, 1864-04-02
Astray At Rappahannools.

Rappahannock, u week before. Brave,
scrupulous, and loyal, all who knew him
well rejected Indignantly the imputation
that he had gone over to the enemy. lie
was Virginian, it was said, and must for.
sooth be falsc; his aflianced was the daugh-
ter of Confederate colonel, and to be true
in love, he must forswear his country.
Meaner men had superseded him in the
staff, and he had revenged himself by per.
jury and desertion. But though these pal.
try libels had obtained general circulation
and acceptance, we-his staff companions
who had known him in camp, in perilous
enterprise, and in the painful march, dc.
Tended his honor as our own.
We were sitting beneath the canopy OF
sly" of the meSs-tent, recreating ourselves
with whisky and pipes. 1t was the eighth
night since the departure of our comrade,
and we missed his ready jest, his loud, in
fectious laugh, his uniform courtesy and
generosity. The war had come at last to
Warren on Springs, and the enclmpments
of al immense army whitened the surround
ing hills. Federal sentries paced up and
down the massive portico Of the hotel can
non were planted in the lanes; cavalry
horses trampled garden and orchard and
the Spring was become lavatory for thou.
sands Of wanton soldiers.
We had been fortnight at the Springs,
and the monotony Of our tenure had been
varied by but single incident--the loss Of
Brock Edmunds. The circumstances re-
lating to his departure were mysterious and
alarming. He had been called to the gen.
erals tent late in the afternoon, and in
trusted with verbal order to one Of the
brigade commanders, whose quarters were
at Rappahannock, railway station on u
river Of the same name, eighteen miles dis
tant. He had reached his destination at
nine o'clock, delivered his instructions pune
tually, and obtained the countersign Of the
day. Returning, he had passed guard
five miles from Rappahannock, and had
stopped to light pipe at a picket.fire, still
further on, complaining in the latter case,
that his horse was tnfe lame. lie was,
to all appearance, sober, and expressed him.
self as resolved to get back to head quar-
ters by midnight. But, subsequently, no
man in the army had encountered him, and
traces of neither rider nor horse had been
discovered. though diligent inquiries were
made far aud wide. His capture by the
enemy was improbable, for our picket-posts
were SO close and continuous, that the lines
ware considered to be imperyious. No bo-
dies Of Southern troops were contiguous
and though the Virginians within the lines
were sullen and hostile, it was believed that
only few aged and infrm people remained,
as the young aud able bodied had departed
to Join the Confederate armies. The only
plausible alternative was, that Brock Ed
munds, knowing the location Of our pickets,
had avoided them, and escaped in the dark
ness to his Southern friends. The Rich
mond newspapers, however, which our out
riders brought in daily, made no mention
Of Captain Edmunds, and no recent priso-
ncrs had heard anything Of his dcsertion.
The conversation beneath the fly had
turned upon the absent one. Thirteen
young fellows were we, who had thrown up
our several professions at the call to arms,
and, unacquaintcd before, had met by as
sigume 1t upon General BIS staff. Five Of
US were Yankees, two were from New York,
four were fire gn adventqrers who loved
war for its own sake, and I was Pennsyl-
vanian Of Quaker descent.
Z" Keigh-ho!' said Wicklowe, turning OF
his fourth draught Of spirits, how We miss
Books jolly laugh.'
Camp has become so insuferably dull"
said Bigswig, that shall resume the old
biz, and throw up my commission"
Bigswig had been junior partner in a
dry-goods house, but took to the sword as
naturally as to scissors.
"If il isn't positive eoncei to repeat
anything that Brock--poor old boy-has
done 50 well before, will sing his Chicka-
hohiiny song" said Chockmer, ever anxious
to exhibit his vocal powers. Fa.
[" l pray &c" said Saint Pierre, with q
suPplicatory grimace, "do not, Monsieur
Chockmare." e...s
" Go on" said Wicklowe, drinking again !;
" any affection is preferable to this horri-
bic silence" l..5
As Chockmer's wheezy notes rang on
the night, ! saw the glare Of camp-fres
reddening the woods and sky; heard the
clatter Of bayonets at the hour Of guard
relief, and some Of the negro servants sing
ing sweetly sonorous choruses. The faint,
hollow roll Of distant drum blended mys-
tically with the rustic Of leaves overhead,
aud | saw in the dilnncss the cloaked and
stalwart sentry stridiIg before the generals
tent. A horse stood saddled in one Of the
broad graveled a;sles, and ] could hear the
" tick, tick, tick Of the telegraph instru-
mont in Sibley canopy adjoining.
Left'nant Miutlinr'.
l tcrned toward the voice, az the rcpeti-
tion Of my name, and recognized q tall,
athletic orderly. As l faced him, he re-
spectfully saluted, and said aThe gineral
nades ye, sir, immediately, at his quar-
The mess broke into loud laugh, antici-
pating that some onerous duty would de-
volve upon me.
There's twenty pages Of q report to
copy said BigswIg.
"I'll leud to you my leetle ekevaL, mon
ami" said Saint Pierre; you take one
dam journeyr'
"Hadn't you as well worry down another
smile before you goS" said Wicklowe,
copiously imbibing himself
| replied carelessly, refilled my nine, and