Oliver Optic

“ Do you suppose, De Banyan, if it were to be done over again, you would be willing to go through with it once more?” asked Somers.
“Upon my soul, I should!” replied the general, warmly. “If I knew I had to die on the cold, wet ground, by the side of the Augusta road, after three years of hard service, I would go in as cheerfully as I would eat my dinner when I am hungry. Somers, if there is any man that loves his country, I do. I am willing to fight for her, and willing to die for her. ”

“ Somers stood before the general with a certain feeling of awe and reverence, which one experiences in the presence of a truly great man. There was no time to talk of the past, for the present and the future were full of trials and cares—were full of a nation’s life and hope. Fighting Joe was cool and self-possessed, as he always was, even in the mad rage of the hottest fight; but he was earnest and anxious. He was even now doing that work which wins battles quite as much as the fiery onslaught. ”

“ I cannot forget that I am speaking to a lady, and therefore I can make no answer,” replied Somers, with gentle dignity, as he bowed to the tormentor.
“That is more than I expected of a Yankee,” said Maud, a slight flush upon her fair cheek assuring her victim that his rebuke had been felt. “I am a lady; but before the lady, I am the Confederate woman, having a cause dearer to my heart than anything save only a woman’s honor.” ”

“ That was the luckiest thing for the general, and the luckiest thing for the country, that ever came out of an accident.”
“That’s so!” exclaimed De Banyan, with emphasis. “I’ve seen him in a great many fights; and I say he has no superior in the army.”
“I’m not very fond of comparisons between generals; but I can say I like him better than any other,” added Somers. “I wish generals were not so sensitive.”
“Sensitive? My dear Somers, a man can no more be a great general without being sensitive, than he can be a parson without being pious.” ”

“ We have heard a man get off a witticism, and felt an infinite contempt for him; we have heard a man get off a witticism, and felt a profound respect for him. It is not the thing said; it is not the manner in which it is said; it is not the look with which it is said. It is all three combined. He who would conceal himself from those around him should neither get drunk nor attempt to be funny.
Major Riggleston had revealed himself to Captain Somers more completely in that unguarded joke than in all that had passed between them before. ”

“ But the rebels are not fighting for any such thing.”
“I beg your pardon, Captain Somers. I think they are. Permit me to add, that I am a rebel.”
“I am very sorry to hear it,” laughed Somers, pleased with the spirit, no less than the beauty, of the lady.
“I suppose you are,” replied she. “The South is fighting for the right of self-government—for its own existence. The right of secession is just as evident to me as the right to live.”
The question of secession was fully discussed by the lady and Somers, but both of them were in the best of humor. ”

“ Ruffian, rebel, traitor, as this man was, he was one of God’s creatures, made in his own image, and nothing but the severest necessity could justify the killing of him.
Thus he reasoned on the one hand; but on the other, this man was going to procure a force to shoot down the loyal soldiers of the Union; to rob the government of the money intended for the troops, upon whose earnings wives and children depended for their daily bread. But this was war—what the custom of civilized nations justified; while killing a man in cold blood was an act of treachery from which he could not but shrink. ”

“ I will never desert you, De Banyan. God would not suffer me to live, if I should do so mean a thing!” replied Somers, earnestly.
“As you love me, Somers, save yourself. It would be the greatest favor you could do me to insure your own safety,” replied the sufferer, in quivering tones.
“I will not leave you, but I will save you. I can and will,” added Somers, with energy. “You shall not die. Keep a good heart for a little while, and you shall be saved.”
“I will keep up as well as I can; but when a strong man, like me, sinks, he generally goes all at once. Leave me, I beg of you, Somers. ”

“ Then came to them in the field, and then flashed over the telegraph wires to all parts of the nation, the thrilling intelligence that Richmond was captured. Still the indomitable Grant drew his grip tighter and tighter upon the scattering hordes of the Rebellion; still Meade pressed on, and still Sheridan thundered over and through the shattered host of treason, until Lee surrendered the remnant of the vaunted army of Northern Virginia. The gallant Army of the Potomac was there to witness the humiliation of its old enemy. ”

“ The rebels were at Frederick City, and their cavalry, in large and small bodies, was scattered all over the region, gathering supplies for the half starved, half clothed men of Lee’s army. Thus far Somers had met none of these marauders, nor any of the guerillas, who, without a license from either side, were plundering soldiers and civilians who could offer no resistance. Somers had ridden as rapidly as his feeble state of health would permit; but his enthusiasm had urged him forward until his horse was more in danger of giving out than the rider. ”

“ It was quite natural, therefore, that she should wish Captain Somers,—for whom she had knit a pair of socks, which had been no small portion of his inspiration in the hour of battle, and for whom she had contracted a friendship,—it was quite natural that she should wish to have the captain well acquainted with her grandmother. She loved the old lady herself, and of course so brave, handsome, and loyal a person as her friend had proved to be, must share her reverence and respect. ”

“ The regular agreed with him in all things, except when he impugned the sacred claims of strategy.
“Never cross a fool in his folly, nor ruin a man in his own estimation,” said Captain Barkwood, when Somers, at a favorable moment, asked an explanation of his singular commendation of the poltroon.
“But he is a coward.”
“Call no man a coward but yourself. There is hardly an officer in the army, from the general-in-chief down to the corporal of the meanest regiment in the service, that has not been called a coward. You don’t know who are cowards, and who are not.” ”

“ A less susceptible person than himself would have been surprised to see an elegant and accomplished lady laugh so violently, when there was apparently nothing in the world to laugh at. He could not understand it; a wiser and more experienced person than Somers could not understand it. He knew about Œdipus, and the Sphinx’s riddle which he solved; but if Œdipus had been there, in that mansion of a Maryland grandee, Somers would have defied him to solve the riddle of Miss Maud Hasbrouk’s inordinate, excessive, hysterical laughter. ”

“ War is like chess; it’s a great game. I like to see a well-planned battle, and even to take a part in it. But these little affairs, where everything depends on brute force, are my particular abomination. There is no science about them—no strategy—no chance to flank, or do any other smart thing.”
“Here comes the major; he didn’t catch his man,” said Somers, as the “fighting man” was seen galloping towards them.
“He’s a prudent man,” replied the regular, hardly betraying the contempt he felt for this particular volunteer.
“He’s a Maryland man.” ”

“ You remarked, a little while ago, that you were a coward by nature.”
“So I am; but it was safer to fight than it was to run.”
“You did not behave like a man who is a coward by nature.”
“But I am a coward; and I dislike these hand-to-hand encounters.”
“You didn’t appear to dislike them very much just now,” added Somers, who was filled with admiration at the gallant bearing of the regular.
“I do; war is a science. I play at it just as I do at chess. By the way, Captain Somers, do you play chess?” ”

“ Captain Somers, as if in compliment to him for his zeal and his energy, was sent to bear the order for this division to advance.
The Reserves moved forward with a hearty, cheerful zeal; and presently the thunder of their artillery, and the rattling volleys of musketry, proclaimed the commencement of the conflict. A portion of Stonewall Jackson’s command was before them—men who always fought with the energy of desperation. They were a worthy foe, and worthily were they met; but the rebels had the advantage. ”

“ He was calm and unmoved in the shower of bullets, and the troops were gladdened and encouraged by his presence. They were strong without him; they were stronger with him. He gave off his orders with the utmost coolness, and spoke words of fire, which burned in the souls of the men. He was there,—the idol of the army,—and there was not a man who would not have been ashamed to skulk with this noble example before him. The mighty will of the general was communicated to the nerves and the muscles of his soldiers, and he multiplied himself thousands of times in the persons of his devoted followers. ”

“ Night after night they floated down the stream, guided and fed by the negroes, till they reached the sea, and went on board of one of the blockaders.
Once more they were beneath the old flag; once more they were in the hands of friends; and from their hearts went up the song of jubilee to Him who had guided and strengthened them in their pilgrimage from darkness and death to light and liberty. When they reached Port Royal, they heard of the capture of Savannah and the conquering march of Sherman from Atlanta to the sea. ”

“ Sweetzer and his men crossed the railroad without a suspicion that they were plunging into a fatal trap, till they heard the clatter of horses’ feet behind. The cavalry in the rear, which was to open the battle, dashed upon the guerillas with a round of Union cheers. But the rebels were desperate fellows. They had been plundering, murdering, and destroying, without mercy, and the fear of a righteous retribution upon their heads nerved them to the most determined action, and they fought like demons. ”

“ The major had actually returned to the Union lines, and had the temerity to take his place in the ranks of the defenders of the Union, even while he was, not only in heart, but openly, engaged in the service of treason and rebellion.
“Now, captain, let us be friends,” continued the major; “for it really seems to me that you are disposed to provoke a quarrel with me.”
“I cannot be the friend of one who is an enemy to his country,” replied Somers, stiffly, and with a proper display of dignity. ”

“ Soldiers, sailors, and civilians rejoiced together, and from the hearts of all rose the pæan of thanksgiving for the victory which had crowned our arms. Then, in the midst of the people’s gladness, came the terrible shock of the assassination of the nation’s ruler—of the wise, noble, and good President Lincoln; and the redeemed Union was shrouded in mourning for him, who fell just as he rose to the glory of the mighty work he had accomplished.
The war was virtually ended. The surrender of Lee was followed by that of Johnston, and others in command of portions of the rebel army. ”

“ Somers, permit me to express my warmest hopes for your future happiness,” said De Banyan. “May your husband be to you all that he has been to me; he can be no more; he will be no less.”
There was nothing to mar the harmony of the occasion. Grandmother Ashford mercifully permitted the heroes of the “last war” to rest in their honored graves; and all gave a hearty God-speed to the happy couple, as they twain set out on the blissful journey of wedlock.
Major Somers is a man of good motives, and of high Christian principles, won in the day of trial and suffering, no less than in prosperity ”

“ The young staff officer was not a moral nor a mental philosopher; but that agonizing jest had given him a poorer opinion of his companion than he had before entertained. It was fortunate for the major that Miss Hasbrouk returned before he had an opportunity to launch another witticism upon the sea of the captain’s charity, or the latter might have prematurely learned to despise him.
“We have not lately been honored by the voluntary presence of gentlemen at dinner, Captain Somers; and you will pardon me for lingering an extra moment before my glass,” said the merry lady. ”

“ Somers sprang into his saddle, and started in pursuit. The hour had come to avenge the old man, and to discharge the duty imposed upon him, now made easy by the wretch’s crime. He urged forward his good horse to the utmost of his speed, and gained rapidly upon him. Skinley, who could insult a woman, and shoot an old man, had a wholesome fear of his pursuer; but when he found that Somers was gaining upon him, he unslung his rifle, and while his horse was at full speed, turned and fired at his late companion. The bullet did not come near Somers, who still urged on his steed. ”

“ Will you call a surgeon?”
“I think not.”
“We have no time to spare, Captain Somers,” interposed the regular, with a smile at the simple question of the frightened Maud.
“We will make our escape. We will go by the grove to the north of the house—to the north,” said Somers, with peculiar emphasis.
“To the north,” repeated Barkwood, with the same emphasis, though he did not understand the strategy of his companion.
“We need not hurry; the more haste, the less speed in the business,” replied Somers, as he bent over the prostrate form of the major again. ”