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Show A TENDER "WAR SONG. "TUB VACANT CHAIR" IS POPULAR POPU-LAR AOAIN. p.lli.llo Clrrant.tanrra Altrmllnr th mltlug at TliU imrl-Stlrrlna War llallail Sktlcta of It.nry S. VTuhbura. Hi. Author. 3i (jsj K shall meet but m'l 1,lra-l 1,lra-l J! There will I one ttVCTr? "S1 Wo shall linger to l caress him. 'IjUiLUv When we brestho W(J - our evening "fifTh ' prayer " "H i 1 On the 25th day ' ' of July 183, there eras born In the beautiful colonial homo of his parents In Worcetcr, Mass , John W'lllnm Orotit a boy whose hurt life endeared him to all who tnew him, and whose death In the defense de-fense of his country ft(o rise to ono of the tenderest and most beautiful ot all i the melodies of war oung (Irout grcwMo manhood's years In tho city of IWnrMiir ami from the very begln- iht he wna eager to volun-kcpLfrptn volun-kcpLfrptn doing so at first irngsTpfi bis parents, who wawoo young to begin andfrho felt that the war tcfMllnt sb tho call for irAmore urgent they gave fjjnmljwhon tho Massa-mthTregltnent Massa-mthTregltnent was organ-routajecame organ-routajecame a member of edJtneJcommlMlon ot tec-n tec-n wotcompany D a rare os'oyoung to liear Hut versed In military tactics ofTnillng tho ioltlon bet-cyMfar bet-cyMfar older men could Kndjho was ono of the tatltho. youngest, commls- W HKNltY S WASIIUUIIN. fjn the Union army, not icbcd his nineteenth year. its organization young ment aa ordered to S? nnd on tho Slat ot he loit his llfo at tho IU) niuff after display-reniarknblo display-reniarknblo calmness and ekj.nK to repulse the ene-Iter ene-Iter hna said In his sc-lfifllct sc-lfifllct 'The coolness, gfSnd courage ot IJetiL pollceil by his comrades inept and greatly atltnu-ragy atltnu-ragy of others. When the fand they were forced to ijrhcr, he seemed to be llern of hlmHlf In his de-bswounded de-bswounded conveyed to shore To his honor let nembered that he crossed safety with a boatload ot peeing them safely land-tOttender land-tOttender y0 naelitance fljcontlnued to do so un-llged un-llged to plunge Into the fojhls own life He had nldijlo of the river when ,(oTn comrade at Ills side iylD1 could have reached ,ingiiuit. out I am shot and must slriif,'J'Tnd he disappeared from sight Several weeks later his body was recovered re-covered and placed In Itur.it cemetery, Worcester and a splendid monument erected over It Young (Irout was a frequent nnd cver-weteome visitor at tho home of Henry 8 Waahburn, of Worcester, nnd the young soldier and lit Wasbburn'a son were Intimate friends and companions. When the news ot the young lieutenant s death reached WorcesUr It created great sorrow sor-row In many homes and caused Mr Washburn to write "Tho Vacant Chair" Bpeaklng of tho song, Mr Washburn aaya "My writing of "The Vacant Chair' was entirely unpremeditated unpremed-itated It grew out of the Interest I took In (Irout as a promising young oOlcer, the Intimate companion ot my ton Deploring deeply his death at the very threshold of n military career, and knowing that he would be misted so tenderly at the flreslda and table of his family, on the approaching Thanks giving day I wrete as If be had been my boy, n because I could not help It Musing pon tn(, natter In a re-tired re-tired walk t short distance from my realdenee, I lotted down the worda as they came 'j m. and copying them as they now stiad with hardly a verbal alteration I gave the verses to the Worcester toy bearing only my Initials, Ini-tials, 'II H. W I had no thought ot tho poem attaining the popularity Itt has enjoyed.1 Tho po'B came to the nollco of the lato George V Hoot who set It to music, mu-sic, and very aoon It was being ling by many Mp fires and In thousands of homes It would be Impossible to estimate th number of copies ot It that have been told but as has been the case with seme other Immensely popular popu-lar songs, this ery large sale brought no pecunltry profit to the author ot "Tho Varist Chair betieo of hti (allure to copyright It Indeed he did not receive even the credit due him for wrltlnr the song alnce It was published pub-lished ovtr the Initials of his namt only and bi-n set to tnuile by Mr. , ttoot It appeared without Mr Wash-! burn's naier so that In many homes In I which the long wee anng nnd loved the real namoef the author is not known Indeed, In lome Instances Mr Hoot bai j received rmllt for both the muilo and the worda, Mr Watabnrn now In his (tth year, la a realdtat of the beautiful llrookllne district of Iknton The plcturo git en of him was taken on the sixtieth anniversary anni-versary of his marriage In November last, Mr. Miihliurn and his wife iltllng for their photographs on that day It was not coll three or four yeara ago that Mr Waibhurn published hit poems In book form |