WINTER is upon us, to add new evils to the catalogue of those we already suffer. There is no more sitting at the windows now, in the pleasant, thoughtful twilight, and watching the changes in the sky. The landscape of the James River,-that same little picture set in a window frame and bars, which we somehow never grew weary of looking at-is now cheerless indeed ; the leaves have dropped from the trees, and the fields look brown and barren ; there is ice on the canal, and patches of early snow on the river-banks ; the little green island with the beautiful trees looks dismal and deserted, and the river is muddy, swollen and fretful. Those who love nature had made a great deal of this little picture, uninteresting enough, perhaps, under ordinary circumstances; we had watched the fresh wind whirling the cloudshadows across it, under the summer sunshine, and blowing the green boughs about, and rippling the surface of the river ; we had marked the storm gather above it and break upon it, in the hot days, in showery waterfalls of sparkling cloud-spray ; we had seen its glistening, glowing green, shimmering through the last golden gushes of the sunny rain ; and we had followed day after day, the evening sunlight as it died behind it, leaving it sad and shadowy, but still lovely, with a pale star above- it. There was something to be learned, and much to be remembered by it ; for memory wandered on beyond the purple horizon, to loved, familiar places far away, and the keen arrow of thought, piercing the veil which shut them out, went speeding through the far azure to fall at the threshold of a home 1
Captivity with a patch of green, and a ray of sunlight to cheer the eye and refresh the heart, now and then, was somehow less hard to bear than now, in the dull and sombre winter days.

They who have never been shut up for months in a gloomy prison-house, can form but a faint idea of the beneficial influences of light upon the human mind. We naturally associate darkness with all that is dread, with all that is sinister, repulsive and unnatural. Light, on the contrary, is typical of all that is good and true, of all that is innocent and happy. Death, ignorance, sorrow, hatred, sin : these are of the shadow. Hope, wisdom, truth, religion, love:  these are of the light.

Even the wretched Confederate candle which helps us while away the tedium of these long winter evenings, exercises upon our minds far more important influences than we would be ready, at the first glance, to ascribe to its humble charity of light. Physiologists tell us how much light contributes to the preservation of health, and to the proper development of all forms of life. If it be of so great a value to the body, how infinitely greater must be its value to the mind. I am satisfied that there is less health in the prison since the sun began to shorten his daily pilgrimage, and more gloom in the prison faces since his rays, which used to shoot such glittering golden arrows at us between the window bars, have wearied of their sport and come now among us, quietly and strangely, asif they were merely Distributing Agents for some Celestial Sanitary Commission.
 
I can remember with what a strange blending of awe, repugnance, and curiosity, I used, when a child, to lift up stones in the dark, damp cellar-corner, and hunt for the pale, bloodless, sickly shoots, which had sprouted there in the darkness, and how I used to drop them quickly again, for they seemed like gravestones with livid, ghastly corpses under them.--Our prison is full of such pale, sickly sprouts, and if the Diable Boitcux were to lift the roof off of it, and afford some sunny habitant of the outer world a glimpse into its interior, lie might experience something like my childish superstition, and quickly ask the lame gentleman in black to let drop the sarcophagus lid again over this unnatural sepulchre of the living 1

The passion for music is quite general in the prison ; a tolerable orchestra has been organized, consisting of a violin, banjo, guitar, tambourine, and the bones. They have done much to enliven the gloom of the prison, and invariably attract a large crowd of listeners. They have given several performances imitative of the Ethiopian Minstrels, in the cook-room ; these performances are quite creditable to the musical taste of the performers, and are attended by large and enthusiastic audiences. Not-withstanding the Scotch mist of tobacco smoke which ascends in a perpetual cloud from the inevitable pipes of the Teutonic element of the assemblage, and which reminds one of the gauze curtains in the Midsummer Night's Dream ; and notwithstanding the necessarily abortive illumination of the dingy apartment by a tier of suicidal tallow clips ; and notwithstanding the fact that the spectator must lug down his own barrel to sit in, or must stand on a dining-table at the risk of breaking his neck, and with the certainty of suffering from a severe attack of the cramp in the legs ; and notwithstanding the odor of slops, and the rancid vapors from the cooking stoves, which are apt to transfer the cramp from the calves of the legs to the pit of the stomach ;-notwithstanding all these unavoidable collaterals of the Libby Concert Room, the result is beneficial, and merits, and receives, the encouragement of all. The performers have a grand and exciting time preparing their performances-and the spectators while pleasantly away, in listening to their humorous jokes, the tedium of the long evenings.

Captain J. B. Litchfield, 4th Maine Infantry ; Captain E. E. Chase, 1st Rhode Island Cavalry, and Captain J. L. Kendall, 1st Massachusetts Infantry, have just been selected to be sent to Saulsbury, North Carolina, sentenced to hard labor during the war, in retaliation for an alleged sentence of the same nature by the Federal authorities.

Major H. White, 67th Pennsylvania Infantry, has also disappeared from our midst, and has been sent to Saulsbury ; upon what ground, we cannot conjecture.

Christmas ! at that name, what pleasant visions come thronging to the prisoner's mind, visions of home and the hearth,-of mince pies, plum-puddings and bon-bons, of Christmas trees and child-laughter, and pretty little rosy mouths, sweeter for the sugarplums, puckering into Christmas kisses ! What prison-thoughts, that laugh at the rebel bars and bayonets, go traveling by swift air lines, afar off into cozy cottages among the northern snows, and over the wide prairies into western homer ; north, south, east and west-over the whole land ; fond thoughts, winged with love-lightning !
The north wind comes reeling in fitful gushes through the iron bars, and jingles a sleigh-bell in the prisoner's ear, and puffs in his pale face with a breath suggestively odorous of egg-nog.

Christmas day ! a day which was made for smiles, and not for sighs,-for laughter, and not for tears,--for the hearth, and not for the prison. The forms which I pass as I saunter up and down the low, gloomy rooms, are bowed in thought, and their cheeks are pale with surfeit of it ; it seems very cruel, but the loving little arms that are felt twining about the neck,-the innocent laughing little faces that will peep out of the shadows, with sunbeams in their eyes, -the warm hands which grasp ours in spite of us, all these must be thrust aside, and the welling teardrop in the eye must be brushed away, and . . . tut tut 1 what's in a uniform, after all, if the soldier can. not make his brain as thread-bare as its sleeve, nor his heart as hard as its buttons !

There is a group in a dusky corner that I can see from here : some one is playing " Home, sweet home ! " on a violin. It is a very dismal affair, this group : the faces are all sad,-no wonder, for the tune is telling them strange, wild things : there are whispering voices in its notes : I see that one by one the figures stroll away, and that they all seem to have discovered something of unusual interest to look at, out of the windows.

I am invited out to-day to a Christmas dinner. Good ! There is not much inducement left for phantasmal visitations, after a hearty meal. When I say I am invited out, I mean over there in the north-east corner of the room : I shaved my face, and combed my hair, this morning, for the occasion. I am promised a white china plate to eat from !

When I arrive at the north-east corner, I enquire after my host, who is not present. I am informed that he is down in the kitchen, stewing the mutton(!) There he comes, in a violent perspiration, with a skillet in one hand and a tea-pot in the other.

There are four of us,-the dinner is excellent,-I have never tasted a better, even at the Maison Doree; the wine, not very choice, of course,-it is put down on the bill of fare as " Eau de James, couleur de bone."

It is true that the table is made from a box, that the table-cloth is a towel, and that I was requested to bring with me my own fork and spoon ; but it is a decidedly recherché and ceremonious affair, notwithstanding ; my host is polite and elegant to a fault.

After dessert, having stepped over to my "house" for my pipe, which I had forgotten in the excitement of making my toilet (an absence of mind probably due to my having combed my hair,) I return with unexpected celerity, and I find my host, and the two other guests, with their sleeves rolled up to the elbow, scouring the kettles, and washing up the dishes !
So Christmas-day passes away ; there are many extra dinners gotten up, and numerous invitations to admired friends. Towards evening, the gloom has in a measure passed off from most of the faces ; there is some laughing, and even cracking of jokes. A "ball" has been advertised to take place in the lower east room ; an unusual array of tallow candles renders the room as clear as day-a cloudy day, at least; there is a great deal of sport and merriment, after a while, and a great deal of bad dancing ; toes are trampled upon with impunity-hats crushed-trowsers torn;-but the violinist scrapes away with supernatural tenacity, and he is the best-natured man in the room, for he is a "fiddler" whom " nobody pays."

At nine o'clock there is a loud cry of "lights out! " from the sentries; the ball breaks up; blankets are spread on the floor; and dancers, spectators, fiddler and all, are soon wrapped in the arms of the Libbyan Morpheus. Many strange visions are beheld ; many pleasing dreams experienced ; and many fond, familiar faces are photographed in that wondrous camera obscura which sleep makes of the dreamer's brain.

It is New Year's Eve. The prison authorities have granted us the privilege of burning candles until midnight: we experience something of the bewilderment of owls,-we have seen nothing clearly after nine P. M., for the last six months.

A group of us arc sitting, a la Turque, on an outspread blanket : we are waiting to see the New Year in. We have no wine wherewithal to offer up a libation ; but we have in a black flask, a very small quantity of Drake's Plantation Bitters, which has been hoarded up for some weeks past to serve on this occasion.

We while away the time by relating anecdotes of soldier-life. There is in the party an old Hungarian veteran ; a genuine old "dog of war," with a copious dash of quaint humor about him. He is telling us how General Lee got between hint and six fresh eggs; I will let him relate the story himself.

" On the morning of the second day of the battle of Gettysburg, I had been ordered to the front by General , to ascertain the cause of some scattering discharges of musketry on our right. I rode to the picket line, and having satisfied myself as to the true state of affairs in that direction, I was returning to headquarters with the information I had gathered, when I discovered a small farm-house at a short distance from the road I was following. I had Hans, my old orderly, with me.

" ` listen neki! Hans,' said I, placing my hand on my stomach, `there's a farm-house !'

" ` So there is 1' ejaculated Hans, placing his hand on his commissariat.

" I was very hungry. Hans was very hungry, too. We had eaten nothing that day; indeed, we, had eaten scarcely any thing for several days, for you may remember what a hasty march -we had of it through Virginia and Maryland. `Hans,' continued I, suggestively, `that farm-house looks very cozy.'

"'It wouldn't surprise me, sir,' added Hans, tipping his cap to me, `if you could get a bite of something there, sir.'

" ` Terringettet! We'll try it!' exclaimed I ; for I was of Hans' opinion.

" So we put spurs to our horses, and a few moments afterwards I was dismounting in front of the house.

" The good woman, and a number of little urchins, whom I found there were very much alarmed ; the little ones ran away to hide themselves. The woman said, in answer to my queries, that she had not a thing to eat in the house ; but I was too hungry to be turned away in that style. I reassured her by stating that I was a Federal officer, (a fact about which she had evidently entertained some misgivings,) and upon my displaying a formidable roll of `green backs,' she finally acknowledged that she had about six fresh eggs in the larder.

"' Six fresh eggs !' cried I, 'Isten neki! a feast for the gods ! my good woman, I am very hungry. I have eaten nothing to-day. Now, here's the price of the six eggs ; have them ready to fry for me in about half an hour, when I will return. On no account allow any one else to get hold of them.'

" I then paid her liberally for the eggs, and mounting my horse, in high glee at the prospect of a glorious meal, I hastened back to headquarters.

When I arrived there, I found the General mounted ; he asked me to accompany him to the front.
Hans and I exchanged a look of dismay.

" It was of no use ; duty before fresh eggs !

" I was never before so much put out in my life.

We made a long and tedious reconnoissance ; it seemed to me to last an age ; for, as you may suppose, I was growing more hungry all the time ; I thought we never would start back for headquarters. At last, however, the General, satisfied with his inspection, turned his horse's head in the desired direction.

" Hans and I exchanged a knowing wink, expressive of our supreme satisfaction.

" We had been out several hours, and the cool morning wind had sharpened my appetite to a wonderfully keen edge. Arrived at headquarters, I was about to dart off at once in the direction of my eggs, when the General called to me, saying he wished me to write out some urgent orders. I dismounted with a muttered exclamation which was any thing but complimentary to orders in general, and these in particular; I set myself to work with very bad grace; of course, as
I was in a hurry, I blotted the paper, I spilled the ink, I made mistakes and had to rewrite the orders several times;-no wonder, for I was very hungry, and was thinking of my eggs.

"At last I finished the orders ; I was free for a few moments ; Mans was holding my horse, ready for me ; we leaped into our saddles and dashed at full speed in the direction of our breakfast. I imagined I could already hear those glorious fresh eggs frying ,tied spurting in the hot lard on the kitchen stove,-I could scent their delicious odor as if it were wafted towards me through the kitchen door !

"All at once we heard a discharge of musketry in that direction. A frightful presentiment took possession of me.

" A heavier, louder, and longer discharge followed.

" I shouted to Hans to spur on ; I was resolved to resort to any desperate measure rather than go breakfastless that day.

" Suddenly there came a terrific discharge of artillery. It grew louder, and more terrible ; peal after peal shook the earth and air; we spurred madly on, and reached the summit of a little eminence on the road : alas ! what a sight met our eyes !

" The enemy in tremendous force was pressing toward us; our little farm-house was beyond the advancing columns, half concealed by the smoke.

" The Rebel artillery was between me and my breakfast !

" I will not attempt to describe my feelings at that disheartening spectacle ; I only know this, that to this day I feel the blood tingle in my head when any of my fellow-officers begin to relate (as a good joke) around the camp-fire, how General Lee got between me and my six eggs!'

We have a hearty laugh over the story, and express it as our unanimous opinion that no doubt General Lee must have enjoyed those six eggs for his breakfast.

" Isten neki !" exclaims the emphatic Hungarian, striking the palm of his left hand with his right fist, " I will make it a personal matter with General Lee, when the war is over !"

Another officer relates the following adventure :

"What I am about to relate, occurred last winter during the long period of inaction which preceded the battle of Chancellorsville and the invasion of Pennsylvania by General Lee's Army.

" I was on General 's staff, in the Valley of Virginia. We had gone into winter-quarters, and except
an occasional rencontre with the guerrillas, but little occurred to break the monotony of our daily duties.

" One day, while visiting the picket line, I noticed a very neat looking cottage about half a mile in front of our advanced line.

" You all know that to a soldier in the field, a house is always an object of peculiar interest : there may be fresh edibles obtainable there,-or quarters, or information, or good water; or there may be a pretty face about the premises,-a thing by no means objectionable, anywhere, and which is well calculated to improve the morale of fighting-men.

" Well, I was seized with an irrepressible desire to ride over to this house, and would have yielded to it had I not feared exposing myself to a reprimand for passing unnecessarily beyond the lines. One morning, however, being informed by Captain W who was on duty at the picket line, that suspicious sounds, indicative of the presence of cavalry, had been heard the previous night in that direction, I at once gave the affair an air of great importance, and directed the Captain, with a few men, to accompany me to the cottage, that we might ascertain something more positive about the matter. When near the house we placed the men in ambush in a convenient place, and proceeded, the Captain and myself, to take a closer view of the premises. We failed to discover any indications of the recent presence of the enemy; nor did we succeed in attracting any of the inmates to the windows, notwithstanding that we talked in a loud voice, coughed boisterously, and slammed the garden gate with premeditated violence.

" Captain W and myself were old and tried friends : we held a short council of war, and arrived at the conclusion that it was our duty to ascertain something about the inmates of this mysterious domicile.

" Acting upon this decision, we mounted the steps of the pretty little verandah, and knocked, in a soldier-like and official manner, at the main door. It was not until the third application of our knuckles, administered crescendo, that the door betrayed any symptoms of animation ; when it did so, we were not a little disappointed at discovering that its mobility was due to a lank and shrivelled hand, to which was attached an elderly gentleman in a broad-brimmed felt hat and intensely green spectacles.

" We did not, of course, state the real object of our visit ; we had recourse to the usual expedient,-an interrogatory as to the possibility of purchasing fresh milk and vegetables. The old gentleman, notwithstanding his apparent gentility, was so cold in his manner, and so crusty in his replies, that the necessity of beating an awkward and precipitate retreat became obviously imperative. We were on the point of doing so, when I observed one of the parlor curtains drawn gently aside, and a most angelic female face peep out modestly at us.

"Had I been suddenly struck in the pit of the stomach by a thirty-two pound solid shot, I could not have experienced a more violent shock !

"I was always a great ladies' man ; indeed, to be candid, that is my weak point, and I can trace back nearly every casualty and contretemps of my life to my experiences with the fair sex. Captain W , who bad been also just attacked in his weak point, stood like myself, staring stupidly at the lovely visitation in the parlor window, and, in all human probability, neither one of us would ever have taken any further notice of the old gentleman, had not he also turned toward it, and ordered back the fair vision with an authoritative wave of his bony and wrinkled hand.

" I felt as though I could, at that moment, have condensed the old fellow, spectacles and all, into the crown of his hat, had not so insane a purpose been checked by the timely reflection that he might be the legitimate author of that beautiful creation, and that so sanguinary a proceeding might be calculated to impair my prospects of winning her good graces. I, therefore, changed from an offensive, rather to a defensive system of tactics. All my efforts in that direction, however, proved futile, and when I left, a quarter of an hour later, the old porcupine was as bristling and forbidding as ever.

" On our way back to our lines, not a word with reference to the exquisite creature we had beheld, passed between W and myself. You can readily surmise how it was : we were already rivals. Unfortunately for me, W was remarkably handsome, very clever, and shrewd as a fox.

I could not, during several days, drive away that beautiful vision from my brain ; it haunted me constantly ; it pursued me night and day ; as I stood time after time, gazing at the pretty cottage from our lines, I often imagined I could distinguish a white handkerchief waved to and fro among the evergreens which fenced the little garden, and more than once, on such occasions, I had Wistar's Lozenges recommended to me as an infallible specific for a severe cold in the head.

" I dreamed of that fatal beauty every night. Sometimes I would dream that the sky was a huge parlor window, and that between two curtains of fleecy
cloud, suddenly parted by a gush of wind, her blushing face looked out, and smiled upon me: some mornings this pleasant hallucination would be due to the sun, which as it rose shone full in my face,--or it would be Joe, my colored boy, who would suddenly throw open the tent flaps to call me to breakfast.

" It was not long before I found an excuse for going again to the cottage. This time I slid not wait to be invited into the house ; the fair angel was in the parlor ; I had given my name to the old gentleman ; lie could not do less than to say : `Captain , my daughter, sir.' Thus was I rewarded with her acquaintance for my consummate impudence. What a lucky dog I thought myself, to be sure ! I did not feel quite so well satisfied, however, when during our pleasant little chat, she mentioned quite familiarly, the name of Captain W . So, so, thought I, that rascal has forestalled me !

"I will not weary you with a detailed account of all the cunning stratagems I had recourse to, in order to advance my suit ; suffice it to say that I seemed to have made a most decided impression upon the lovely girl,-at least, so my vanity interpreted her tender manner, and her encouraging smiles. One fact I was confident of : I had ousted IV-, and had driven him completely from the field. That painful and awkward coolness which arises between the best friends when there is a contest between them for a woman's heart, had sprung up between us ; we were quite shy of each other ; we never alluded, even distantly, to the pretty cottage or the precious jewel it contained.

" Well, the affair continued to prosper in the most charming manner for me ; I had, now and then, a stolen interview with my lovely tormentor, in which I must admit, in justice to her modesty, that she always compelled me to speak to her from the opposite side of the hedge. I deemed her a model of angelic purity and feminine reserve, and these precious qualities of course added a keener zest to my tender passion. After a time, however, I insisted on a clandestine interview without a hedge ; she objected emphatically, but tenderly ; I pressed my advantage, and opened every battery I could bring into position,--she wavered,--I charged with all my cavalry, and, after a desperate resistance, she finally consented to grant me an interview, such as I solicited. This meeting was to take place in the parlor, the following evening.

" There is no hedge in the parlor, dreamed I, as I returned to our lines; I will propose to her, and who knows, after the war, what may come of it. It was so romantic to be loved by a beautiful enemy (for she was the rankest kind of ` Secesh') ; and the personal peril of these secret interviews,-it was so exciting and exhilarating

" The day following was one, to me, of the greatest nervous agitation ; the hours seemed days-the day a week. I met W early in the evening ; lie evidently observed my nervous condition, and it seemed to render him quite nervous also-poor fellow ! I pitied him; it was a shame to `cut him out;' but how could I help it ? Are we to be expected to control the hurricane blasts of love ? Are its volcanic fires to be extinguished with a mouthful of water ? Are its seething whirlpools to be stilled by a drop of sweet oil ? Are its alpine avalanches to be staid with the toe of one's boot ? Of course not ! Oh, had he only suspected what happiness awaited me that night I could not repress a commiserative smile. He smiled too (of course it was in defiance).
 
" At last, night came-a beautiful night ! There was no moon, to be sure,-but then, after all, moonlight is so hackneyed ; there were, instead, innumerable stars-delicious, poetical stars, so like an enchanted shower of silver rain, spell-bound in space !

" I had my confidential orderly with me; I ambushed him in a wood near the cottage, and proceeded alone, as was my wont. How fast my heart throbbed as I opened the garden gate ! It might be all a dream ! I dreaded, every moment, that my boy Joe would throw open my tent and wake me up for breakfast ! Might she not have repented her promise ? I was soon convinced of the fallacy of this last dire suspicion, for I descried her graceful form enveloped in a shawl, leaning in the half-darkness, out of the parlor window ; she saw me approach, and came, softly, to open the door for me. There was a little vestibule, through which it was necessary to pass in order to reach the parlor ; she whispered, `Follow me !' Follow her-follow that angel form-that celestial voice-yes ! to the very end of the universe would I have followed her !

" It was very dark, but I guided my steps by the rustle of her gown ; she opened the parlor door-I entered after her-I heard the key turn in the lock. ` Shade of Venus !' thought I, `this is more than my most sanguine anticipations could have led me to hope for !'

" ` Where are you ?' I whispered, with a tremulous and excited accent, natural enough under such peculiar circumstances.

" She returned no answer.

" I reached out for her with my hands. 11 I touched the door.

" She was gone !

" The door was locked-on the outside !

" ` Zounds !' I exclaimed, growing apprehensive.

`What can this mean ? Perhaps she only wishes to make sure that I shall not be disturbed by the parent in spectacles, while she perfects the arrangements for bur interview.'

" I waited patiently for awhile ; finally, I heard her step approaching the door again ; I had been listening, with my ear to the key-hole.

" She unlocked the door.

" Oh ! what a mysterious thrill of happiness shot through my heart.

" I drew back, that my previous apprehensions might not be suspected.

" She entered : I heard her step on the carpet. " The door iras locked again. " This was glorious !

" ` Dearest' I whispered tenderly 'at last!'

" I stretched forth my hand to clasp her own. " I did clasp it.

"Put it was not her's !

" It was a man's I Oh I horror I A rough, bony, hairy hand.

" ` What does this mean' I exclaimed indignantly,

` Who are you, sir ?'

The deuce !' answered the familiar voice of Captain W-.

" ` Is that you ?'

If I had accidentally stepped on a torpedo I could not have been more completely blown up !

What brings you here,' I demanded imperatively, as soon as I had collected the exploded fragments of myself.

" ` My dear fellow,' whispered he, ` I fear we have been most confoundedly sold.'

" ` What ? I shivered out ` a trap ?' " ` A trap,' shivered he.

" We were not long permitted to indulge in our gloomy vaticinations. After the lapse of a few moments, a stream of light suddenly shot through the key-hole of another door at the farther end of the room, and the old gentleman in the green spectacles entered, holding a candle, and followed by a dozen men in gray coats, armed to the teeth, and headed by a ferocious-looking officer.

" The whole frightful truth flashed upon us in an instant.

" We had been betrayed !

The officer advanced towards us pistol in hand.

" ` Gentlemen,' he said, levelling his weapon, `you are my prisoners!"

" For my part, I was so completely stupefied and thunderstruck by the startling occurrences of the last ten minutes that I candidly believe I would have surrendered unconditionally to the old gentleman, had lie come all alone, and simply armed with a broomstick !

" As we were being led out, I caught a last glimpse of a charming family group : my beautiful angel, laughing to kill herself, was pressed in the arms of the ferocious officer, who was calling her his darling wife! (Hang the fellow !)-The old gentleman was looking after us, holding the candle above his head, with the first, last, and only smile I had ever yet seen upon his crabbed, surly, and frigid physiognomy I

" Our feelings, as we mounted doggedly behind two of the Rebel troopers, I will not attempt to convey: shame, at the consequences of our dishonorable capture,-indignation at the base treachery of that beautiful fiend, tortured us into a vortex of agony which baffles all description. W and myself beheld in our common fate, a merited punishment for our common folly.

"But, fortunately, this awkward affair was not destined to terminate as fatally for our reputation as we at first had reason to expect.
The force which guarded us was small ; their horses, too, were evidently much jaded ; my orderly had in all likelihood heard, and suspected, what was going on ; we might yet be rescued.

So, indeed, it happened. We had not travelled far before the sound of horses at full gallop was heard behind us. Our captors quickened their own pace in proportion.

" Ere long our pursuers had caught up with us, and a brisk skirmish ensued, during the confusion and excitement of which, W and myself contrived to make our escape.

" The full history of our affair did not become generally known ; such encounters with Rebel guerrillas were of too frequent occurrence to excite much attention. Those who did learn the true history of it, however, gave us no rest for a long time afterwards, and many a joke was cracked at our expense.

"W- and I, became better friends than ever. Neither of us ever went near that cottage again, nor slid we ever after meet with any of its occupants ; indeed, a short time after our adventure, our forces moved up the valley to a new position-a change of locality upon which we congratulated ourselves heartily.

We had been taught a salutary lesson ; the moral of it is this :

"A Federal may sometimes, under peculiar circumstances, trust a Rebel man,-but a Rebel woman, never !"

As lie delivered himself of this excellent maxim, the narrator winked his right eye with an emphasis which must have caused a mysterious thrill to curdle
the heart of every rebellious female in the Confederacy.