ritten a line
thereof, and, making his excuses, declared he must go home and write
up the "_little affair_." In the evening a voluminous poem was
forthcoming, Alf, in all probability, having "done it up" in half an
hour "by Shrewsbury clock."

Mr. Burnett has contributed various poems to the literature of the
country, which have stamped him as being possessed of a more than
ordinary share of the divine afflatus. Among them is "The Sexton's
Spade," which has gained a world-wide celebrity. The writer has been
connected with Mr. Burnett in the publication of two or three papers,
which, somehow or other, never won their way into popular favor:
either the public had very bad taste, or the "combined forces" had not
the ability to please, or the perseverance to continue until success
crowned their labors.

In the commencement of the war, Mr. Burnett was on a tour of the
State, in the full tide of prosperity. Immediately after Sumter fell,
he summoned to him, by telegraph, his traveling agent, together with
Mr. George Humphreys, who had, as an assistant, been with him for
years. A consultation was held, which resulted in the determination of
all three to enlist in the service of their country. The agent
repaired to Chillicothe and joined the 27th Ohio; Humphreys joined the
5th Ohio, and Mr. Burnett enlisted as high private in the 6th Ohio,
and served with his regiment in West Virginia, throughout that
memorable campaign.

Mr. Burnett was subsequently engaged by the Cincinnati _Press_,
_Times_, and _Commercial_, as war correspondent. His letters were read
with great avidity, and were replete with wit, humor, and interesting
anecdote. His extensive acquaintance enabled him to gather the
earliest information, and his letters were always considered among the
most reliable. A number of them will be found in the succeeding pages.

That "Incidents of the War" will be found instructive and
entertaining, we can but believe, although Mr. Burnett's professional
engagements precluded the possibility of his devoting that time and
attention to its preparation which was almost imperative. It lays no
particular claim to merit as a literary production--being a collection
of letters and incidents, which Mr. B.'s publishers thought would be
palatable to the public in their present form.

In the volume will be found several pieces for the superior rendition
of which Mr. Burnett has been highly extolled. At the close will be
found a famous d