at is the end of it.
Presently comes the news of a brilliant Union victory; and nobody
pauses to consider that if our pickets had been asleep, or faithless,
or cowardly, a Union _defeat_ might, nay _must_, have been the
consequence.

We forget what these men endure--their risks, their privations, their
fatigues, their anxieties, _their battles with themselves_, when
sleep--more insidious than even the lurking enemy in the bush--tugs at
their heavy eyelids, and their overwearied senses are barely held to
their allegiance by the strongest mental effort. The soldier who
rushes to the charge at the command of his officer is animated by the
shouts of his comrades, inspirited by the sounds of martial music, and
full of the ardor and confidence which the consciousness of being
intelligently led and loyally supported engenders. He sees his
adversaries; he fights in an open field; his fate is to be decided by
the ordinary chances of honorable war. Not so the picket-guard. He is
surrounded by unseen dangers. The gleam of his bayonet may, at any
moment, draw upon him the fire of some prowling assassin. If he hears
a rustling among the leaves, and inquires, "Who goes there?" the
answer may be a ball in his heart.

A GALLANT DEED AND A CHIVALROUS RETURN.

In the recent movement of Stoneman's Cavalry, the advance was led by
Lieutenant Paine, of the 1st Maine Cavalry. Being separated, by a
considerable distance, from the main body, he encountered,
unexpectedly, a superior force of rebel cavalry, and his whole party
were taken prisoners. They were hurried off as rapidly as possible to
get them out of the way of our advancing force, and, in crossing a
rapid and deep stream, Lieutenant Henry, commanding the rebel force,
was swept off his horse. As none of his men seemed to think or care
any thing about saving him, his prisoner, Lieutenant Paine, leaped off
his horse, seized the drowning man by the collar, swam ashore with
him, and saved his life, thus literally capturing the captor. Paine
was sent to Richmond with the rest of the prisoners, and the facts
being made known to General Fitz-Hugh Lee, he wrote a statement of
them to General Winder, Provost-Marshal of Richmond, who ordered the
instant release of Lieutenant Paine, without even parole, promise, or
condition, and, we presume, with the compliments of the Confederacy.
He arrived in Washington on Saturday last. This act of generosity, as
well as justice, must command our highe