road.

But perhaps the men held their General of Division to too strict an
accountability. He was still laboring under the spell of Warrenton. His
nervous system had doubtless been deranged by the removal of his
favorite Chief, or rather Dictator, as he had hoped he might be. "No one
could command the army but McClellan," the General had said in his
disgust--a disgust that would have driven him from the service, but
that, fortunately for himself and unfortunately for his country, it was
balanced by the pay and emoluments of a Brigadiership. Reluctant to
allow Burnside quietly, a Caesar's opportunity to "cover his baldness
with laurels," his whimsical movements, now galloping furiously and
purposeless from front to rear, and from rear to front of his command,
cursing the officers,--and that for fancied neglect of duty,--poorly
concealed the workings of his mind.

In one of these rapid rides, his eye caught sight of a brace of young
hounds following one of the Sergeants.

"Where did those dogs come from?"

"They have followed me from the last wood, sir."

"Let them go, sir, this instant. Send them back, sir. D--n you, sir,
I'll teach you to respect private property," replied the General,
deploying his staff at the same time to assist in driving the dogs back,
as notwithstanding the efforts of the Sergeant to send them to the rear,
they crouched at a respectful distance and eyed him wistfully. "D--n
you, sir, I am the General commanding the Division, sir, and by G--d,
sir, I command you, as such, to send those dogs back, sir!" nervously
stammered the General as he rode excitedly from one side of the road to
the other in front of the Sergeant.

The affair speedily became ridiculous. Driving dogs was evidently with
the General a more congenial employment than manoeuvring men. But his
efforts in the one proved as unsuccessful as in the other, as
notwithstanding the aid afforded by his followers, the dogs would turn
tail but for a short distance. After swearing most _dogmatically_, as an
officer remarked, he turned to resume his ride to the head of the
column, but had not gone ten yards before there was a whistle for the
dogs. Squab was sent back to ferret out the offender. The whistling
increased, and shortly the whole Staff and the Regimental officers were
engaged in an attempt at its suppression. But in vain. Whistling in
Company A, found echoes in Company B; and after some minutes of
fruitless riding hither and thi