The visitors remained at Oakland for
several days, as the lady wished to have her son’s
remains removed to the old homestead in Delaware.
She was greatly distressed over the want which she
saw at Oakland for there was literally
nothing to eat but black-eyed pease and the boys’
chickens. Every incident of the war interested
her. She was delighted with their Cousin Belle,
and took much interest in her story, which was told
by the boys’ mother.
Her grandson, Dupont, was a fine,
brave, and generous young fellow. He had spent
his boyhood near a town, and could neither ride, swim,
nor shoot as the Oakland boys did; but he was never
afraid to try anything, and the boys took a great
liking to him, and he to them.
When the young soldier’s body
had been removed, the visitors left; not, however,
until the boys had made their companion promise to
pay them a visit. After the departure of these
friends they were much missed.
But the next day there was a great
rejoicing at Oakland. Every one was in the dining-room
at dinner, and the boys’ father had just risen
from the table and walked out of the room. A
second later they heard an exclamation of astonishment
from him, and he called eagerly to his wife, “Come
here, quickly!” and ran down the steps.
Every one rose and ran out. Hugh and the General
were just entering the yard.
They were pale and thin and looked
ill; but all the past was forgotten in the greeting.
The boys soon knew that the General
was making his peace with their Cousin Belle, who
looked prettier than ever. It required several
long walks before all was made right; but there was
no disposition toward severity on either side.
It was determined that the wedding was to take place
very soon. The boys’ father suggested, as
an objection to an immediate wedding, that since the
General was just half his usual size, it would be
better to wait until he should regain his former proportions,
so that all of him might be married; but the General
would not accept the proposition for delay, and Cousin
Belle finally consented to be married at once.
The old place was in a great stir
over the preparations. A number of the old servants,
including Uncle Balla and Lucy Ann, had one by one
come back to their old home. The trunks in the
garret were ransacked once more, and enough was found
to make up a wedding trousseau of two dresses.
Hugh was to be the General’s
best man, and the boys were to be the ushers.
The only difficulty was that their patched clothes
made them feel a little abashed at the prominent roles
they were to assume. However, their mother made
them each a nice jacket from a striped dress, one
of her only two dresses, and she adorned them with
the military brass buttons their father had had taken
from his coat; so they felt very proud. Their
father, of course, was to give the bride away, an
office he accepted with pleasure, he said, provided
he did not have to move too far, which might be hazardous
so long as he had to wear his spurs to keep the soles
on his boots.
Thus, even amid the ruins, the boys
found life joyous, and if they were without everything
else, they had life, health, and hope. The old
guns were broken, and they had to ride in the ox-cart;
but they hoped to have others and to do better, some
day.
The “some day” came sooner than they expected.
The morning before the wedding, word
came that there were at the railroad station several
boxes for their mother. The ox-cart was sent
for them. When the boxes arrived, that evening,
there was a letter from their friend in Delaware,
congratulating Cousin Belle and apologizing for having
sent “a few things” to her Southern friends.
The “few things” consisted
not only of necessaries, but of everything which good
taste could suggest. There was a complete trousseau
for Cousin Belle, and clothes for each member of the
family. The boys had new suits of fine cloth
with shirts and underclothes in plenty.
But the best surprise of all was found
when they came to the bottom of the biggest box, and
found two long, narrow cases, marked, “For the
Oakland boys.” These cases held beautiful,
new double-barrelled guns of the finest make.
There was a large supply of ammunition, and in each
case there was a letter from Dupont promising to come
and spend his vacation with them, and sending his
love and good wishes and thanks to his friends the
“Two Little Confederates.”