s eyes followed them with an intentness which
would have won a clearer answer from them had they seen it. A
momentary shadow flitted over his face; then came the smile of
serenity, as if, in that brief eclipse, he had acknowledged the
existence of some hard futurity, and, asking nothing, yet hoping all
things, left the issue in God's hand, with that submission which is
true piety.

At night, as I went my rounds with the surgeon, I happened to ask
which man in the room probably suffered the most, and, to my great
surprise, he glanced at John.

"Every breath he draws is like a stab; for the ball pierced the left
lung, broke a rib, and did no end of damage here and there; so the
poor lad can find neither forgetfulness nor ease, because he must lie
on his wounded back or suffocate. It will be a hard struggle, and a
long one, for he possesses great vitality; but even his temperate life
can't save him. I wish it could."

"You don't mean he must die, Doctor?"

"Bless you, there is not the slightest hope for him, and you'd better
tell him so before long--women have a way of doing such things
comfortably; so I leave it to you. He won't last more than a day or
two at furthest."

I could have sat down on the spot and cried heartily, if I had not
learned the propriety of bottling up one's tears for leisure moments.
Such an end seemed very hard for such a man, when half a dozen
worn-out, worthless bodies round him were gathering up the remnants of
wasted lives, to linger on for years, perhaps burdens to others,
daily reproaches to themselves. The army needed men like John,
earnest, brave, and faithful, fighting for liberty and justice, with
both heart and hand--a true soldier of the Lord. I could not give him
up so soon, or think with any patience of so excellent a nature robbed
of its fulfillment, and blundered into eternity by the rashness or
stupidity of those at whose hands so many lives may be required. It
was an easy thing for Dr. P---- to say, "Tell him he must die," but a
cruelly hard thing to do, and by no means as "comfortable" as he
politely suggested. I had not the heart to do it then, and privately
indulged the hope that some change for the better might take place, in
spite of gloomy prophesies, so rendering my task unnecessary.

A SHORT AND SIMPLE STORY.

After that night, an hour of each evening that remained to him was
devoted to his ease or pleasure. He could not talk much, for breath
was precious, and h