University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER LVII.

October 5th.—A day of heat extreme. Tumbled in upon
me an old familiar face and voice, once Forster of a hospitable
Crimean hut behind Mother Seacole's, commanding a battalion
of Land Transport Corps, to which he had descended or sublimated
from his position, as ex-Austrian dragoon and beau
sabreur under old Radetzsky in Italian wars; now a colonel
of distant volunteers, and a member of the Parliament of Brit
ish Columbia. He was on his way home to Europe, and had
travelled thus far out of his way to see his friend.

After him came in a gentleman, heated, wild-eyed, and
excited, who had been in the South, where he was acting as
correspondent to a London newspaper, and on his return to
Washington had obtained a pass from General Scott. According
to his own story, he had been indulging in a habit
which free-born Englishmen may occasionally find to be inconvenient
in foreign countries in times of high excitement,
and had been expressing his opinion pretty freely in favor
of the Southern cause in the bar-rooms of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Imagine a Frenchman going about the taverns of Dublin
during an Irish rebellion, expressing his sympathy with
the rebels, and you may suppose he would meet with treatment
at least as peremptory as that which the Federal authorities
gave Mr. D—. In fine, that morning early, he had
been waited upon by an officer, who requested his attendance
at the Provost-Marshal's office; arrived there, a functionary,
after a few queries, asked him to give up General Scott's pass,
and when Mr. D—refused to do so, proceeded to execute

a terrible sort of proces verbal on a large sheet of foolscap,
the initiatory flourishes and prolegomena of which so intimidated
Mr. D—, that he gave up his pass and was permitted
to depart, in order that he might start for England by the next
steamer.

A wonderful Frenchman, who lives up a back street, prepared
a curious banquet, at which Mr. Irvine, Mr. Warre,
Mr. Anderson, Mr. Lamy, and Colonel Foster assisted; and
in the evening Mr. Lincoln's private secretary, a witty, shrewd,
and pleasant young fellow, who looks little more than eighteen
years of age, came in with a friend, whose name I forget; and
by degrees the circle expanded, till the walls seemed to have
become elastic, so great was the concourse of guests.

October 6th.—A day of wandering around, and visiting, and
listening to rumors all unfounded. I have applied for permission
to accompany the Burnside expedition, but I am advised
not to leave Washington, as McClellan will certainly advance
as soon as the diversion has been made down South.

October 7th.—The heat to-day was literally intolerable, and
wound up at last in a tremendous thunder-storm with violent
gusts of rain. At the Legation, where Lord Lyons entertained
the English visitors at dinner, the rooms were shaken by thunder-claps,
and the blinding lightning seemed at times to turn
the well-illuminated rooms into caves of darkness.

October 8th.—A. review of the artillery at this side of the
river took place to-day, which has been described in very inflated
language by the American papers, the writers on which
—never having seen a decently-equipped force of the kind—
pronounce the sight to have been of unequalled splendor;
whereas the appearance of horses and men was very far from
respectable in all matters relating to grooming, cleanliness, and
neatness. General Barry has done wonders in simplifying the
force and reducing the number of calibres, which varied according
to the fancy of each State, or men of each officer who
raised a battery; but there are still field-guns of three inches
and of three inches and a half, Napoleon guns, rifled ten-pound
Parrotts, ordinary nine-pounders, a variety of howitzers, twenty-pound
Parrott rifled guns, and a variety of different projectiles
in the caissons. As the men rode past, the eye was distressed by
discrepancies in dress. Many wore red or white worsted comforters
round their necks, few had straps to their trousers;
some had new coats, others old; some wore boots, others
shoes; not one had clean spurs, bits, curb-chains, or buttons.

The officers cannot get the men to do what the latter regard
as works of supererogation.

There were 72 guns in all; and if the horses were not so
light, there would be quite enough to do for the Confederates
to reduce their fire, as the pieces are easily handled, and the
men like artillery and take to it naturally, being in that respect
something like the natives of India.

Whilst I was standing in the crowd, I heard a woman say,
"I doubt if that Russell is riding about here. I should just
like to see him to give him a piece of my mind. They say
he's honest, but I call him a poor pre-jewdiced Britisher.
This sight 'll give him fits." I was quite delighted at my
incognito. If the caricatures were at all like me, I should
have what the Americans call a bad time of it.

On the return of the batteries a shell exploded in a caisson
just in front of the President's house, and, miraculous to state,
did not fire the other projectiles. Had it done so, the destruction
of life in the crowded street—blocked up with artillery,
men, and horses, and crowds of men, women, and children—
would have been truly frightful. Such accidents are not uncommon
—a wagon blew up the other day "out West," and
killed and wounded several people; and though the accidents
in camp from fire-arms are not so numerous as they were, there
are still enough to present a heavy casualty list.

Whilst the artillery were delighting the citizens, a much
more important matter was taking place in an obscure little
court-house—much more destructive to their freedom, happiness,
and greatness than all the Confederate guns which can
ever be ranged against them. A brave, upright, and honest
judge, as in duty bound, issued a writ of habeas corpus, sued
out by the friends of a minor, who, contrary to the laws of the
United States, had been enlisted by an American general, and
was detained by him in the ranks of his regiment. The officer
refused to obey the writ, whereupon the judge issued an
attachment against him, and the Federal Brigadier came into
court and pleaded that he took that course by order of the
President. The court adjourned, to consider the steps it
should take.

I have just seen a paragraph in the local paper, copied
from a west country journal, headed "Good for Russell,"
which may explain the unusually favorable impression expressed
by the women, this morning. It is an account of the
interview I had with the officer who came "to trade" for my

horse, written by the latter to a Green Bay newspaper, in
which, having duly censured my "John Bullism" in not receiving
with the utmost courtesy a stranger, who walked into
his room before breakfast on business unknown, he relates as
a proof of honesty (in such a rare field as trading in horse-flesh)
that, though my groom had sought to put ten dollars in my
pocket by a mild exaggeration of the amount paid for the
animal, which was the price I said I would take, I would not
have it.

October 9th.—A cold, gloomy day. I am laid up with the
fever and ague, which visit the banks of the Potomac in autumn.
It annoyed me the more because General McClellan
is making a reconnoissance to-day towards Lewinsville, with
10,000 men. A gentleman from the War Department visited
me to-day, and gave me scanty hopes of procuring any assistance
from the authorities in taking the field. Civility costs
nothing, and certainly if it did United States officials would
require high salaries, but they often content themselves with
fair words.

There are some things about our neighbors which we may
never hope to understand. To-day, for instance, a respectable
person, high in office, having been good enough to invite me
to his house, added "You shall see Mrs. A., sir. She is a
very pretty and agreeable young lady, and will prove nice
society for you," meaning his wife.

Mr. N. P. Willis was good enough to call on me, and in the
course of conversation said, "I hear McClellan tells you everything.
When you went away West I was very near going
after you, as 1 suspected you heard something." Mr. Willis
could have had no grounds for this remark, for very certainly
it has no foundation in fact. Truth to tell, General McClellan
seemed, the last time I saw him, a little alarmed by a paragraph
in a New York paper, from the Washington correspondent,
in which it was invidiously stated, "General McClellan,
attended by Mr. Russell, correspondent of the London
'Times,' visited the camps to-day. All passes to civilians and
others were revoked." There was not the smallest ground for
the statement on the day in question, but I am resolved not to
contradict anything which is said about me, but the General
could not well do so; and one of the favorite devices of the
Washington correspondent to fill up his columns, is to write
something about me, to state I have been refused passes, or
have got them, or whatever else he likes to say.

Calling on the General the other night at his usual time of
return, I was told by the orderly, who was closing the door,
"The General's gone to bed tired, and can see no one. He
sent the same message to the President, who came inquiring
after him ten minutes ago."

This poor President! He is to be pitied; surrounded by
such scenes, and trying with all his might to understand
strategy, naval warfare, big guns, the movements of troops,
military maps, reconnoissances, occupations, interior and exterior
lines, and all the technical details of the art of slaying.
He runs from one house to another, armed with plans, papers,
reports, recommendations, sometimes good-humored, never angry,
occasionally dejected, and always a little fussy. The
other night, as I was sitting in the parlor at head-quarters,
with an English friend who had come to see his old acquaintance
the General, walked in a tall man with a navvy's cap,
and an ill-made shooting-suit, from the pockets of which protruded
paper and bundles. "Well," said he to Brigadier Van
Vliet, who rose to receive him, "is George in?"

"Yes, sir. He's come back, but is lying down, very much
fatigued. I'll send up, sir, and inform him you wish to see
him."

"Oh, no; I can wait. I think I'll take supper with him.
Well, and what are you now,—I forget your name—are you
a major, or a colonel, or a general?" "Whatever you like to
make me, sir."

Seeing that General McClellan would be occupied, I walked
out with my friend, who asked me when I got into the street
why I stood up when that tall fellow came into the room.
"Because it was the President." "The President of what?"
"Of the United States." "Oh! come, now you're humbugging
me. Let me have another look at him." He came
back more incredulous than ever, but when I assured him
I was quite serious, he exclaimed, "I give up the United
States after this."

But for all that, there have been many more courtly presidents
who, in a similar crisis, would have displayed less capacity,
honesty, and plain dealing than Abraham Lincoln.

October 10th.—I got hold of McClellan's report on the
Crimean war, and made a few candid remarks on the performance,
which does not evince any capacity beyond the
reports of our itinerant artillery officers who are sent from
Woolwich abroad for their country's good. I like the man,

but I do not think he is equal to his occasion or his place.
There is one little piece of policy which shows he is looking
ahead—either to gain the good-will of the army, or for some
larger object. All his present purpose is to make himself
known to the men personally, to familiarize them with his
appearance, to gain the acquaintance of the officers; and with
this object he spends nearly every day in the camps, riding
out at nine o'clock, and not returning till long after nightfall,
examining the various regiments as he goes along, and having
incessant inspections and reviews. He is the first Republican
general who could attempt to do all this without incurring
censure and suspicion. Unfortunate McDowell could not inspect
his small army without receiving a hint that he must not
assume such airs, as they were more becoming a military
despot than a simple lieutenant of the great democracy.

October 11th.—Mr. Mure, who has arrived here in wretched
health from New Orleans, after a protracted and very unpleasant
journey through country swarming with troops mixed
with guerrillas, tells me that I am more detested in New Orleans
than I am in New York. This is ever the fate of the
neutral, if the belligerents can get him between them. The
Girondins and men of the juste milieu are ever fated to be
ground to powder. The charges against me were disposed of
by Mr. Mure, who says that what I wrote of in New Orleans
was true, and has shown it to be so in his correspondence with
the Governor, but, over and beyond that, I am disliked, because
I do not praise the peculiar institution. He amused me
by adding that the mayor of Jackson, with whom I sojourned,
had published "a card," denying point-blank that he had ever
breathed a word to indicate that the good citizens around him
were not famous for the love of law, order, and life, and a
scrupulous regard to personal liberty. I can easily fancy
Jackson is not a place where a mayor suspected by the citizens
would be exempted from difficulties now and then; and
if this disclaimer does my friend any good, he is very heartily
welcome to it and more. I have received several letters lately
from the parents of minors, asking me to assist them in getting
back their sons, who have enlisted illegally in the Federal
army. My writ does not run any further than a Federal
judge's.

October 12th.—The good people of New York and of the
other Northern cities, excited by the constant reports in the
papers of magnificent reviews and unsurpassed military spectacles,

begin to flock towards Washington in hundreds, where
formerly they came in tens. The woman-kind are particularly
anxious to feast their eyes on our glorious Union army. It is
natural enough that Americans should feel pride and take
pleasure in the spectacle; but the love of economy, the hatred
of military despotism, and the frugal virtues of republican government,
long since placed aside by the exigencies of the Administration,
promise to vanish forever.

The feeling is well expressed in the remark of a gentleman
to whom I was lamenting the civil war: "Well, for my part,
I am glad of it. Why should you in Europe have all the
fighting to yourself? Why should we not have our bloody
battles, and our big generals, and all the rest of it? This will
stir up the spirits of our people, do us all a power of good, and
end by proving to all of you in Europe, that we are just as
good and first-rate in fighting as we are in ships, manufactures,
and commerce."

But the wealthy classes are beginning to feel rather anxious
about the disposal of their money: they are paying a large
insurance on the Union, and they do not see that anything has
been done to stop the leak or to prevent it foundering. Mr.
Duncan has arrived; to-day I drove with him to Alexandria,
and I think he has been made happy by what he saw, and has
no doubt "the Union is all right." Nothing looks so irresistible
as your bayonet till another is seen opposed to it.

October 13th.—Mr. Duncan, attended by myself and other
Britishers, made an extensive excursion through the camps
on horseback, and I led him from Arlington to Upton's House,
up by Munson's Hill, to General Wadsworth's quarters, where
we lunched on camp fare and, from the observatory erected at
the rear of the house in which he lives, had a fine view this
bright, cold, clear autumn day, of the wonderful expanse of
undulating forest lands, streaked by rows of tents, which at
last concentrated into vast white patches in the distance, towards
Alexandria. The country is desolate, but the camps are
flourishing, and that is enough to satisfy most patriots bent
upon the subjugation of their enemies.

October 14th.—I was somewhat distraught, like a small
Hercules twixt Vice and Virtue, or Garrick between Comedy
and Tragedy, by my desire to tell Duncan the truth, and at
the same time respect the feelings of a friend. There was a
rabbledom of drunken men in uniforms under our windows,
who resisted the patrol clearing the streets, and one fellow

drew his bayonet, and, with the support of some of the citizens,
said that he would not allow any regular to put a finger
on him. D—said he had witnessed scenes just as bad, and
talked of lanes in garrison towns in England, and street rows
between soldiers and civilians; and I did not venture to tell
him the scene we witnessed was the sign of a radical vice in
the system of the American army, which is, I believe, incurable
in these large masses. Few soldiers would venture to
draw their bayonets on a patrol. If they did, their punishment
would be tolerably sure and swift, but for all I knew
this man would be permitted to go on his way rejoicing.
There is news of two Federal reverses to-day. A descent was
made on Santa Rosa Island, and Mr. Billy Wilson's Zouaves
were driven under the guns of Pickens, losing in the scurry
of the night attack—as prisoner only I am glad to say—
poor Major Vogdes, of inquiring memory. Rosecrans, who
utterly ignores the advantages of Shakspearian spelling, has
been defeated in the West; but D—is quite happy, and
goes off to New York contented.

October 15th.—Sir James Ferguson and Mr. R. Bourke,
who have been travelling in the South and have seen something
of the Confederate government and armies, visited us
this evening after dinner. They do not seem at all desirous
of testing by comparison the relative efficiency of the two
armies, which Sir James, at all events, is competent to do.
They are impressed by the energy and animosity of the South,
which no doubt will have their effect on England also; but it
will be difficult to popularize a Slave Republic as a new allied
power in England. Two of General McClellan's aides dropped
in, and the meeting abstained from general politics.

October 16th.—Day follows day and resembles its predecessor.
McClellan is still reviewing, and the North are still
waiting for victories and paying money, and the orators are
still wrangling over the best way of cooking the hares which
they have not yet caught. I visited General McDowell to-day
this tent in Arlington, and found him in a state of divine
calm with his wife and parvus Iulus. A public man in the
United States is very much like a great firework—he commences
with some small scintillations which attract the eye of
the public, and then he blazes up and flares out in blue,
purple, and orange fires, to the intense admiration of the multitude
and dying out suddenly is thought of no more, his place
being taken by a fresh roman candle or catherine wheel which

is thought to be far finer than those which have just dazzled
the eyes of the fickle spectators. Human nature is thus severely
taxed. The Cabinet of State is like the museum of
some cruel naturalist, who seizes his specimens whilst they
are alive, bottles them up, forbids them to make as much as a
contortion, labelling them "My last President," "My latest
Commander-in-chief," or "My defeated General," regarding
the smallest signs of life very much as did the French petit
maítre who rebuked the contortions and screams of the poor
wretch who was broken on the wheel, as contrary to bienséance.
I am glad that Sir James Ferguson and Mr. Bourke
did not leave without making a tour of inspection through the
Federal camp, which they did to-day.

October 17th.—Dies non.

October 18th.—To-day Lord Lyons drove out with Mr.
Seward to inspect the Federal camps, which are now in such
order as to be worthy of a visit. It is reported in all the papers
that I am going to England, but I have not the smallest intention
of giving my enemies here such a treat at present.
As Monsieur de Beaumont of the French Legation said, "I
presume you are going to remain in Washington for the rest
of your life, because I see it stated in the New York journals
that you are leaving us in a day or two."

October 19th.—Lord Lyons and Mr. Seward were driving
and dining together yesterday en ami. To-day, Mr. Seward
is engaged demolishing Lord Lyons, or at all events the British
Government, in a despatch, wherein he vindicates the
proceedings of the United States Government in certain arrests
of British subjects which had been complained of, and
repudiates the doctrine that the United States Government
can be bound by the opinion of the law officers of the Crown
respecting the spirit and letter of the American Constitution.
This is published as a set-off to Mr. Seward's circular on the
seacoast defences which created so much depression and alarm
in the Northern States, where it was at the time considered as
a warning that a foreign war was imminent, and which has
since been generally condemned as feeble and injudicious.

October 20th.—I saw General McClellan to-day, who gave
me to understand that some small movement might take place
on the right. I rode up to the Chain Bridge and across it for
some miles into Virginia, but all was quiet. The sergeant at
the post on the south side of the bridge had some doubts of the
genuineness of my pass, or rather of its bearer.

"I heard you were gone back to London, where I am coming
to see you some fine day with the boys here."

"No, sergeant, I am not gone yet, but when will your visit
take place?"

"Oh, as soon as we have finished with the gentlemen across
there."

"Have you any notion when that will be?"

"Just as soon as they tell us to go and prevent the blackguard
Germans running away."

"But the Germans did not run away at Bull Run?"

"Faith, because they did not get a chance—sure they put
them in the rear, away out of the fighting."

"And why do you not go on now?"

"Well, that's the question we are asking every day."

"And can any one answer it?"

"Not one of us can tell; but my belief is if we had one of
the old Fiftieth among us at the head of affairs we would soon
be at them. I belonged to the old regiment once, but I got
off and took up with shoe-making again, and faith if I sted in
it I might have been sergeant-major by this time, only they
hated the poor Roman Catholics."

"And do you think, sergeant, you would get many of your
countrymen who had served in the old army to fight the old
familiar red jackets?" "Well, sir, I tell you I hope my
arm would rot before I would pull a trigger against the old
fiftieth; but we would wear the red jacket too—we have as
good a right to it as the others, and then it would be man
against man, you know; but if I saw any of them cursed
Germans interfering, I'd soon let daylight into them." The
hazy dreams of this poor man's mind would form an excellent
article for a New York newspaper, which on matters relating
to England are rarely so lucid and logical. Next day was
devoted to writing and heavy rain, through both of which,
notwithstanding, I was assailed by many visitors and some
scurrilous letters, and in the evening there was a Washington
gathering of Englishry, Irishry, Scotchry, Yankees, and Canadians.

October 22d.—Rain falling in torrents. As I write, in
come reports of a battle last night, some forty miles up the
river, which by signs and tokens I am led to believe was
unfavorable to the Federals. They crossed the river intending
to move upon Lecsburg—were attacked by overwhelming
forces and repulsed, but maintained themselves on the right

bank till General Banks reinforced them and enabled them to
hold their own. McClellan has gone or is going at once to
the scene of action. It was three o'clock before I heard the
news, the road and country were alike unknown, nor had I
friend or acquaintance in the army of the Upper Potomac.
My horse was brought round however, and in company with
Mr. Anderson, I rode out of Washington along the river till
the falling evening warned us to retrace our steps, and we returned
in pelting rain as we set out, and in pitchy darkness,
without meeting any messenger or person with news from the
battle-field. Late at night the White House was placed in
deep grief by the intelligence that, in addition to other losses,
Brigadier and Senator Baker of California was killed. The
President was inconsolable, and walked up and down his room
for hours lamenting the loss of his friend. Mrs. Lincoln's
grief was equally poignant. Before bed-time I told the German
landlord to tell my servant I wanted my horse round at
seven o'clock.

October 23d.—Up at six, waiting for horse and man. At
eight walked down to stables. No one there. At nine became
very angry—sent messengers in all directions. At ten was
nearly furious, when, at the last stroke of the clock, James,
with his inexpressive countenance, perfectly calm nevertheless,
and betraying no symptom of solicitude, appeared at the door
leading my charger. "And may I ask you where you have
been till this time?" "Wasn't I dressing the horse, taking
him out to water, and exercising him." "Good heavens! did
I not tell you to be here at seven o'clock?" "No, sir; Carl
told me you wanted me at ten o'clock, and here I am." "Carl,
did I not tell you to ask James to be round here at seven
O'clock." "Not zeven clock, sere, but zehn clock. I tell
him, you come at zehn clock." "Thus at one blow was I
stricken down by Gaul and Teuton, each of whom retired
with the air of a man who had baffled an intended indignity,
and had achieved a triumph over a wrong-doer.

The roads were in a frightful state outside Washington—
literally nothing but canals, in which earth and water were
mixed together for depths varying from six inches to three
feet above the surface; but late as it was I pushed on, and had
got as far as the turn of the road to Rockville, near the great
falls, some twelve miles beyond Washington, when I met an
officer with a couple of orderlies, hurrying back from General
Banks's head-quarters, who told me the whole affair was over,

and that I could not possibly get to the scene of action on one
horse till next morning, even supposing that I pressed on all
through the night, the roads being utterly villanous, and the
country at night as black as ink; and so I returned to Washington,
and was stopped by citizens, who, seeing the streaming
horse and splashed rider, imagined he was reeking from
the fray. "As you were not there," says one, "I'll tell you
what I know to be the case. Stone and Baker are killed;
Banks and all the other generals are prisoners; the Rhode
Island and two other batteries are taken, and 5000 Yankees
have been sent to H—to help old John Brown to roast niggers."

October 24th.—The heaviest blow which has yet been inflicted
on the administration of justice in the United States,
and that is saying a good deal at present, has been given to it
in Washington. The judge of whom I wrote a few days ago in
the habeas corpus case, has been placed under military arrest
and surveillance by the Provost-Marshal of the city, a very
fit man for such work, one Colonel Andrew Porter. The
Provost-Marshal imprisoned the attorney who served the writ,
and then sent a guard to Mr. Merrick's house, who thereupon
sent a minute to his brother judges the day before yesterday
stating the circumstances, in order to show why he did not appear
in his place on the bench. The Chief Judge, Dunlop, and
Judge Morsell thereupon issued their writ to Andrew Porter
greeting, to show cause why an attachment for contempt should
not be issued against him for his treatment of Judge Merrick.
As the sharp tongues of women are very troublesome, the
United States officers have quite little harems of captives, and
Mrs. Merrick has just been added to the number. She is a
Wickliffe of Kentucky, and has a right to martyrdom. The
inconsistencies of the Northern people multiply ad infinitum as they go on. Thus at Hatteras they enter into terms of
capitulation with officers signing themselves of the Confederate
States Army and Confederate States Navy; elsewhere they
exchange prisoners; at New York they are going through the
farce of trying the crew of a C. S. privateer, as pirates engaged
in robbing on the high seas, on "the authority of a pretended
letter of marque from one Jefferson Davis." One Jeff Davis
is certainly quite enough for them at present.

Colonel and Senator Baker was honored by a ceremonial
which was intended to be a public funeral, rather out of compliment
to Mr. Lincoln's feelings, perhaps, than to any great

attachment for the man himself, who fell gallantly fighting near
Leesburg. There is need for a republic to contain some elements
of an aristocracy if it would make that display of pomp
and ceremony which a public funeral should have to produce
effect. At all events there should be some principle of reverence
in the heads and hearts of the people, to make up for
other deficiencies in it as a show, or a ceremony. The procession
down Pennsylvania Avenue was a tawdry, shabby
string of hack carriages, men in light coats and white hats following
the hearse, and three regiments of foot-soldiers, of
which one was simply an uncleanly, unwholesome looking rabble.
The President, in his carriage, and many of the ministers
and senators, attended also, and passed through unsympathetic
lines of people on the curbstones, not one of whom
raised his hat to the bier as it passed, or to the President, except
a couple of Englishmen and myself who stood in the
crowd, and that proceeding on our part gave rise to a variety
of remarks among the by-standers. But as the band turned
into Pennsylvania Avenue, playing something like the minuet
de la cour in Don Giovanni, two officers in uniform came riding
up in the contrary direction; they were smoking cigars;
one of them let his fall on the ground, the other smoked lustily
as the hearse passed, and reining up his horse, continued to
puff his weed under the nose of President, ministers, and senators,
with the air of a man who was doing a very soldierly
correct sort of a thing.

Whether the President is angry as well as grieved at the
loss of his favorite or not, I cannot affirm, but he is assuredly
doing that terrible thing which is called putting his foot down
on the judges; and he has instructed Andrew Porter not to
mind the writ issued yesterday, and has further instructed the
United States Marshal, who has the writ in his hands to serve
on the said Andrew, to return it to the court with the information
that Abraham Lincoln has suspended the writ of habeas
corpus in cases relating to the military.

October 26th.—More reviews. To-day rather a pretty
sight—twelve regiments, sixteen guns, and a few squads of
men with swords and pistols on horseback, called cavalry,
comprising Fitz-John Porter's division. McClellan seemed
to my eyes crestfallen and moody to-day. Bright eyes looked
on him; he is getting up something like a staff, among which
are the young French princes, under the tutelage of their uncle,
the Prince of Joinville. Whilst McClellan is reviewing, our

Romans in Washington are shivering; for the blockade of the
Potomac by the Confederate batteries stops the fuel boats.
Little care these enthusiastic young American patriots in crinoline,
who have come to see McClellan and the soldiers, what
a cord of wood costs. The lower orders are very angry
about it however. The nuisance and disorder arising from
soldiers, drunk and sober, riding full gallop down the streets,
and as fast as they can round the corners, has been stopped,
by placing mounted sentries at the principal points in all the
thoroughfares. The "officers" were worse than the men;
the papers this week contain the account of two accidents, in
one of which a colonel, in another a major, was killed by falls
from horseback, in furious riding in the city.

Forgetting all about this fact, and spurring home pretty fast
along an unfrequented road, leading from the ferry at Georgetown
into the city, I was nearly spitted by a "dragoon," who
rode at me from under cover of a house, and shouted "stop,"
just as his sabre was within a foot of my head. Fortunately
his horse, being aware that if it ran against mine it might be
injured, shied, and over went dragoon, sabre and all, and off
went his horse, but as the trooper was able to run after it, I
presume he was not the worse; and I went on my way rejoicing.

McClellan has fallen very much in my opinion since the
Leesburg disaster. He went to the spot, and with a little—
nay, the least—promptitude and ability could have turned the
check into a successful advance, in the blaze of which the
earlier repulse would have been forgotten. It is whispered
that General Stone, who ordered the movement, is guilty of
treason—a common crime of unlucky generals—at all events
he is to be displaced, and will be put under surveillance. The
orders he gave are certainly very strange.

The official right to fib, I presume, is very much the same
all over the world, but still there is more dash about it in the
States, I think, than elsewhere. "Blockade of the Potomac!"
exclaims an official of the Navy Department. "What are
you talking of? The Department has just heard that a few
Confederates have been practising with a few light field-pieces
from the banks, and has issued orders to prevent it in future."
"Defeat at Leesburg!" cries little K—, of McClellan's
staff, "nothing of the kind. We drove the Confederates at
all points, retained our position on the right bank, and only
left it when we pleased, having whipped the enemy so severely

they never showed since." "Any news, Mr. Cash, in the
Treasury to-day?" "Nothing, sir, except that Mr. Chase is
highly pleased with everything; he's only afraid of having too
much money, and being troubled with his balances." "The
State Department all right, Mr. Protocol?" "My dear sir!
delightful! with everybody, best terms. Mr. Seward and the
Count are managing delightfully; most friendly assurances;
Guatemala particularly; yes, and France too. Yes, I may
say France too; not the smallest difficulty at Honduras; altogether,
with the assurances of support we are getting, the
Minister thinks the whole affair will be settled in thirty days;
no joking, I assure you; thirty days this time positively. Say
for exactness on or about December 5th." The canvas-backs
are coming in, and I am off for a day or two to escape reviews
and abuse, and to see something of the famous wild-fowl shooting
on the Chesapeake.

October 27th.—After church, I took a long walk round by
the commissariat wagons, where there is, I think, as much
dirt, bad language, cruelty to animals, and waste of public
money, as can be conceived. Let me at once declare my
opinion that the Americans, generally, are exceedingly kind
to their cattle; but there is a hybrid race of ruffianly wagoners
here, subject to no law or discipline, and the barbarous
treatment inflicted on the transport animals is too bad even
for the most unruly of mules. I mentioned the circumstance
to General McDowell, who told me that by the laws of the
United States there was no power to enlist a man for commissariat
or transport duty.

October 28th.—Telegraphed to my friend at Baltimore
that I was ready for the ducks. The Legation going to Mr.
Kortwright's marriage at Philadelphia. Started with Lamy
at six o'clock for Baltimore; to Gilmore House; thence to
club. Every person present said that in my letter on Maryland
I had understated the question, as far as Southern sentiments
were concerned. In the club, for example, there are
not six Union men at the outside. General Dix has fortified
Federal Hill very efficiently, and the heights over Fort McHenry
are bristling with cannons, and display formidable
earthworks; it seems to be admitted that, but for the action
of the Washington Government, the Legislature would pass
an ordinance of Secession. Gilmore House—old-fashioned,
good bedrooms. Scarcely had I arrived in the passage, than
a man ran off with a paragraph to the papers that Dr. Russell

had come for the purpose of duck-shooting; and, hearing that
I was going with Taylor, put in that I was going to Taylor's
Ducking Shore. It appears that there are considerable numbers
of these duck-clubs in the neighborhood of Baltimore.
The canvas-back ducks have come in, but they will not be in
perfection until the 10th of November; their peculiar flavor
is derived from a water-plant called wild celery. This lies at
the depth of several feet, sometimes nine or ten, and the birds
dive for it.

October 29th.—At ten started for the shooting ground,
Carroll's Island; my companion, Mr. Pennington, drove me
in a light trap, and Mr. Taylor and Lamy came with Mr.
Tucker Carroll,[1] along with guns, &c. Passed out towards
the sea, a long height commanding a fine view of the river;
near this was fought the battle with the English, at which the
"Baltimore defenders" admit they ran away. Mr. Pennington's
father says he can answer for the speed of himself and
his companions, but still the battle was thought to be glorious.
Along the posting road to Philadelphia, passed the Blue Ball
Tavern; on all sides except the left, great wooded lagoons
visible, swarming with ducks; boats are forbidden to fire upon
the birds, which are allured by wooden decoys. Crossed the
Philadelphia Railway three times; land poor, covered with
undergrowths and small trees, given up to Dutch and Irish
and free niggers. Reached the duck-club-house in two hours
and a half; substantial farm-house, with out-offices, on a strip
of land surrounded by water; Gunpowder River, Saltpetre
River, facing Chesapeake; on either side lakes and tidal
water; the owner, Slater, an Irishman, reputed very rich,
selfmade. Dinner at one o'clock; any number of canvasback
ducks, plentiful joints; drink whiskey; company, Swan,
Howard, Duval, Morris, and others, also extraordinary specimen
named Smith, believed never to wash except in rain or
by accidental sousing in the river. Went out for afternoon
shooting; birds wide and high; killed seventeen; back to
supper at dusk. McDonald and a guitar came over; had a
negro dance; and so to bed about twelve. Lamy got single
bed; I turned in with Taylor, as single beds are not permitted
when the house is full.

October 30th.—A light, a grim man, and a voice in the
room at four, A. M., awaken me; I am up first; breakfast; more
duck, eggs, meat, mighty cakes, milk; to the gun-house, already

hung with ducks, and then tramp to the "blinds" with Smith,
who talked of the Ingines and wild sports in far Minnesota.
As morning breaks, very red and lovely, dark visions and long
streaky clouds appear, skimming along from bay or river. The
men in the blinds, which are square enclosures of reeds about
4 1/2 feet high, call out "Bay," "River," according to the direction
from which the ducks are coming. Down we go in blinds;
they come; puffs of smoke, a bang, a volley; one bird falls
with flop; another by degrees drops, and at last smites the
sea; there are five down; in go the dogs. "Who shot that?"
"I did." "Who killed this?" "That's Tucker's!" "A good
shot." "I don't know how I missed mine." Same thing again.
The ducks fly prodigious heights—out of all range one would
think. It is exciting when the cloud does rise at first. Day
voted very bad. Thence I move homeward; talk with Mr.
Slater till the trap is ready; and at twelve or so, drive over
to Mr. McDonald; find Lamy and Swan there; miserable
shed of two-roomed shanty in a marsh; rough deal presses;
whitewashed walls; fiddler in attendance; dinner of ducks
and steak; whiskey, and thence proceed to a blind or marsh,
amid wooden decoys; but there is no use; no birds; high tide
flooding everything; examined McDonald's stud; knocked to
pieces trotting on hard ground. Rowed back to house with
Mr. Pennington, and returned to the mansion; all the party
had but poor sport; but every one had killed something.
Drew lots for bed, and won this time; Lamy, however, would
not sleep double, and reposed on a hard sofa in the parlor; indications
favorable for ducks. It was curious, in the early
morning, to hear the incessant booming of duck-guns, along all
the creeks and coves of the indented bays and salt-water
marshes; and one could tell when they were fired at decoys,
or were directed against birds in the air; heard a salute fired
at Baltimore very distinctly. Lamy and Mr. McDonald met
in their voyage up the Nile, to kill ennui and spend money.

October 31st.—No, no, Mr. Smith; it a'n't of no use. At
four, A. M., we were invited, as usual, to rise, but Taylor and I
reasoned from under our respective quilts, that it would be
quite as good shooting if we got up at six, and I acted in accordance
with that view. Breakfasted as the sun was shining
above the tree-tops, and to my blind—found there was no
shooting at all—got one shot only, and killed a splendid canvas-back
—on returning to home, found nearly all the party
on the move—140 ducks hanging round the house, the reward

of our toils, and of these I received egregious share.
Drove back with Pennington, very sleepy, followed by Mr.
Taylor and Lamy. I would have stayed longer if sport were
better. Birds don't fly when the wind is in certain points, but
lie out in great "ricks," as they are called, blackening the
waters, drifting in the wind, or with wings covering their
heads—poor defenceless things! The red-head waits alongside
the canvas-back till he comes up from the depths with
mouth or bill full of parsley and wild celery, when he makes
at him and forces him to disgorge. At Baltimore at 1.30—
dined—Lamy resolved to stay—bade good-by to Swan and
Morris. The man at first would not take my ducks and boots
to register or check them—twenty-five cents did it. I arrived
at Washington late, because of detention of train by
enormous transport; labelled and sent out game to the houses
till James's fingers ached again. Nothing doing, except that
General Scott has at last sent in resignation. McClellan is
now indeed master of the situation. And so to bed, rather
tired.