77. LXXVII.
WHAT I FOUND IN THE SADDLE-POCKETS OF MY
CAPTURED HORSE.
Before proceeding with my narrative, I shall call the reader's
attention to a discovery which I made on the morning succeeding
the encounter upon the Rapidan.
It will be remembered that my hat was carried away by a
sabre cut, during the night attack, and my horse killed. I
regained my own hat, but mounted somebody else's horse; and
when I came to examine the equipments, I found, from papers in
the side-pockets of the “McClellan-tree,” that the animal had
belonged to a Lieutenant Govran, of the Federal Army, no doubt
wounded or killed in the engagement. The papers alluded to
were chiefly private letters addressed to the lieutenant; and
what was my astonishment to find among them one directed in
the handwriting of my brother Will!
His letter was gay and rollicking—such as one youngster
addresses to another who has been with him at West Point. It
announced that the writer had just secured his transfer to the
cavalry; had made “a scout” in the direction of White Plains;
and had met, at the residence of a lady in that vicinity, a certain
Miss Henrietta Fitzhugh, with whom he had fallen desperately in
love! In every line of the letter I recognized Will. He was
evidently the same jovial, thoughtless, rollicking boy as before;
and his letter overflowed with fun, jokes, and rapture about his
new flame.
“But what do you think, Tom,” he went on, “the little ma'm'selle
just turned up her nose at my blue uniform, and would
scarcely speak to me. She is not more than sixteen, but she's a
perfect tartar, and, as the only way of standing any chance with
her, I believe I'll desert, put on a gray jacket, and enlist in old
Stonewall Jackson's band. I wouldn't be surprised if I had an
opportunity soon. Pope seems blind, and I predict Jackson
will be after him soon with a sharp stick. You can't think how
crazy my little
friend, Miss Henrietta, is about Jackson and
Stuart. She goes into ecstasies about 'em, and made me blue
to think I was fighting against them and old Virginia. Tom, I
would give my right arm if this —— —— war was finished!”
Will's adjectives preceding the word “war” I refrain from
recording.
Such was his letter. It was a curious way of hearing from
one's brother in the United States Army! But there it was; and
I hope I shall not be regarded as having violated “private correspondence.”
As I rode along I continued to reflect, not without sadness,
upon this discovery. Has the reader forgotten Miss Henrietta
Fitzhugh? It is probable. But I remembered her perfectly—
her gayety and abandon; her coquettish ways; and the clouds
and sunshine which alternately flitted across the pretty face
of the little witch of sixteen. For Will to have fallen in love
with her, complicated matters terribly. She was passionately
Southern in her feelings; and could not bear the thought of
even speaking to a Federal officer. That of all the maidens in
the whole wide world, my brother should go and place his affections
upon this little will-o'-the-wisp!
I put away the letter with a sigh, went to attend to my
duties, and tried to forget the whole affair. But still I kept
thinking of it.
