Lincoln
Bennie's letter to read.
He read it carefully; then taking up his pen, wrote a few hasty
lines, and rang his bell.
Blossom heard this order: "Send this dispatch at once!"
The President then turned to the girl and said: "Go home, my
child, and tell that father of yours, who could approve his
country's sentence even when it took the life of a child like
that, that Abraham Lincoln thinks the life far too precious to be
lost. Go back, or--wait until tomorrow. Bennie will need a
change after he has so bravely faced death; he shall go with
you."
"God bless you, sir!" said Blossom; and who shall doubt that God
heard and registered the request?
Two days after this interview, the young soldier came to the
White House with his little sister. He was called into the
President's private room and a strap fastened upon his shoulder.
Mr. Lincoln then said: "The soldier that could carry a sick
comrade's baggage and die for the act so uncomplainingly deserves
well of his country." Then Bennie and Blossom took their way to
their Green Mountain home. A crowd gathered at the mill depot to
welcome them back; and as Farmer Owen's hand grasped that of the
boy, tears flowed down his cheeks, and he was heard to say
fervently:
"The Lord be praised!"
--From the New York Observer
If I had a horse I would call him "Gay,"
Feed and curry him well every day,
Hitch him up in my cart and take a ride,
With Baby Brother tucked in at my side.
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