"We learned that a young relative of my wife was confined there, and ill.
I went at once to see what could be done for him, and finding the prison
in charge of a gentleman who was under much obligation to me, gained
admittance without much difficulty. It was a wretched place, and the
prisoners were but poorly fed; which was far more inexcusable here than at
the South, where food was scarce in their own army and among the people."
"I know that to have been the case," said Mrs. Carrington. "The farmers
were not allowed to make use of their grain for their own families, till a
certain proportion had been taken for the army; and there were families
among us who did not taste meat for a year."
"Yes; the war has been hard for us, but far harder upon them. I found our
young friend in a very weak state. I succeeded in getting permission to
remove him to more comfortable quarters, and did so; but he lived scarcely
two days after."
"How very sad," remarked Elsie, with emotion. "Oh, what a terrible thing
is war!"
"Especially civil war," said the elder Mrs. Allison; "strife among
brethren; its fruits are bitter, heart-rending."
"And being all one people there was equal bravery, talent, and
determination on both sides; which made the struggle a very desperate
one," said Harold.
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