ended, because I knew from observation that the small
damsel had Carefully watched a regimental inspection and a brigade drill
on that day, and that an interval of repose was certainly necessary.

Annie did not long remain the only baby in camp. One day, on going
out to the stables to look at a horse, I heard a sound of baby-talk,
addressed by some man to a child near by, and, looking round the corner
of a tent, I saw that one of the hostlers had something black and round,
lying on the sloping side of a tent, with which he was playing very
eagerly. It proved to be his baby, a plump, shiny thing, younger
than Annie; and I never saw a merrier picture than the happy father
frolicking with his child, while the mother stood quietly by. This was
Baby Number Two, and she stayed in camp several weeks, the two innocents
meeting each other every day, in the placid indifference that belonged
to their years; both were happy little healthy things, and it never
seemed to cross their minds that there was any difference in their
complexions. As I said before, Annie was not troubled by any prejudice
in regard to color, nor do I suppose that the other little maiden was.

Annie enjoyed the tent-life very much; but when we were Sent out on
picket soon after, she enjoyed it still more. Our head-quarters were at
a deserted plantation house, with one large parlor, a dining-room, and
a few bedrooms. Baby's father and mother had a room up stairs, with
a stove whose pipe went straight out at the window. This was quite
comfortable, though half the windows were broken, and there was no glass
and no glazier to mend them. The windows of the large parlor were in
much the same condition, though we had an immense fireplace, where we
had a bright fire whenever it was cold, and always in the evening. The
walls of this room were very dirty, and it took our ladies several
days to cover all the unsightly places with wreaths and hangings of
evergreen. In the performance Baby took an active part. Her duties
consisted in sitting in a great nest of evergreen, pulling and fingering
the fragrant leaves, and occasionally giving a little cry of glee when
she had accomplished some piece of decided mischief.

There was less entertainment to be found in the camp itself at this
time; but the household at head-quarters was larger than Baby had been
accustomed to. We had a great deal of company, moreover, and she had
quite a gay life of it. She usually made her appearan