as called into action, and Roanoke
Island once more felt the tread of armed men. Hatteras Inlet, now the
principal entrance to these sounds, and well fortified by the
insurgents, was in August of 1861, captured by the Federal forces. The
rebels then concentrated at Roanoke, which is the key to Albemarle
Sound, and an important military position. Here they assembled a large
body of troops and erected strong fortifications, deeming themselves
secure against any force that could be sent against them. General
Burnside left the Chesapeake with a large fleet, and having succeeded in
passing Hatteras Inlet and the bars which encircle it, sailed up the
sound and came to anchor off the lower end of the Island on the sixth of
February, 1862.

On the morning of the seventh the fleet under the command of Captain
Goldsborough, attacked that of the enemy, and after a sharp cannonade,
the rebel vessels were, with one exception, captured or destroyed. As
soon as the naval action ceased, General Burnside landed his troops at
the lower part of the island, where they were forced to wade through mud
and water; but nothing could retard the valor of these New-England
soldiers, who, pressing on toward the centre of the Island, carried the
entrenchments and drove the enemy before them. The rebels retreated to
the northern end of the island and surrendered as prisoners of war, in
number about twenty-five hundred men, with all their stores and
implements.

The fleet and army subsequently visited Edenton, Pascotank, the Chowan,
Neuse, and Roanoke rivers, and planted the National flag over
them--visiting nearly the same shores so long ago explored by Lane and
his adventurers, and like him returning victorious to the headquarters
at Roanoke Island.

* * * * *

A STORY OF MEXICAN LIFE.

'You are an unbelieving set of fellows, and though you admire my rings,
my breastpin, and my studs, and though you willingly accept any stray
gems that I occasionally offer you, still you sneer and laugh at my
mine; but it is no laughing matter, and now that we are all here
together, I suppose I may as well gratify you by telling you all about
it. However, as the yarn is a long one, I will first of all put the
cigars and the wine within reach, so that you can help yourselves during
the recital.

'Soon after our forces had evacuated Mexico, on my return from a long,
tedious journey across the Cordilleras, I hired, what for the