Modern Prose And Poetry; For Secondary Schools Part 5

Those pickets soon became a nuisance to us. Hardly a night pa.s.sed but they fired upon our outposts, so far with no harmful result; but after a while it grew to be a serious matter. The Rebels would crawl out on all-fours from the wood into a field covered with underbrush, and lie there in the dark for hours, waiting for a shot. Then our men took to the rifle-pits,--pits ten or twelve feet long by four or five feet deep, with the loose earth banked up a few inches high on the exposed sides.

All the pits bore names, more or less felicitous, by which they were known to their transient tenants. One was called "The Pepper-Box,"

another "Uncle Sam's Well," another "The Reb-Trap," and another, I am constrained to say, was named after a not to be mentioned tropical locality. Though this rude sort of nomenclature predominated, there was no lack of softer t.i.tles, such as "Fortress Matilda" and "Castle Mary,"

and one had, though unintentionally, a literary flavor to it, "Blair's Grave," which was not popularly considered as reflecting unpleasantly on Nat Blair, who had a.s.sisted in making the excavation.

Some of the regiment had discovered a field of late corn in the neighborhood, and used to boil a few ears every day, while it lasted, for the boys detailed on the night-picket. The corn-cobs were always scrupulously preserved and mounted on the parapets of the pits. Whenever a Rebel shot carried away one of these _barbette_ guns, there was swearing in that particular trench. Strong, who was very sensitive to this kind of disaster, was complaining bitterly one morning, because he had lost three "pieces" the night before.

"There's Quite So, now," said Strong, "when a Minie-ball comes _ping_!

and knocks one of his guns to flinders, he merely smiles, and doesn't at all see the degradation of the thing."

Poor Bladburn! As I watched him day by day going about his duties, in his shy, cheery way, with a smile for every one and not an extra word for anybody, it was hard to believe he was the same man who, that night before we broke camp by the Potomac, had poured out to me the story of his love and sorrow in words that burned in my memory.

While Strong was speaking, Blakely lifted aside the flap of the tent and looked in on us.

"Boys, Quite So was hurt last night," he said, with a white tremor to his lip.

"What!"

"Shot on picket."

"Why, he was in the pit next to mine," cried Strong.

"Badly hurt?"

"Badly hurt."

I knew he was; I need not have asked the question. He never meant to go back to New England!

Bladburn was lying on the stretcher in the hospital-tent. The surgeon had knelt down by him, and was carefully cutting away the bosom of his blouse. The Latin grammar, stained and torn, slipped, and fell to the floor. Bladburn gave me a quick glance. I picked up the book, and as I placed it in his hand, the icy fingers closed softly over mine. He was sinking fast. In a few minutes the surgeon finished his examination.

When he rose to his feet there were tears on the weather-beaten cheeks.

He was a rough outside, but a tender heart.

"My poor lad," he blurted out, "it's no use. If you've anything to say, say it now, for you've nearly done with this world."

Then Bladburn lifted his eyes slowly to the surgeon, and the old smile flitted over his face as he murmured,--

"Quite so."

NOTES

=the first battle of Bull Run=:--Fought July 21, 1861; known in the South as Mana.s.sas.

=Long Bridge=:--A bridge over which the Union soldiers crossed in fleeing to Washington after the battle of Bull Run.

=Shenandoah=:--A river and a valley in Virginia--the scene of many events in the Civil War.

=Fairfax Court House=:--Near Mana.s.sas Junction.

=On to Richmond=:--In 1861 the newspapers of the North were violently demanding an attack on Richmond.

=Faneuil Hall=:--An historic hall in Boston, in which important meetings were held before the Revolution.

=McDowell=:--Irving McDowell, who commanded the Union troops at Bull Run.

=McClellan=:--George B. McClellan, commander of the Army of the Potomac.

=Wandering Jew=:--A legendary person said to have been condemned to wander over the earth, undying, till the Day of Judgment. The legend is probably founded on a pa.s.sage in the Bible--John 21:20-23.

=folding its tents=:--A quotation from _The Day is Done_, by Longfellow.

The lines are:--

And the night shall be filled with music, And the cares, that infest the day, Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs, And as silently steal away.

=Big Bethel=:--The Union troops were defeated here on June 10, 1861.

=Ball's Bluff=:--A place on the Potomac where the Union soldiers were beaten, October 21, 1861.

=Centreville=:--A small town, the Union base in the first Battle of Bull Run.

=Lewinsville=:--A small town, north of Centreville.

=Vienna=:--A village in the Bull Run district.

=Blair's Grave=:--Robert Blair, a Scotch writer, published (1743) a poem in blank verse called "The Grave."

=barbette guns=:--Guns elevated to fire over the top of a turret or parapet.

=minie-ball=:--A conical ball plugged with iron, named after its inventor, Captain Minie, of France.

QUESTIONS FOR STUDY

Read the piece through without stopping, so that you can get the story.

Then go back to the beginning and study with the help of the following questions:--

Compare the first sentence with the first sentence of _Tennessee's Partner_. What do you think of the method? What is the use of the first paragraph in _Quite So_? Why the long paragraph giving the setting? Is this a good method in writing a story? What had become of "Little Billy"? Who was "Johnny Reb"? What do you think of bringing in humorous touches when one is dealing with things so serious as war and battles?

What does "Drop that!" refer to? Why does Strong change his tone? Note what details the author has selected in order to give a clear picture of "Quite So" in a few words. How does the conversation reveal the stranger's character? What is shown by the fact that "Quite So" does not write any letters? What is the purpose of the episode of "m.u.f.fin Fan"?

What devices does the author use, in order to bring out the mystery and the loneliness of "Quite So"? Note how the author emphasizes the pa.s.sage of time. Why does Bladburn finally tell his story? How does it reveal his character? Was Mary right in what she did? Why are some sentences in the text printed in italics? Was Bladburn right in leaving his home village without explanation? Why did he do so? What do you get from the sentence, "He never meant to go back to New England"? What is the impression made by the last sentence? Do you like the story?

THEME SUBJECTS

A Mysterious Person The New Girl at School The Schoolmaster's Romance A Sudden Departure A Camp Scene The G.A.R. on Memorial Day The Militia in our Town An Old Soldier A Story of the Civil War Some Relics of the Civil War Watching the Cadets Drill My Uncle's Experiences in the War A Sham Battle A Visit to an Old Battlefield On Picket Duty A Daughter of the Confederacy "Stonewall" Jackson Modern Ways of Preventing War The Soldiers' Home An Escape from a Military Prison The Women's Relief Corps Women in the Civil War

SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITING