The Blue and the Gray
Side by side now they sleep
Beneath the green sod
The pride of two armies
Both taken by God
Bring out the wild blossoms
The darlings of May
The budding June roses
For Blue and for Gray
Pile high the white lilies
Oer each heros breast
Leave God and His angels
To watch oer their rest
of McPhersons mess was employed aa
cook for a time and then became chiei
caterer
Old Shadys song made a hit by rea
son of the patronage of the generals and
was taken up by the Lombard brothers
who managed a band of singers that of
ten entertained the soldiers in their camps
during the winter season The Lombards
learned the song at McPhersons quarters
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OLD SHADY
7
where the colored minstrel sang it foi
them over and over until they knew it by
heart Finally it became a popular cam
paign song and had its day with Suwa
nee River Ole Virginny John
Browns Body and other airs appealing
to the sentiment of the hour
Significance of the Day
There is a melancholy pleasure in con
sidering this great anniversary second
only in importance to Fourth of July bul
overshadowed by a vastly different senti
ment Independence Day is the birthday
of American freedom Memorial Day
may well be called its day of baptism and
consecration On this occasion we turn
from the everyday concerns of life and
give ourselves up to the contemplation of
acts of heroism that raise humanity above
the common level and link it more closely
to the Divine Spirit These heroes whose
graves we strew with flowers gave their
lives for their country sacrificed them
selves and all that they possessed that
liberty and peace as established by the
Constitution of the United States might
be freed from the bands that had been
thrown around them and might flourish
untrammeled unconditioned and withou
reproach
Civil War Victims
According to the officials figures the
Union armies lost 35952S officers and men
by death the returns from the Confed
erate armies are incomplete but those
in the provost marshal generals report
show that at least 133821 officers and
men lost their lives The losses in battle
were comparatively small in the revolu
tionary war About 6000 persons all told
were killed and the usual proportion of
those who die of wounds is about two
thirds of those killed That would give a
total of 10000 Then at least 11000
prisoners died in the prison ships so that
probably not less than 25000 to 50000
persons lost their lives during and owing
to the war
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SINCE YESTERDAY
The mavis sang but yesterday
A strain that thrilled through Autumns
dearth
He read the music of his lay
In light and leaf and heaven and earth
The windflowers by the wayside swung
Words of the music that was sung
In all his song the shade and sun
Of earth and heaven seemed to meet
Its joy and sorrow were as one
Its very sadness was but sweet
He sang of summers yet to be
You listened to his song with me
The heart makes sunshine in the rain
Or winter in the midst of May
And though the mavis sings again
His self same song of yesterday
I find no gladness in his tone
To day I listen here alone
And even our sunniest moment takes
Such shadows of the bliss we knew
To day his throbbing song awakes
But wistful haunting thoughts of you
Its very sweetness is but sad
You gave it all the joy it had
THRIFT
His mother had insisted on calling
him Thrift No one knew why she
had given him the quaint name Then
when he was barely 2 years old she
died She left him -with a great wealth
of silent love but that like his name
could not help him much that is not
as far as one can judge things The
neighbors said it was a cough that had
settled that carried her off Proba
bly the cough had something to do with
it but a starved out life of lack of af
fection and hard work had a good deal
more
The neighbors also thought that Mrs
Watson never had much spirit It
would seem as if they almost blamed
her for dying and leaving a husband
with a child barely 2 years old They
had misgivings about the child and
there they were right Thrift was deaf
and dumb His mother had struggled
against the knowledge as long as she
could When she realized it she kept
the knowledge to herself with a fierce
love But the cough came and settled
all the problems of her life for her
Thrifts father took her death as apa
thetically as he had taken her all her
life Only Thrift seemed to realize
that fate was still against him He lay
crying for hours alone in the little cot
tage strapped into his cot It was a
weird pathetic cry The neighbors
were kind to him They took him in
turn to their cottages but the element
of teasing children and rough handling
was discordant to him The women
meant well but it was a hard winter
and money and tempers were short
Beside Thrifts baby nature was hard
to understand
Brightness came into his life one day
It came in the guise of a little dress
maker Jean Lawrence She brought
him a black frock She had been busy
so had put off the making till she had
time No one else thought of the little
mark of respect It was a tribute to
custom but it was the one tribute of
Mrs Watsons life
Puir little lamb said Jean Law
rence as she came in
Her eyes tilled with quite unexpected
tears as she saw the lonely baby
Thrift could not hear her but some
thing sympathetic touched his under
standing for he held out his hands
Puir little thing said Jam Law
rence again and she caught him up
and covered him with kisses
Then she put Thrift back in his cot
and untied the little black frock She
turned to go for she was in a hurry
Thrifts tnood changed His blue eyes
grew dark in the intensity of his pas
sion He kicked and screamed His
fluffy fair hair was ruffled He looked
the picture of a little demon
Presairve us said the little dress
maker It was the first time any exag
geration of feeling had come into her
life She was half fascinated and half
ternbed by this unexpected burst
Presairve us she repeated still more
emphatically
She never could explain afterward
what prompted her but she stepped to
the cot wrapped a blanket round
Thrift and did not stop to think till
she had deposited him safely in her
own house It was characteristic of
Jean Lawrence that she had never rea
soned out why she had done this ac
tion Certainly she never regretted it
It was quite as easy a matter to settle
the disposal of Thrift with his father
He was only too glad to be rid of the
burden
The first clashing of wills occurred
over the same little black frock Thrift
ungratefully refused to have anything
to do with it Miss Lawrence was per
plexed It would never do to dress him
in colors on a Sunday She compro
mised by making him a white frock
with a broad black sash It set off the
childs fairness but still more it satis
fied her sense of fitness
Jean Lawrence always thought of
that episode as an epoch in her life
The next epoch was the sudden resolve
of Thrifts father to go to America
Jean Lawrence lived in a state of ten
sion till he had sailed It seemed in
credible to her that he could wish to
leave his boy behind She only saw
the extreme desirability of Thrift in
any manner and way Thrifts father
did not
It was soon after this that Jean
Lawrences old lover returned to his
native village This caused more
thought in the village than Jean her
self gave to it It was ten years since
John Forbes and she had been going to
be married and ten years is a long time
in a womans life Since Thrift had
entered her life she was utterly obliv
ious of anything except her work The
more money she made the more she
could do for little Thrift
Jean Lawrence had always kept to
herself and no one knew why she and
lohn Forbes had never married
Her old mother was alive then and
--
every one knew she would have liked
the match John Forbes had come back
grayer and older than he had gone
away but he was richer and even
more able to afford a wife
Time had not gone very well with
Jean She was thin and small always
and she had had a hard life of work
Her sparse drab hair was beginning to
be sprinkled with gray She looked
older than she really was The vil
lage came to the conclusion that John
Forbes would go by her and seek a
younger and bonnier woman The two
most concerned gave no cause for gos
sip
John Forbes would sometimes stop
as he was passing the little cottage and
say a fewr words There was never
any allusion to past times between
them They called each other Mr
Forbes and Miss Lawrence studiously
That was the only clew either of them
had that there was a mutual past be
tween them
On the Sundays that Jean went to
church her thoughts were always divid
ed between the bairn at home and the
psalms To her great discomfiture
John Forbes would sometimes overtake
her They talked of the sermon then
of the crops and the weather By de
grees these subjects gained an easy
familiarity and only varied with the
seasons
No one was more surprised than Jean
when John Forbes asked her to marry
him- She stared at him in emotionless
calm
Ye must gie me time she said
John Forbes agreed to this quite pla
cidly It was hard to understand what
he saw in his first love in her faded
and aged old maidism Tossibly a ten
acity of affection and the same instinct
of faithfulness that brought him back
to the little village the little village
with no pretensions to beauty or pic
turesqueness kept him true to Jean
One was the home the cthe the wom
an he had loved He saw no reason to
change because he had seen many fair
er homes and younger prettier women
Jean did not analyze her sentiments
It was not her way Besides love nev
er entered her head as far as it concern
ed John Forbes She merely reviewed
the advantages as they concerned
Thrift The rumor that a new and
more modem dressmaker was going to
set up finally settled it and she said
to John Yes
The day was fixed for the second time
in their lives Jean had given up her
house She was waiting with tranquil
ity for this new step in her life She
had quite come to the conclusion that
she could not do better for Thrift
One evening John Forbes arrived
Thrift lay contentedly on the hearth
rug looking at him The last time John
had been at the cottage Thrift had been
in one of his passionate fits This had
set him pondering
After this there had been several
well meant efforts at kindness on the
part of his friends They happened to
coincide with his own views They ad
vised him to send Thrift away Jean
they said would neglect every one and
everything for the boy She would
wear herself out for Thrift but not
bother with anything that did not con
cern him
How far he believed this or how far
a mans dislike to scenes or a natural
desire to have his wifes affection cen
tered in himself had to do with his
resolve he could not have told He be
stirred himself and with infinite trou
ble and by some outlay he secured an
admission for the child to a deaf and
dumb institution
It was this fact he had come to tell
Jean He rather wished Thrift would
help him to lead up to it by a scene
Thrift gave him no help He lay smil
ing impenetrably
Jean was not quick at reading signs
Jean he said at last helplessly
well be merrit Tuesday
Ay assented Jean cheerfully
Her ej es fell naturally on Thrift and
she smiled at the boy
And Thrift he added with a sus
piciously clear note of interrogation in
his voice
Ay Thrift she repeated
Then finding this even did not prog
ress matters he said desperately with
a snatch of humor
Ye ken Im no merrying Thrift
The old clock ticked through the
room The peats spluttered on the low
hearth in front of which on a curiously
woven rug Thrift lay
There was absolute silence for a bit
Then Jeans voice broke it
Then John Forbes yere no marry
ing me
Again there was silence John said
in a quiet voice
I hae made a the arrangements for
him Jean He will gang to a schule
fa theyll teach him to read and write
and understand talk of a kind
Will they teach htm to talk like ither
fowk
Her tone was expressionless
No they canna dae that
Then why should the bairn be both
ered wi learning thatll never dae him
or any one else ony gude Tell me that
John Forbes
It will give him employment Jean
and beside Here John Forbes with
a mans tactlessness undid every bit
of good his arguments might have ef
fected He added Fowk tell me ye
just mak an idol o him and that ye
hae nae ither idea but him A man
could na be expeckd to stan that rnd
ither people kenning it
Jean had been passing through a cri
sis and she was but a woman
And If fowk care to gossip over my
affairs- John Forbes and you care to f
heed them let them she returned
vehemently If Thrift disna gang wi
me nae poors will tak me to your
hoose
John was annoyed by her tone
And suppose I say I winna hae
Thrift
They sat on in a strained silence
John was too angry to move or speak
xJ53i
Jean had no wish either to break tha
silence
Ye ken this is the second time your
obstinacy has come in the way saidTf
John finally
I mind said Jean briefly But I
didna mean ye to tak it as ye did yon
time she responded
I didna ken replied John
It struck neither of them that there
was any pathos in the sentence a
pathos of a ten years mistaken silence
Are ye sure ye mean it noo ho
asked getting up
I certainly dae said Jean firmly
Then gude by Jean
Gude by
The instant the door was shut Jean
almost strangled Thrift with kisses
Unfortunately the practical things
coidd not be settled so summarily
Jean had given up her house and she
found it was let to the new dress
maker She was not accustomed toi
complications in her life Alternatives
seemed to crop up and they worried
her At the same time Thrift was her
one object Everything was directed
to this aim
After some few weeks she got a turn
bledown little cottage about a mile
from the straggly village It proved
too far or the hang of the new dress
makers skirts proved too much for
Jeans old customers Work and pay
became scant The little dressmaker
bore up proudly and bravely She
stinted and starved herself but Thrift
grew and flourished There loomed be
fore her alwaj s a fear of the charit
where her boy might be taught and no
one knew at what expense of unkind 1
ness
If the worst camp to the worst she
would ask John Forbes to get him in
and she would become a servant Onei
wintry evening the child was fretfuli
and ailing A knock came to the door
and John Forbes entered He did not
appear to notice the extreme poverty of
the cottage nor the miserable attempt
at a fire This fact brought a rush of
gratitude to Jeans heart It was to see
if these things were as bad as report
said that he had come
He took Thrift upon his knee and he
talked occasionally to Jean
Can I dae onything for ye he said
suddenly For the boy ye ken
A little flush came in Jeans cheeks
She faltered her thanks
No idea that she might work on her
old lovers pity crossed her mind She
began timidly asking him if he could
manage to send Thrift to the home he
had mentioned
Why noo when ye were so set
against it asked John with a severi
ty that was not reassuring
Its circumstances said Jean brief
ly
She felt that she would rather die
than let John Forbes know there was
nothing to eat in the house and no mon
ey She would have risked everything
but for the fear of Thrift falling ill
veei saiu jonn slowly iui see
aboot it But hoo wull ye pay me
Jeanr
Tne little dressmaker drew herseY
up
Therell be no fear o that John
Forbes
But ye hivna tellt me in fat wye
Jean
In honest money by honest warlc
The pink flush had deepened into a
deep crimson on her cheek
But I dinna want your money arid
as for wark suppose you come and
wark for ms
Na na said Jean Involuntarily
She had had her chance of being mis
tress at the farm She could not stoop
to work for another as she supposed he
meant
Weel come wioot doing ony wark
Jean looked at him in utter bewilder
ment
The difference aween us lay in
Thrift If he gaes awa theres naeth
ing nede hinder your coming to the
farm
I didna expec yed think I meant
you said the little woman She was
thoroughly hurt Ill thank ye a the
days o my life if yell dae for Thrift
but Im no seeking to be beholden to
you for myself
Yell be gey lonely wioot Thrift
Ay
Jean nearly smiled because she was
so near to tears at the thought
Ill be lonely at the farm
Ye can mairry said Jean
She suddenly felt that she had cut
herself off from every possibility by
her suggestion She had done it foe
Thrift all along she would have mar
ried him for Thrifts sake she gave him
up for Thrifts sake Now Thrift by
her own act was to go away from her
And John Forbes was nothing to her
The unexpected touch of kindness had
brought a rush of sympathy to her
heart She did not know it but it had
broken down the barrier that her lova
for Thrift had built
up round her wom
ans heart
Ay answered John Forbes slowly
But ye maun ask me this time Jean
Oh I couldna faltered Jean
She felt confused and trembling She
looked down
And I winna nae a third time
Im no fit to be a leddy noo sha
murmured
Tben she looked up John saw in her
eyes a look he had not seen for more
than ten years
Jean
John
That was all the love making that
passed between them but they under
stood each other
When John went out Jean seizedi
Thrift and kissed him as she had done
once before But she knew that for the
first time since he had come into her
life he had only the second place She
thought she hid the fact in her inmost
heart but John
Forbes
guessed it Ha
had the tact to hide the knowiedse
from his wife For the tU w i
brings Is often the highest wisdom -
Wayerly Magazine
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