ngestion of the lungs, and the
Lieutenant seemed rapidly sinking.

When the Adjutant left the hospital tent he sought out a Captain, an
intimate acquaintance of the Lieutenant's, and charged him with a
special inquiry at Head-quarters, as to the success of the application
for a furlough. Thither the Captain repaired, through the well trodden
mud and slush of the camp ground. The party of young officers within the
tent of the Adjutant-General appeared to be in a high state of
enjoyment, and that functionary himself retained just presence of mind
sufficient to assure the Captain, after hearing his statement and urgent
inquiry--"that there was no time now to look--that there were so d--n
many papers he could not keep the run of them. These things must take
their regular course, Captain,--regular course, you know. That's the
difficulty with the volunteer officers," continued he, turning half to
the crowd, "to understand regular military channels,--channels." As he
continued stammering and stuttering, the crowd inside suspended the pipe
to ejaculate assent, while the Captain, understanding red-tape to his
sorrow, and too much disgusted to make further effort to understand the
Captain, retraced his steps. Finding the Adjutant he told him of his
lack of success, and together they repaired to the hospital tent to
break the unwelcome news.

At the time of his entry into the Hospital the Lieutenant was impressed
with the belief that the illness would be his last, and he daily grew
more solicitous as to the success of his application for a furlough.
Another coughing fit had, during their absence, intervened, and as the
two cautiously untied the flaps and entered the stifling atmosphere of
the crowded tent, the Surgeon and a friend or two were bending anxiously
about the cot. Their entry attracted the attention of the dying
Lieutenant; for that condition his faint hurried breathing, interrupted
by occasional gasps, and the rolling, fast glazing eye, too plainly
denoted. A look of anxious inquiry,--a faint shake of the head from the
Captain--for strong-voiced as he was, his tongue refused the duty of
informing the dying man of what had become daily, unwelcome news.

"Oh, my God! must I,--must I die without again seeing Mary and the
babies!" with clasped hands he gasped, half rising, and casting at the
same time an imploring look at the Surgeon.

But the effort was too much. His head fell back upon the blankets. A
gurgling sound