"Whether the scene which met her eye, was calculated to increase her faith in the constancy of her spouse, or otherwise, we leave those who are able to judge to decide. We do know, though, that the Major's baggage was removed to another part of the house before many hours had expired, and that he was the recipient of a note from the clerk of the house to the following effect: "DEAR MAJOR:-Having unexpectedly found my uncle, I will relieve you and yours from any further care upon my part, if you will be so kind as to settle the bill which the clerk will present to you. Adios. L. P. S. Not having sold my gold yet, it is inconvenient for me to refund you the dollars which you so kindly loaned to me. L.' "The major is a wiser man: he looks meek, but will fire up upon any allusion being made to mustangs or Spanish widows." COLONEL LORIN ANDREWS. FEW braver and more patriotic men than Lorin Andrews ever lived. At the breaking out of the Slaveholders' Rebellion, he was the first man in Ohio to tender his services to Governor Tod. Knowing what would be necessary, he did not wait for the requisition to be made on the State for troops, but hastened to offer his services in whatever position the Governor might designate. He was appointed Colonel of the 4th Infantry, Ohio volunteers, under the President's requisi tion, served with the regiment in Western Virginia, with ardor, ability, and fidelity, until he was taken sick in August, 1862, when he returned to his family in Gambier, and died in September following, lamented by all who knew him. The following is submitted as a tribute to his memory: A good man hath fallen! A brave man lies low! Though Kenyon bewail him, No more will he heighten Ye vot'ries of learning! So sad a bereavement To freedom and lore! At the call of our country How faithful in friendship! And woe to the Rebel That countered his path! His courage undaunted, But life's toilsome battle, Since death has disarmed him, He armeth no more. He hath ceased from his labor, He heareth no call, The good man hath fallen— And sad is our sorrow, And deep is our woe! STORY XXXVIII. HOW THE POWDER WAS SAVED FROM EXPLODING. DURING the engagement the Gunboat Valley City was fighting two Rebel boats at once, working her guns on both sides, when a shell entered her port-bow, passed into her magazine, knocked the head off a half-barrel of powder, and exploded in a locker, which was filled with blue-lights, rockets, and Coston signal lights. The fire-works were ignited at the instant, and, in the close box, burnt with fury, filling the magazine with sulphurous fumes. The quarter gunner, instead of leaving his post, as most men would have done, at such a terrible juncture, immediately sat upon the open barrel, to keep the sparks from falling into the powder. Captain J. G. Chaplin, commander of the vessel, called all hands to fire-quarters, but seeing that this would take too many from the guns, said he would go into the magazine himself, and extinguish the fire. Without a moment's hesitation, he jumped into the perilous place, and giving orders to keep up the fight, he passed up powder with one hand, and buckets of water down with the other, until the fire was quenched. On entering the magazine and seeing the gunner sitting so quietly on the powder-barrel, he thought he was either shirking his duty, or bewildered by fear, and asked him sternly what he was doing there. "Ah, Sir," said the splendid fellow, "this 'ere shell have stove off the head of the barrel, and if I get up, a little spark might fall in, and blow us all to smithereens in a minute." Courage like this of Captain Chaplin and his quarter gunner has seldom been shown in any navy, and their conduct should be noted among the brightest incidents of the war. Search the wide world over, and still you will find STORY XXXIX. GENERAL BUTLER'S ACCOUNT OF HIS RECRUITING OPERATIONS IN LOUISIANA. EXTRACTED FROM HIS TESTIMONY BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR. "I ISSUED an order that any Confederate soldier, who chose to desert and leave the Rebel army, might come into New Orleans and register his name. "There had come into New Orleans, up to this time, something over 6,000 men, who had been soldiers in the Rebel army, and registered themselves as paroled prisoners; so that I had in New Orleans nearly twice as many men who had been soldiers in the Confederate army as I had of Union soldiers. "I had asked for leave, which had been granted, to recruit my regiments. I recruited in Louisiana all my old regiments up to the full standard; raised two new white regiments, and four companies of cavalry—all of men living in Louisiana. They fought bravely at Baton Rouge. Out of 460 men of the 14th Maine, who were in line, 200 of them were recruits from Louisiana. They, of course, were healthy men, not having suffered the troubles either of Camp Parapet or Vicksburg. "I ordered $8 a month to be paid out of the provost fund to the widows and mothers of quite a number of Louisiana soldiers that were killed under our flag, because I knew it would take a long time to get it from Washington, and I wanted to encourage others to enlist. The provost fund was made up of fines and forfeitures, sales of confiscated property, and two dollars charged for each pass, &c. "I asked for liberty to raise 5,000 native Louisianians, and raised nearly that number, including recruits in the old regiments. White recruiting began then to fall off, because of the high wages beginning to be paid for white labor on the plantations, in order to save the sugar crop where the negroes had left. "I had written to Washington for reinforcements, but they replied that they could not give me any, though they wrote that I must hold New Orleans at all hazards. I determined to do that. if for no other reason, because the Rebels had offered a reward for my head, and it would have been rather inconvenient to me to have.lost it. |