ead of dancing
through the town; but I was, of course, obliged to obey orders, and when
I struck up my tune--for I still led the fifers--I tipped Monsieur "The
Downfall of Paris." I found the march did me a great deal of good; and,
by the time I reached the barracks, I was in prime order for my
breakfast.

We were stationed in Fort George, in exceedingly good quarters, though I
could not bring myself to be reconciled to the ponderous drawbridges in
use there, which foreboded no great stretch of liberty. I was
particularly fond of rural and pensive wanderings, to muse on nature's
beauties; and the sight of an orchard, in particular, was at all times
hailed by me with great delight, for I could feast upon its beauties for
hours together, to the gratification of more faculties than my vision.
The drawbridges seemed to cut off these delightful prospects. It was
true, I could see them from the fort; but then the prospect was too far,
and I lost all relish in the distance; and, being in consequence
compelled to steal out, I was apprehensive that some of my solitary
rambles would get me into disgrace. My doubts and forebodings on this
head were soon verified; for, in less than a week, I saw my name posted
up at the gate--"John Shipp, confined to his barracks for one week." A
week was to me an age. Confinement was to me intolerable; deprived of
the pure air, of the delightful ramble along an orchard's edge, and of
the salubrious smell of the orange groves. Oft have I, from the
rampart-top, sighed at the distant prospect, and, while my longing eye
lingered on the golden produce of the orchard within sight, my heart
panted to be at liberty, to take a nearer view, and taste again of
nature's beauties. The word _confinement_ haunted me from one bastion to
another, and I saw no refuge for the future but a more circumspect line
of conduct, on which I firmly resolved. When three long days of my week
had been numbered with the dead, the drum-major was taken seriously ill,
and on the morning parade the colonel inspected the drummers. I was
always remarkably clean--that was my pride: the colonel eyed me from
head to foot, and at last told the adjutant that I was to act as
drum-major. I was nearly shouting "Liberty" in the colonel's face, but I
checked myself just in time. He at the same time gave me a ticket for a
play, which was to be acted in the town; and, in the evening, several
boys were committed to my care, to accompany me to the