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10 THE GRAY AND THE BLUE I earnestly invite the assistance of the surviving chaplains and soldiers of both armies to furnish The Golden Age with incidents and other informa tion through which the people of our country may learn that the religious life of the men who offered up themselves in battle was not neglected. The subject, by its very nature, is exhaustible. Within a year the story can be told. Soldiers who were witnesses are passing away. I beg that this call for assistance may be heeded in the spirit in which it is given. Clement A. Evans. The War Travels of a Testament. Mr. Editor:— I see you invite incidents which happened during the war. At Westbrook, Massachusetts, there was a company of one hundred men; they were in the Thirteenth regiment, and the ladies of Westboro gave to each man a small Testament, and at the Second Battle of Manassas, Stephen Warren lost his on the battlefield, and I happened to get it. His name, regiment and post office was on the fly leaf. It was a small Testament so I carried it in my side pocket. We went into Maryland, stopped two days at Frederick City, went from there to Harper’s Ferry. After its surrender we crossed the Poto mac and went up to Shepard’s Town, recrossed the river and was in the battle of Antietom. After the days battle we recrossed the river and stopped at Martinsburg, from there I went to Winchester, and thence to Stanton. At Stanton I got a sick fur lough and went home to Alabama, byway of Rich mond, Knoxville, Dalton and Atlanta, to West Point, Ga. Remained at home about forty days, joined the command again above Fredericksburg, going byway of Augusta, Raleigh and Richmond. I was in the battle at Salem Church, 3d of May, 1863. After that we went on that Tennessee campaign, wading the rivers and on to Hagerstown, Cham bergs and on to Gettysburg. At Gettysburg I was captured. Was taken to Baltimore and was at Fort McHenry two days, went from there to Fort Delaware, and from there to Johnson’s Island, and frpm there I wrote Warren that I had his Testa ment, and that if he wanted it I would send it to him. My letter reached him at Frederick City, Maryland. And it was there that I sent him the Testament. My letters giving the travels of the Testament were published in the Westboro paper, and I brought them home with me, but I have lost them, so I have given the travels again from mem ory. T. B. FARGASON, Lieut. 14th Ala. Regiment. P. S.—Warren sent me a small Bible for the Testament. T. B. F. War News—Past and Present. There is, perhaps, no single instance of the prog ress made in giving to the world information both accurate and full, than in contrasting the methods of circulating war news in the sixties and w r ar news today. Now we are kept in almost hourly touch with the most minute happenings in the Far East—the con test between Japan and Russia was known in every detail and because of the wonderful photographs published in many papers, we of today are familiar with every phase of a great conflict raging thous ands of miles away. These facts were also true of our own Spanish- American war and long before personal communi cations could possibly he made to the friends at home of the “bo vs in blue,” the enterprising press had chronicled the events to the world at large— rivalling even the mythical “Puck” in its ability to “put a girdle round the earth in forty minutes.” But such conditions did not always exist. No lon- IN PRAYER AND SONG By General Clement A. Evans The Golden Age for April 12, 1906. ger ago than during the contest between the North and the South, -war news came in slowfly and in most meager and inaccurate fashion. Recently there has come into possession of the writer an old bundle of “war bulletins” published in New Orleans, La., during the Civil War. These bulle tins consist of flimsy strips of paper, printed in the form of newspaper “proof” and selling on the streets of New Orleans at 25 cents a piece. But who would not have paid double that sum, even of the scarce U. S. currency, for any intimation of how the tide of war was turning or of how it fared with the beloved husbands, sons and brothers at the front during “those times that tried men’s souls?” The reproductions here given are accurate copies of the original war bulletins themselves, and can not fail to prove of interest to the general public. extra Übe Bath? Belta, extra Tuesday, March 11, 1862—8 P. M. THE WAR IN ARKANSAS. —o— Day’s Fighting and Terrible Havoc. —o— Dorn, Price and McCulloch Engage the Enemy. —o— McCulloch, Mclntosh and Slack are Killed.. —o— Wounded. —o— Forces in the Rear of the Federal Army, and Driving it Before Them. —o— Sanguine of Success. —o— OF THE DECEASED GENERALS AT FORT SMITH. —o— Smith, March 9.—Our troops under General Van Dorn and General Price engaged the enemy 3 days, the sth, 6th and 7th, at Pet Ridge, Benton County, Ark., near the Missouri line. Our loss was heavy, including Generals McCulloch and Mclntosh, who were killed on the 7th. Gen. Slack was mor tally wounded, Price wounded in the arm, Col. Mc- Rae killed and Col. Sims is wounded in the arm. Our forces are in the rear of the Federals, driving them southward, and are sanguine of success. We are looking for further news every hour. The bodies of McCulloch and Mclntosh have been brought here for interment. S. T. D. True Heroism. Whether it is sympathy we seek or merely self indulgence, a luxury hard to deny ourselves is that of exploiting our troubles, our griefs and griev ances. It is such a comfort to talk, the strength to refrain must be truly heroic; at least so it appears in the light of daily experience; and so appears the practice of one we would accord the laurel and the palm. She was a woman who had sorrows and heavy burdens to bear, but was noted for her cheer ful spirits, and who said this in explanation: “You know I have had no money. I had nothing to give but myself; and so I made the resolution that I would never sadden anyone else with my troubles. I have laughed and told jokes when I could have wept. I have always smiled in the face of every misfortune. I have tried never to let any one go from my presence without a happy word, or a bright thought to carry with them. And happiness makes happiness. I myself am happier than I would have been had I sa* ' ln ’vn and bemoaned my fate.” Resurrection Symphony. Pale grow the twinkling stars; myst’ry broods upon the earth; The moon is low—the night travels to give the day its birth. Then comes the light of morning—the dark at last is done. From behind a mountain peeps the scintil lating sun, To spread a golden glory o’er all things great and small; And “Love ye one another,” each object seems to call. A touch of many colors, all bound around with green, And pearls of purest white playing hide and seek between, While above us is the brightest and the bluest sky With the clouds coquetting, as they pass each other by. Upward springs a little breeze that sighs, then laughs and sings, For on its gentle bosom a blessed hope it brings. Gaily trill the pretty birds in rich cadenza strain; Their thrilling notes of joy swell in anthems of re frain. A concord of sweet music—the throbbing pulse of life—- Piping insects, creeping things—with noise the air is rife. Atoms, indeed, are these, but included in His plan For all He created proves the brotherhood of man. The earth’s atune with voices, and all the pretty flow ’rs Smile and bow obeisance to the holiest of hours— And here’s the snowy lily; let’s lay it at His feet, The place of all most fitting where saint and sinner meet. A symphony in color, all poetry, it glows, And there, you have the morning on which the 'Sa vior rose. —Margaret Smith Graham. She Did Him a Kindness. In the winter of 1864, an old Quaker lady visited Lincoln at the White House, and took the long suffering giant’s down-stretched hand. She had to rise on tiptoe, and as she did it her sweet voice ut tered some words difficult to catch. It is not possi ble to give the words of either exactly, but this is their purport: “Yes, friend Abraham, thee need not think thee stands alone. We are all praying for thee. The hearts of all the people are behind thee, and thee cannot fail. The Lord has appointed thee, the Lord will sustain thee, and the people love thee. Take comfort, friend Abraham. God is with thee. The people are behind thee.” The effect of the words were easy to see. As when the lights suddenly blaze behind a cathedral window, so the radiance illuminated those rugged features and poured from the wonderful eyes. The giant form straightened. The mouth became beau tiful in its sweetness, as it said to her: “You have given a cup of cold water to a very thirsty and grateful man. Ilou have done me a great kindness.” This spring will probably see the foundation laid for a new campanile at Venice to take the place of the on e that collapsed. The brick and stone of the old campanile is to be used in the construction of the new, but a strong steel skeleton will make it possible to make it less heavy, although its interior will be an exact copy of the collapsed one. Many advise to call in an American engineer, experienced in steel construction to take charge of the work, but for patriotic and sentimental reasons the peo ple of Venice are opposed to this.