and at last got into camp about two o'clock. I then made
my way to a small house occupied by the general as his headquarters.
I wrote down my name, and gave it to the orderly, and I was
immediately told to walk in.

"The general rose and greeted me warmly. I expected to see an old,
untidy man, and was most agreeably surprised and pleased with his
appearance. He is tall, handsome, and powerfully built, but thin. He
has brown hair and a brown beard. His mouth expresses great
determination. The lips are thin and compressed firmly together; his
eyes are blue and dark, with keen and searching expression. I was
told that his age was thirty-eight, and he looks forty. The general,
who is indescribably simple and unaffected in all his ways, took off
my wet overcoat with his own hands, made up the fire, brought wood
for me to put my feet on to keep them warm while my boots were
drying, and then began to ask me questions on various subjects. At
the dinner hour we went out and joined the members of his staff. At
this meal the general said grace in a fervent, quiet manner, which
struck me very much. After dinner I returned to his room, and he
again talked for a long time. The servant came in and took his
mattress out of a cupboard and laid it on the floor.

"As I rose to retire, the general said, "Captain, there is plenty of
room on my bed, I hope you will share it with me?" I thanked him very
much for his courtesy, but said "Good-night," and slept in a tent,
sharing the blankets of one of his aides-de-camp. In the morning at
breakfast-time I noticed that the general said grace before the meal
with the same fervour I had remarked before. An hour or two
afterwards it was time for me to return to the station; on this
occasion, however, I had a horse, and I returned to the general's
headquarters to bid him adieu. His little room was vacant, so I
slipped in and stood before the fire. I then noticed my greatcoat
stretched before it on a chair. Shortly afterwards the general
entered the room. He said: "Captain, I have been trying to dry your
greatcoat, but I am afraid I have not succeeded very well." That
little act illustrates the man's character. With the care and
responsibilities of a vast army on his shoulders he finds time to do
little acts of kindness and thoughtfulness."

With each of his staff officers he was on most friendly terms; and
the visitors to his camp, such as the English officer quoted above,
found him a most deligh