waying motion, to and fro, as if the whole body was one man and he was
exhausted and tottering; then there-was a movement to the "right about,"
and the whole head of the column sought hasty shelter under the friendly
woods in the rear, from which they had so lately debouched.

A terrific artillery-duel proper was now commenced, and kept up for more
than an hour, the Confederates showing no disposition to renew the
attack, and the Federal forces contented to hold them at bay under
circumstances in which the balance of damage by artillery must be so
largely in their own favor. Then came a sudden lull in the storm, during
which the Confederates made preparations to capture the flanking
rifle-pits of the Federals, which had annoyed them so severely in the
charge. Several desperate attempts were made upon them in quick
succession, and they were taken and retaken repeatedly. In the end,
however, they were permanently held by the defenders, whose stubborn
pluck, aided by the enfilading fire of the advanced batteries, proved
more than a match for the determined bravery of the attacking forces.

On the summit of Malvern Hill, and nearly in the middle of the plateau
formed by the whole eminence, stands a red brick mansion-house, quaintly
built, antique and sombre. The house is of two stories, long and low.
Solemn shade-trees surround it; and corn and wheat fields stretch away
from the Virginia fences of its spacious yard, down the slope of the
hill and across the lowland to the margin of the James. In time of
peace, this old house boasted a most charming situation, and the view
from the verandah was one of the very finest in the country, taking in
at a glance the long line of the winding river for many miles in either
direction, and looking up the river, the high range of bluffs on the
other side on which has been erected that serious obstacle to an advance
on Richmond by water--Fort Darling. At the eastern end of the mansion
stand the inevitable "negro-quarters," now empty and deserted, and with
nothing about them to remind one of their former dusky denizens, except
that unmistakable odor which supplies an obvious parody on Moore's aroma
of the roses in the broken vase. Opposite the west end of the house is a
deep, roof-covered well; and around this crowds of the wounded and
thirsty Union soldiers were continually gathered during the fight,
drinking in, as fast as permitted, that sweetest as well as freest of
Nature's blessings-