e." For nearly an hour he played ahead--those people and I as
well were charmed; it was interesting to see those girls glance at each
other and at their mother at times when the music was especially
interesting. When finally he did stop, the saucy distant airs of the girls
were gone, they had become our friends. We were then less disposed than
before to leave, and when we did go it was with the understanding that we
would come again and in future buy all our hens' eggs from them.

We did no drilling while there. Our principal duties were picketing the
roads leading into the town from the south, east and west, keeping the
brass plates on our accoutrements and our shoes, well polished. Reports of
guerrillas being in adjoining towns reached us from time to time, but as
those men never really wanted to fight, but only to steal, they never
approached very near Mt. Sterling.

In talking with one of the Union men of the village one day about the
people who were in sympathy with the South he said, "Zeek Jones over there
was until lately one of the biggest Rebels in the blue grass region; he
preached it and he sung it until the Rebel cavalry came along and bought
out all his horned cattle, horses, potatoes and general truck and paid him
in Confederate money; then he sung a new tune--he's been cursing them ever
since. He sits up nights to swear about them. Nothing like that to bring a
man around, stranger," and the old man haw-hawed right heartily.

About a mile from the village on one of the roads leading from it, a
picket post had pitched its tent near what appeared to be some deserted
buildings. At night there issued from the house the most delightful music.
The unknown singer had a contralto voice, with all the richness of tone of
the most highly trained prima donna. For three successive evenings there
poured forth from the house a concert the like of which those soldiers had
never heard. On the third night one of the boys could endure it no longer,
his curiosity had got the best of him. He approached the building, climbed
over the garden wall, passed around the house, and, lo, there was an open
window. He stole up to it and peeped in. The room was full of music. For a
moment he was lost in the splendor of the tones, when lo, upon the kitchen
table sat a colored girl singing as if her heart would burst. As she sang
she scoured her dishes. She saw him! He dropped and slunk away. "Go way
dar you soger man, or I'll let fly de fr