Year: 1862

a simple but eloquent prayer, asking Gods bless
ing on the kind lady who deigned to notice thei
aflicton. And the memory of that prayer mad
that singer even more tender hearted and sh
who was the idol of England's nobility like th'
worlds great Master went about doing good
And in her early, happy death, when the grave
damps gathered over her brow, and her eye
grew dim he who stood by her bed, his brigh
face clothed with the mourning of sighs and tears
and smoothed her pillow, and lightened her las
moment by his undying affection, was the little
P ere of former days, now rich, accomplished
and the most talented composer of the day. Al
honor to those great hearts who, from their high
stations send down bounty unto the widow and
fatherless child.


View of Richmond and the Armies before


it from Mid Air.


/ Colonel loves balloon wassrecently stationed
near Gaines Mills, on the right center of the Fed
eral line and within six miles of Richmond. II
was in the air during the whole day, and in the
few hours it assembled, some thirty or forty army
officers observed the position of the enemys line
from the elevated point Of view it afforded. The
balloon is held to the ground by strong cord a
thousand feet in length, and of course ascends to
that distance above the earth. A pulley and
tackle arrangement, worked by men below, is the
mower used to pull it down, and being strongly
fastened to the earth, there is but little danger OF
the machines escape. The Colonel and his as
sstants very seldom ascend, officers and Others
with authority for the ascension being sent up by
twos and threes at time, and after few min
utes' stay, hauled down.


When the balloon has assembled at this point
to the end of its tether, grand view of both ar
mics is unfolded Within a circle Of two miles in
radius the sight is very perfect beyond that the
angle of vision becomes so nearly horizontal that
the woods, houses and hills materially interfere
with the view. The landscape has three marked
objects upon it, which are the first to strike the
eye The Chick ahominy, almost beneath ones
feet, bordered by its dark green swamps, runs
like thread from where it rises on the horizon,
away off to the northwest to where it blends with
the woods and hills in the southeast The James
river in front, though distant, runs in deep and
crooked valley, and bears on its bosom hundreds
of craft that in the distance look like white specks
upon the blue waters. Richmond, covering a
large portion of the western horizon, is, however,
the principal sight. 1t appears to the balloonist
as a confused medley of red, white and black and
heavy brown forti6catiohN stretching fom the
right to the left, with thick walls and plentfully
sprinkled with cannon, surrounding it on every
side. The Capital Square can hardly be dis
cerned being too thickly surrounded by buildings.
The white capital, however, is quite conspicuous,
and of course the stars and bars float over it
Three church spires, seemingly all in cne spot,
are the brightest part of the town, and catch the
eve almost before the observer is aware that he is
looking at Richmond But little else can be dis
tinguished, although for general view of the
town nothing could be better than that from the
balloon The space between the Chickahominy
and the fortfcations around Richmond is almost
filled with rebel camps. thousand cavalry
horses were pcketed in one field, and others were
scattered plentifully about. Wedge tents, used
by the officers, and little dog tents by the men,
shone in every direction as the suns rays struck
them Intrenchments and rife pits lined the front
of their position, though very few guns were seen
to be mounted Several guns of heavy caliber
are sprinkled along these earthworks. Rebel
camps however, are the most prominent of all the
sights. They show in every direction, and the
southern and western horizon seems to be their
only boundary.


OF our own position as seen from the balloon,
l must be silent One thing, however, in the
whole view, is most remarkable. Right through
the center of the picture runs curved belt of
dark green and yellow about mile wide. Not
a man, gun, tent or wagon appears upon it. 1t
is the line between the two armies. Over it can
non balls are thrown, and on its surface scouts
and pickets hide from each other, but no military
sign is to be seen upon it. Everywhere else,
stretching as far as the eye can reach, are the
Thousand and one things incident to war but this
broad, quiet, deserted belt of land, so lonely, SO
somber, varying only as it is swamp, or field, or
stream lies there so still that it almost inspires
the behoder. Jupiter's rings or Saturn's belts
never were a grander sight than this belt of land
on which nothing like tent or gun appears.-COr-
respondence Of the philadelphia Press.


FUTURE GREATNESS OF CALIFORNIA George
Barstow. in a speech at San Francisco on Sunday