CHICKAMAUGA. 63 



enter, the doors being open, and was made 

 welcome with apparent heartiness. The 

 elderly woman soon confided to me that she 

 was seventy-six years old, — a marvelous 

 figure she seemed to consider it ; and when 

 I tried to say something about her compar- 

 ative youthfulness, and the much greater 

 age of some ladies of my acquaintance (no 

 names being mentioned, of course), she 

 would only repeat that she was awful old, 

 and should n't live much longer. She meant 

 to improve the time, however, — and the 

 unusual fortune of a visitor, — and fairly 

 ran over with talk. She did n't belong about 

 here. Oh no ; she came from " 'way up in 

 Tennessee, a hundred and sixty miles ! " 

 " 'Pears like I 'm a long way from home," 

 she said, — "a hundred and sixty miles ! " 

 Again I sought to comfort her. That was n't 

 so very far. What did she think of me, 

 who had come all the way from Massachu- 

 setts ? She threw up her hands, and ejacu- 

 lated, " Oh, Lor' ! " with a fervor to which 

 a regiment of exclamation points would 

 scarcely do justice. Yet she had but a 

 vague idea of where Massachusetts was, I 

 fancy ; for pretty soon she asked, " Where 



