ng 'John Brown' and 'Marching Along' and
'Gwine in de Wilderness'; women in tears and smiles lined the way. We
halted opposite the dear General's; we cheered, he speeched, I speeched,
we all embraced symbolically, and cheered some more. Then we went to
work at the wharf; vast wagon-loads of tents, rations, ordnance, and
what-not disappeared in the capacious maw of the Delaware. In the midst
of it all came riding down General Saxton with a despatch from Hilton
Head:--

"'If you think the amount of small-pox in the First South Carolina
Volunteers sufficient, the order will be countermanded.'

"'What shall I say?' quoth the guilty General, perceiving how
preposterously too late the negotiation was reopened.

"'Say, sir?' quoth I. 'Say that we are on board already and the
small-pox left behind. Say we had only thirteen cases, chiefly
varioloid, and ten almost well.'

"Our blood was up with a tremendous morning's work done, and, rather
than turn back, we felt ready to hold down Major-General Gillmore,
commanding department, and all his staff upon the wharf, and vaccinate
them by main force.

"So General Saxton rode away, and we worked away. Just as the last
wagon-load but one was being transferred to the omnivorous depths of the
Delaware,--which I should think would have been filled ten times over
with what we had put into it,--down rode the General with a fiendish joy
in his bright eyes and held out a paper,--one of the familiar rescripts
from headquarters.

"'The marching orders of the First South Carolina Volunteers are hereby
countermanded.'

"'Major Trowbridge,' said I, 'will you give my compliments to Lieutenant
Hooper, somewhere in the hold of that steamer, and direct him to set
his men at work to bring out every individual article which they have
carried hi.' And I sat down on a pile of boards.

"'You will return to your old camping-ground, Colonel,' said the
General, placidly. 'Now,' he added with serene satisfaction, 'we will
have some brigade drills!'

"Brigade drills! Since Mr. Pickwick, with his heartless tomato-sauce and
warming-pans, there had been nothing so aggravating as to try to
solace us, who were as good as on board ship and under way,--nay, in
imagination as far up the St. John's as Pilatka at least,--with brigade
drills! It was very kind and flattering in him to wish to keep us. But
unhappily we had made up our minds to go.

"Never did officer ride at the head of a battalion of more wobeg