A COMPROMISE BETWEEN DUTY AND LAZINESS. population are Southern sympathizers. At Poolsville we were hospitably received by General Stone, and pitched our tents on the common beside his headquarters. We then started out to reconnoitre the different roads -I was ordered to view that leading toward Conrad's Ferry. On my way I called at the quarters of Colonel Cogswell, commanding the New York Fortysecond, Tammany Regiment. The Colonel, who was a West Point officer, accompanied me to the river banks, and pointed out the enemy's camps and most important localities. From a hill I sketched a topographical view, including the Ferry, Ball's Bluff, and the town of Leesburg, We had a strong guard at the crossing, and as we rode back to camp a volunteer dragoon passed us, riding at full speed toward Poolsville. Cogswell halted him and demanded his news. In a voice husky with trepidation he said the pickets had been fired on, and the enemy was crossing in great force. He was almost too much blown and hurried to give details, but the Colonel was peremptory with his cross-questions. horses. About one o'clock P. M. we halted and | four miles distant. "How many shots were fired before you left?" "One!" said the fellow, catching his breath. "I heard it myself." "And how many men did you see coming?" The messenger reflected a little. "Two," said he. The Colonel suggested that he was exaggerating. August 22.-We moved through Barnesville this morning, and found it very difficult to obtain any information from the people about the country or the roads. I think this is more the He declared he was not. He had also heard result of ill-will than of ignorance, as most of the the drums beating, and saw them coming be yond a doubt. And with this he sped on to General Stone with the important tidings. Cogswell, who was better mounted than I, rode rapidly back to prevent his regiment being disturbed by the news. Since the battle of Manassas the troops seem to have been afflicted with a chronic affection of the nerves. The hum of a beetle through the air is sufficient to drive in a picket, and the sight of a negro in a canoe will stampede a whole regiment. General Stone tells me that a few days ago he received information from a reliable loyal citizen, an eye-witness of the facts, that the enemy occupied a certain island in force, and was engaged in constructing an immense raft to enable them to cross the river. The General immediately visited the island indicated, and found it a desert with no trace of human occupancy upon it, the only foundation for the raft story being a large accumulation of driftwood. As I passed Camp Tammany I saw the Colonel sitting in his tent door smoking a quiet cigar. Just then I perceived that I was threatened with a danger more certain and imminent than an attack from the rebels. A dark thundercloud, all unperceived, had rolled up from the west, and a low-muttered growl warned me that my time was short. I started for Poolsville at full speed, and had barely time to unsaddle when the hurricane burst upon us with a sweeping crash. My frail tabernacle flapped and rocked so violently that I was obliged to hold on to the poles to prevent its blowing over. The rain came down by bucketsful, and the level common was presently flooded. The Captain, who had returned from his reconnoissance, took refuge with me, the only dry spot in camp being a hillock in the centre of my tent. On this I collected my baggage, and here the Captain and I sat, enveloped in darkness, mud, and water, amusing ourselves with philosophical comments on the times, and pleasant stories of former adventures. When the fury of the storm was spent we looked out for supper, but the whole common was afloat, and the cook was in despair. The General's hospitable mess table supplied our wants for the evening. Luce was still missing, and as he was recklessly venturesome we surmised that he had been captured; but he at length returned, his boots full of water, drenched and hungry, with a plentiful supply of topographical notes, however. August 23.-I slept last night with my oilcloth sacking spread on a bed of mud, soft at least, if not wholesome. This morning, before rising, I gathered a supply of mushrooms which had sprung up around my couch. The commons were full of them, and we had a mess for breakfast. But I must not waste too much time on these trivialities. However agreeable it may be personally to recall the minutest incidents of these days of cheerful hope and exciting expectancy, it can not be supposed that the public will patiently tread the slow, meandering path with the hope that it will lead in time to a field of historic incident. We must cut it short. On Sunday, August 25, our party, after making a circuit through Dawsonville, Darnestown, Rockville, Mechanicsville, Brookville, Unity, and Damascus, rejoined the army, which we found encamped upon the hills about Hyattstown. Here the commanding General reviewed his force, amounting to ten thousand men of all arms. On the 29th the army took position around Darnestown, extending its lines so as to meet Stone's command on the right, and the National forces under M'Call at Tenallytown on the left. The topographical party established their camp in a pleasant meadow adjoining the village and opposite a grocery store. Here we spread our humid establishment to catch the rays of a geni- | Government was as helpless as I was. But it al sun, and prepared to luxuriate in unlimited is not good to dwell upon these subjects. Next butter and eggs. The untethered horses gam- day I saw in the papers an account of my faboled and whinnied at will through the exuber- ther's arrest, confirming my surmises on the ant pasture. Every thing looked cheerful and subject. jolly. Our gipsy life was eminently healthful; and here, in the midst of rest and plenty, we concluded that campaigning was not so dreadful after all. My friends and family were all well, and the war would presently be over (Mr. | Seward had said so), and I would then return to them to tell my adventures and enjoy my laurels. He who has not learned to dread these moments of self-gratulation, of happy abandonment, has read but superficially in the mystic volume of human life. How strangely is the shadow of coming misfortune ever mingled with the light of present joy. "Soul, take thine ease-thou hast much goods laid up for many years." The man has scarcely uttered the thought when he hears the awful voice: "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee." To appease this fearful power the Emperor Augustus (one day in every year) descended from his throne, put off his purple robes, and, clothing himself in rags and humility, poured out libations to the dark Fate who lies continually in wait for the lucky. The story of the sword of Damocles suspended over the feast is but another version of the same idea. How often in my life have these presentiments been fatally realized! How often has the boastful word trembling on my lips been suppressed by a vague dread of impending evil! How often, in the privacy of my own soul, have I smothered the glow of self-satisfaction, and poured libations of secret humility to avert the anger of the dark goddess! Is this superstition? Perhaps so; but it is not the less a pervading human instinct, recognized in every age and among all peoples. "Homo sum: humani nihil a me alienum puto." This afternoon, to complete my contentment, I received a letter from my wife. On opening it the first sentence that struck my eye froze all my blood: "We have heard from our prisoners at Winchester. They are quite well." This was all she said on the subject. There had evidently been other letters which had miscarried; but these few words, so obscure and unsatisfactory, left me no room to doubt who these "prisoners" were. I was sure my father and my cousin, Edmund Pendleton, had been arrested by the revolutionists and carried to Winchester. The absence of all definite information left me a prey to vague fears, worse than any form of reality. The evil I had most apprehended had fallen upon me. I was haunted by visions of his feeble form and venerable face, bowed with unwonted privations and shameful indignities. Yet I felt strong in the assurance that his stern, defiant soul would not quail under any outrage that the traitors by whom he was surrounded might offer him. I deeply felt my own helplessness. The August 31.-The topographical party started to-day on another surveying tour. The people complain terribly of the National soldiers. They are accused of harrying potato-patches, violating hen-roosts, and burning fence rails without remorse or economy. I find these complaints are a very fair test of the political leanings of individuals. Friends of the Government do not regret the little inconveniences incident to the military occupation, and give cheerfully of their stores. Sympathizers with the rebellion screech and cackle louder than their unlucky poultry during a raid. The country is also filled with refugees from the south side of the Potomac, running away to escape conscription. Some find honorable places in the National army, others seek employment among the neighboring farmers, and endeavor to support themselves; another class sponge on their Maryland acquaintance for a subsistence, talking secession and Southern rights the while, and boasting of their Virginian blood. Our Government should send these worthies back to the sacred soil whence they sprung. September 6.-Visited Washington on some business with the Topographical Department. The view of the city, with its circumjacent camps, from the heights of Georgetown, was magnificent. On the street I met the District Marshal, Colonel Lamon, who told me the President would be pleased to see me, and we arranged a visit for to-morrow morning at nine. September 7, Saturday.-According to yesterday's arrangement I called to see the Presi dent with Marshal Lamon. We found him in his office, and alone. On our entrance he called a clerk, expedited some business he had on hand, and then turned to converse with us. This he did with an air of honest and unreserved affability, and with one leg over the arm of his chair. His personal appearance was not so awkward or ungainly as I had expected. His face was hard and angular, but lighted with an expression of benevolence and sincerity that warmed the heart; nor was his manner wanting in native dignity. We exchanged a few sentences of commonplace, when Colonel Lamon mentioned to him whose son I was. said he knew that, and was about to inquire after my father particularly. His visit last spring, he said, had made an agreeable impression on him, and had given him much encouragement. It was at a time when there seemed to be no solid political opinion whereon to base a hope. Colonel Strother had shown himself a strong, brave old man-one after his own heart. At this point our conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Secretary Cameron, to whom I was introduced, and then we immediately withdrew. He I had called to see the President more through and earth-works near the river. Having prepared a map of Loudon County, with topographical and statistical notes, for his use, I rode up to Poolsville to witness the artillery practice. Arrived in time to dine with the General. After which a furious rain-storm concluded the day. This is my third visit to these headquarters, and at each visit I have encountered a storm of unusual violence. Among the ancients this would be considered a bad omen. a spirit of acquiescence than from any feeling | tion from General Stone that he intended tryof personal regard. I was, on the contrary, ing the range of his guns on the enemy's camps through common report, decidedly prejudiced against him as a man. During this short interview the whole current of my feelings was changed. There was something in his appearance and manner which touched me deeply, and warmed my heart toward him. Called from comparative obscurity to take the chief place in a Government which seemed doomed to speedy and hideous destruction, it appeared not so much a position of power and honor that he was called to occupy, but rather the place of chief victim to the fury of a treacherous and bloody revolution. Instead of the support and encouragement which he needed and meekly asked from all true men, the howls and execrations of his open and armed enemies were not so bitter as the sneers and revilings of the factions among those of whose cause he was the chosen head. All unarmed and unprepared, perhaps unfit, for the vast responsibilities thus thrust upon him, he exhibited always so much of honest and earnest simplicity-so anxious and sincere a desire to fulfill properly the duties of his great office-so much meekness under wrong and insult, such readiness to acknowledge error or failure, such total abnegation of self, that it seemed impossible for any true man not to yield him the fullest confidence and sympathy. Although I sometimes differed with the President in his political views and action, I never met Mr. Lincoln personally that these friendly sentiments were not warmly revived. September 9.-Returned to Darnestown Camp to-day, and spent the afternoon reading and discussing "Napoleon's Military Thoughts and Maxims." Thus far, in the conduct of our war, we have violated every principle he lays down, both positively and negatively. We have done those things we ought not to have done, and have left undone those things we ought to have done. September 17.-To-day we received informa September 18.-The General went out to Edward's Ferry with two batteries of light artillery-one of them 10-pounder Parrotts. On the southern bluffs we could see the redoubts, above and below the mouth of Goose Creek. The upper work was out of range and appeared to be crowded with men. The lower work was only in process of construction, and being within easy range our guns were directed against it. A section of Parrotts were masked in a hollow road while the other guns were sent around to obtain a cross-fire. While we were waiting the signal to open, a bevy of country lasses with their beaux approached us. Willing to do the honors I offered my field-glass to the prettiest of our visitors. She asked in a languishing tone: "And can we really see the Southern soldiers?" I assured her she might see the color of their eyes with the glass, and, adjusting it, gave her the opportunity of satisfying herself. "How "How charming!" she exclaimed. romantic it seems; and are you really going to throw shells at them ?" I replied in the affirmative. "What! without giving them notice beforehand? Ah, that will be cruel!" I told her not so cruel as it might appear. The first shell would probably miss them, and then they would have an opportunity of getting out of the way. "Ah, the gallant fellows! But it would be a shame if you should happen to hurt any of kept up a continual dropping fire at each other them." across the river, which is not more than forty "From the interest you express, Miss, I yards wide here. There was otherwise no lack suppose you are from the South." "No," she replied; "I have never been in Virginia ;" and then she sighed, as if she deeply felt the lack of that proud experience; but then sparkling up, as if to palliate the confessed opprobrium, "I had a cousin who once lived in Virginia for several years, and I do so love and admire Virginians." of excitement at the post, and messengers were continually arriving with open eyes and mouth to report some suspicious or alarming circumstance. During the afternoon two prisoners were brought in who had been taken from a canal-boat, not being provided with proper passes. One of them began to explain his position with much vociferation, and a Yankee This conversation was brought to a sudden twang so unmistakable, that every body laughed, conclusion by the roar of the guns. The shells agreeing that if he was found on the other side fell with remarkable accuracy in and about the of the river his tongue would hang him. On earth-work, which presently resembled an ant- this side it procured his immediate liberation. hill which has received a kick-the working No sooner was this case disposed of than forparties scattered at a double-quick and disap-gotten in a greater excitement. A soldier enpeared in the adjacent woods. The guns were tered reporting that the rebels were crossing then turned on the distant work; but the shells in great force just above the Falls. There was fell short. The men on the parapets replied immediately a girding on of swords and a reto our futile efforts with certain gestures dis-newal of pistol-caps, as if preparing for a handrespectful and contemptuous in the highest de-to-hand fight. The servants were ordered to gree, and not calculated to impress their fair | load the spare muskets and the drums beat the admirers on the northern bank with very high ideas of their breeding. Indeed the ladies took leave at this stage of the performance. long roll. Captain A and myself made some quiet preparation and then seated ourselves upon the porch, not crediting the soldier's report. The regiment moved out in the rain and darkness, but as we waited half an hour and heard no firing we spread our blank In estimating the motives which led many persons to take sides against their Government in this great war we are astonished at the immense influence of mere Anglo-Saxon snobbery.ets and went to sleep. The rebellion is supposed to be aristocratic, Our rest was again disturbed by another mesconsequently every body of doubtful social posi-senger with more alarming tidings-a telegram tion professes sympathy with the rebellion, and from General Banks, asking if there was an atexhibits zeal in proportion to his or her so- tempt on the part of the enemy to cross, and cial deficiencies. Every lazy village mechanic offering reinforcements. Another telegram ashamed of his trade, every petty farmer's son from General M'Call, at Tenallytown, stating with the tastes and education of a stable-boy, that an attack was anticipated and warning the espouses the cause of the Southern gentleman commander of the post to be on the alert. as his own, and forthwith assumes the mouthing tone and arrogant bearing supposed to distinguish that much-admired and envied class. The ladies, God bless them! are the patented and persistent patronesses of all the Ernanis and other romantic rebels, highwaymen, and murderers, etc., etc. Yet, after all, I can not perceive that this perversity of sentiment has divested them of their charms or weakened their influence, so I reiterate God bless them! September 21.-Bright and warm. This morning I started with Captain A in an ambulance to reconnoitre the roads toward the great Falls of the Potomac. Drove to Dufeif's, who gave us some valuable information about the country and a bushel of fine Lapland Mercer potatoes, an invaluable acquisition to our mess. At the Falls we found the Eighth Pennsylvania Volunteers, commanded by Colonel Hayes. We met with a hospitable reception at head-quarters, and dined pleasantly with the Colonel, Lieutenant-Colonel Oliphant, and Adjutant Matthews. After dinner we viewed the opposite shore from an eminence and discovered a cavalry picket of the enemy. I climbed to the top of a high tree to enlarge my horizon, but was driven down by a shower of rain. The pickets It seemed strange that these intimations of an attack should have come simultaneously from distant points and high quarters, thus appearing to corroborate the vague report of the guard. From the nature of the neighboring country I did not believe it possible that any large force would undertake a crossing here, and concluded the whole matter was one of the usual stampedes. Upon this theory the Captain and myself retired to sleep a second time, and got through the night quite comfortably. Next morning it was ascertained that one of the sentinels had seen a tow-head (a small rock covered with brush) in the river, and imagined it a boat filled with rebels. The officer of the guard being called actually saw a boat, with men in it, moving stealthily under the shadow of the opposing shore; this his fancy converted into an army, and so the regiment stood under arms all night in the rain, adding a dozen or twenty to the sick list. The boat which furnished the occasion for all this row was one sent out by Colonel Hayes himself, with a scouting party. This party returned to breakfast, bringing with them a ragged and woebegone captive from the enemy's lines. This fellow informed us that he had been conscripted into the rebel army, and had come home on |