pay our hotel-bill."

"You have no bill here. It will be settled by the Confederacy."

"We can't allow that. We are not here as the guests of your Government."

"Yes, you are, and you can't help yourselves," he rejoined, laughing
pleasantly. "If you offer the landlord greenbacks, he'll have you
jugged, certain,--for it's against the law."

"That's nothing to us. We are jugged already."

"So you are!" and he laughed again, rather boisterously.

His manner half convinced me that he had been playing on our
sensibilities; but I said nothing, and we followed him down the stairs.

At the outer door stood Jack and the ambulance! Their presence assured
us a safe exit from Dixie, and my feelings found expression somewhat as
follows:--

"How are you, Jack? You're the best-looking darky I ever saw."

"I's bery well, Massa, bery well. Hope you's well," replied Jack,
grinning until he made himself uglier than Nature intended. "I's glad
you tinks I's good-lookin'."

"Good-looking! You're better-looking than any man, black or white, I
ever met."

"You've odd notions of beauty," said the Judge, smiling. "That accounts
for your being an Abolitionist."

"No, it don't." And I added, in a tone too low for Jack to hear, "It
only implies, that, until I saw that darky, I doubted our getting out of
Dixie."

The Judge gave a low whistle.

"So you smelt a rat?"

"Yes, a very big one. Tell us, why were you so long behind time?"

"I'll tell you when the war is over. Now I'll take you to Libby and the
hospitals, if you'd like to go."

We said we would, and, ordering Jack to follow with the ambulance, the
Judge led us down the principal thoroughfare. A few shops were open, a
few negro women were passing in and out among them, and a few wounded
soldiers were limping along the sidewalks; but scarcely an able-bodied
man was to be seen anywhere. A poor soldier, who had lost both legs and
a hand, was seated at a street-corner, asking alms of the colored women
as they passed. Pointing to him, the Judge said,--

"There is one of our arguments against reunion. If you will walk two
squares, I'll show you a thousand."

"All asking alms of black women? That is another indication of what you
are coming to."

He made no reply. After a while, scanning our faces as if he would
detect our hidden thoughts, he said, in an abrupt, pointed way,--

"Grant was to have attacked us yesterday. Why didn't he do it?"

"How should we know?"

"You