rate army, and father of MajorGeneral Fitzlem Lee, commanding a division.

Upon my return to the city from Drury's Bluff, I went on board the Richmond, or Merrimac No. 2, as she is more generally called, and I must say that the efforts made by the Southerners to attain perfection in the arts of shipbuilding, making gunpowder, and other munitions of war, reflect great credit upon the people and authorities. An indolent race, who, before the commencement of hostilities, despised all manual labour, and thought only of amusement and how to spend the money earned for them by their slaves in the pleasantest manner, have now shown that when a necessity for exertion arises, they not only do not shrink from it, but meet it nobly, sparing neither themselves nor their resources. Being destitute of workshops, they have had to create everything, and the makeshifts they have resorted to in many instances are most curious, and display an amount of natural talent which proves that it was not incapacity which kept thom from turning their attention to manufactures before. In discussing with Southerners the frequently-mooted subject of recognition by England, they invariably laid great stress upon the advantages which must hereafter accrue to us from having the Southern market thrown open freely to our manufacturers, as they declare that, with the exception of making warlike implements, they never wish to be more than producers of the raw material. I believe myself that they are sincere in saying this; but it would be imprudent to place any reliance upon such assurances. It is certain that after the war is over a large revenue will be required, and indirect taxation must be resorted to for raising it. A high tariff upon all imported goods will quickly give birth to manufactures within the country, which, if not started by Southerners, will soon be established by the Yankees, who are always alive

to the advantages to be derived from such a protection. I look upon all promises of free trade as illusory, even though it is said to be the true interest of producing countries to be able to buy manufactured goods in the lowest market. White labour, which is necessary in work where machinery is used, can be profitably employed in the border States and Virginia; and there can be no doubt but that the vast mineral resources, waterpower, and coal-beds of the latter State will ere long be developed. Even at this present moment there are several cotton-mills at work, and the iron-works increase daily in size and importance.

Having been furnished by General Randolph, the War Minister, with letters of introduction to General Lee, and the necessary passes, we left Richmond at seven A.M. by the Virginia Central Railroad, and reached Staunton about six o'clock in the evening of the same day. We crossed en route the South-west Mountains and the Blue Ridge the former at a pass through which the Ravanna River forces its way, and then, after running in a south-easterly direction, falls into the James River at Columbia. A canal runs nearly parallel with it within a couple of miles of Charlottesville, on which the produce of the highlands in its neighbourhood is brought down to the James River, and thence to Richmond. Immediately within the pass to which I have alluded lies the town of Charlottesville, distinguished as being the seat of the University of Virginia, which stands outside the town, and close to the railroad. The scenery from thence to the Blue Ridge along the line of railroad is as fine as any I have ever seen. And I fancy there is no spot on this continent where the beauties of a North American forest at the "fall" can be seen to greater advantage than in Albemarle county, Virginia, through the centre of which the railway passes. Valleys within valleys, and chain

after chain of mountains, were presented to view as we journeyed along, while the autumn woods, flushed with that hectic brilliance peculiar to the declining year, were hanging out their banners of crimson and gold, and displaying the deep red of the maple, and the vivid scarlet of the shumac and Virginia creeper, contrasted with every imaginable variety of brown, burnt sienna, and yellow,-the whole forming a series of panoramic views, in which the depth and richness of nature's colouring exceeded in warmth and loveliness even the finest of Claude's dreamy conceptions. When I add that the day on which I beheld these fair scenes was one of hushed unbroken stillness, with a radiant atmosphere spreading a golden glow over all things, and a sky of clear unclouded beauty, it may easily be imagined that this bright page of nature is painted on my memory in colours which will not quickly fade away.

On a hill commanding an extensive view of the surrounding country stands Monticello, the residence of the famous Jefferson, one of Virginia's most highly gifted sons, and remarkable even at a time when America could boast of great men and honest statesmen. Up to the year 1861, the history of the United States was only that of the rebellion of our North American colonies. This fact will strike the travelling Englishman before he has been a week in America; for wherever he wanders, his fellowpassengers in railway carriages or stages will invariably begin talking to him about Smiths, Browns, and Tomkinses in the same strain that we are accustomed to hear allusions made to the Pitts and to Marlborough or Wellington, and localities will be pointed out to him as being the spots where "Jones was raised, or where "General Thomson won some glorious battle fighting against the Britishers, &c. The bewildered Englishman, never having heard

66

before of any such men or events, tries to look very wise, and says, "indeed!" but the journey over, he vainly searches through a biographical dictionary for the notabilities of whom he has heard such honourable mention, and no record of the great battle" is to be found anywhere. Upon looking diligently over some old annals of the wars," however, he will eventually discover the details of the "glorious victory," in which the numbers engaged on both sides would not have made up a strong company. If this war has no other result, therefore, it will at least afford American historians something to write about, and save them from the puerility of detailing skirmishes in the backwoods or on the highlands of Mexico, as if they were so many battles of Waterloo or Solferino. In ascending the pass by which the railway winds its way over the Blue Ridge, the ascent is in some places so steep that it was only after several ineffectual attempts that the engine at last succeeded in dragging the train up. It stopped two or three times, and twice actually slid backwards for a considerable distance, and was only brought to a standstill at last by having every break in the train turned on. I don't believe that upon any line of railroad there is a steeper gradient, or one that is in every way more dangerous; the sharpness of the curves exceeded anything I had ever before seen, and the engine at several points seemed to be going at right angles to the hindermost carriages.

Staunton, a town containing about 4000 inhabitants, is now in a forlorn condition; no business doing there, and many shops closed altogether from the owners having sold off their entire stock, and being unable to lay in fresh supplies. I searched in vain through a number for a teapot or kettle of any description; and I had to go a long journey through the principal streets before I was able to obtain the very commonest description of clasp-knife,

for which I paid 2 dollars 50 cents, its real value being, I should say, one shilling. The town lies in a hollow, hemmed in on all sides by hills, and looks sufficiently picturesque when viewed from the high ground; but at present its streets present a melancholy aspect. Being at the end of the railway and the commencement of the turnpike road line of communication with the army, it has necessarily become an entredepôt for stores, waggons, and ambulances, &c. &c. Most of the best houses have been converted into hospitals, from which sick and wounded men seemed to be constantly coming and going, some from the front, others being sent off to the rear by the railway. Throughout the war it has been the practice to send all sick and wounded men who require time to recover to their own friends, where, of course, they receive the kindest treatment; and in this manner the regular hospitals have been greatly relieved, and the service in every way benefited. There is one hotel in the town called the "Virginia House," which, like all those on the army's line of communications, was crowded to excess, every little room being filled with men sleeping on the floor in all directions. The clerk in the office was an Englishman, who, taking pity upon his three compatriots, gave us a room to ourselves with three beds in it, although he was at first very anxious that we should only occupy two of them; one, as he affirmed, being quite large enough for two people, and he wanted to put a stranger into the third. A regular stage, drawn by four horses, runs between Staunton and Winchester. But as there are daily crowds of men going up along the road to join the army, many of whom have what is called "transportation" found them by order of the Quartermaster's Department, and all being very properly allowed a preference over civilians, we were informed that it was hopeless attempting to get seats unless we were content to wait several days for that

purpose. As time was a great object to me, and as we were all three most anxious to get to headquarters as soon as possible, this was not to be thought of, so we were determined, if the worst came to the worst, to walk the ninetytwo miles, trusting to get our small quantity of baggage taken on in some of the many supply-waggons going daily along the road. We most fortunately met a colonel in the railway to whom one of our party had been previously introduced, who very good-naturedly volunteered to assist us, and through his influence we succeeded in getting an ambulance-cart, one of a large number going up to carry back sick and wounded men. It was four-wheeled, covered over with a tarpaulin-hood, and drawn by two horses, the body of the cart being made to carry two men on stretchers, with room for another man beside the driver. It was mounted on very tolerable springs, but being one of a batch lately made in Richmond after the Yankee pattern, and having been hastily put together by unskilled workmen, its construction was so bad, and the wheels so weak, that I feel convinced the whole affair must have tumbled to pieces in one day's march over the ordinary country roads of Virginia. Very fortunately, however, the road down the Shenandoah valley is macadamised, being, I believe, the only regularly metalled road in the State. There were thirteen ambulance-carts in the train with which we travelled, all under the charge of an officer of the Quartermaster's Department. We had not proceeded more than about six miles when two or three of the carts had to halt at a smith's shop for the purpose of having the wheel-tires cut and reduced in size, the dry weather having so affected the new wood, that the spokes in some of the wheels were rattling loosely about like lucifer-matches in a box. This delayed us some two hours, so that we did not make more than five-and-twenty miles the first day, halting for the night

in a field a few miles short of Harrisonburg. The night was cold, with a very heavy dew, but we soon lighted good fires, and, squatting around them, made ourselves tolerably comfortable. The waggon would only admit of two sleeping in it, so one had to lie out with his feet to the fire in correct bivouac fashion. The country we had passed through during the day's march was highly cultivated with maize, wheat, and barley, of which, however, nothing but the stubble then remained in the fields. This valley of the Shenandoah and its tributaries is about the most fertile portion of the State, and by many called the garden of Virginia. The farms are extensive, with larger fields than in most of the other counties I had passed through; and in a number of places well-built walls of loose stone had been substituted for the usual snake and rail fences. Happy men those were whose fathers had thus enclosed their farms, for all the stone walls remained in perfect order, whereas many of the wooden posts and rails had disappeared altogether. Wherever a column had halted for the night, these posts had been used for firing; for, with every desire to protect private property, it is idle to suppose that men will see fine logs, cut regularly so as to burn well, around them, and yet go without a fire-the soldier's only solace and comfort in a bivouac. The country has been so long under cultivation, and land has become in that fertile region of such value, that nowhere is there even a belt of timber left; therefore an army marching along that route must either burn the fence rails, or go without fire. For all such injuries done to their property the farmers are well paid, and in many instances, particularly where men of Union sympathies are concerned, the Government are cheated by having to pay several times over for the same farms. As, since the commencement of hostilities, this valley has been the theatre of operations, it is now almost exhausted of supplies,

and it is so difficult to purchase even bread there, that I fear the residents will suffer severely this winter. The next night we bivouacked between Mount Jackson and Woodstock; and on the third night, though we had hoped to have reached Winchester by that time, we had not got farther than Middletown, about thirteen miles from it. It had rained all day, and the prospect of a bivouac was far from agreeable; but having fortunately halted near the village, we shouldered our baggage and marched for the inn there. As usual the place was crowded to excess, men even sleeping in the hall; so we, being tired, wet, and hungry, were consequently prepared to pay any amount that might be asked, provided we could only get a room to ourselves. It was a very dark night, and the street almost ankle-deep with mud, when my two companions, one carrying a candle, sallied forth in search of a lodging for the night, I remaining sentry over our traps the while. They were sent from house to house for some time, no one caring to take in three strangers, but at last a good old woman's heart was touched by our forlorn condition, and she consented to give us shelter. proved to be most kind and hospitable, giving us a good breakfast the next morning, and seemed quite disinclined to accept any remuneration for the inconvenience we had caused her.

She

The man who drove our ambulance was a soldier who had been wounded in one of the battles round Richmond, and had been sent home on two months' furlough to recover. He still suffered considerably, and was so weak from fever, superinduced by his wounds, that he could scarcely walk. I asked him why he did not remain longer at home, and he said that his furlough was and he would rather die than overstay it. He was married, and the son of a rich farmer, and not only had never done a day's work until he became a soldier, but was of that listless disposition which is

up,

erners.

so very common amongst the SouthHe had not sufficient energy even to make himself comfortable at night, or at least as comfortable as circumstances would admit of; but would lie down close to the fire as soon as it was lighted, and fall asleep without his blanket. We frequently urged him to take some care of himself, but without success; and the consequence was, that upon the morning after the heavy night's rain his clothes were drenched through, and his teeth chattering from fever. Careless, listless, and indifferent to his own comforts as this man was, yet, when spoken to about the war, he would change in a moment-he, and every man in the South, were prepared to die, he said, but never to reunite with the d-d Yankees; and, though unfitted by natural disposition as well as by his state of health for the hard life of a soldier, he still seemed determined to go where he thought his duty called him. Every day during our journey to Winchester we passed batches of convalescents marching to join the army, many of whom were totally unfit for any work. This, of course, spoke very highly for the men; but it evinced a great want of judgment on the part of the medical officers, for such men would be an incubus to any army, and, far from adding to its strength, would reduce its power of movement and action immensely. Each day we also passed batches of sick and wounded going to the rear; those totally unable to march being conveyed in ambulances, or the empty waggons returning to Staunton for more supplies. It was an extremely painful sight to see such numbers of weakly men struggling slowly home, many of them without boots or shoes, and all indifferently clad; but posts were established every seventeen miles along the road, containing commissariat supplies, for provisioning them. We also likewise encountered several long trains of guns and ammunition-waggons pro

VOL. XCIII.-NO. DLXVII.

ceeding to the rear, amongst which were most of the guns taken at Harper's Ferry. It was amusing to see "U.S." marked upon every waggon and upon almost all ambulance-carts which we passed. The North have not only clothed and equipped the millions of men whom they boast of having had at various times enrolled, but they have also similarly supplied the Southern armies. Into whatever camp you go, you are sure to see tents, carts, horses, and guns all marked with the "U. S." Officers have declared to me, that they have seen whole regiments go into action with smooth-bore muskets and without greatcoats, and known them in the evening to be well provided with everything-having changed their old muskets for rifles! The Northern troops have been so liberally supplied with all, and, indeed, I may say, more than a soldier wants in the field, that they do not value their knapsacks or blankets, and in action invariably throw them away before they "skedaddle;" knowthat if they succeed by their swiftness in living to "fight another day," their Government will provide them with a new kit, rifle, and all. About two hundred Northern prisoners passed us during our journey, and it was curious to observe the difference between their costume and that of their escort; the prisoners being well-clothed in the regular blue frock coat and lightblue trousers, whilst their mounted guard wore every variety of attire

jackets or coats, it seemed to matter little to them; and, indeed, many rode along in their shirtsleeves, as gay and happy as if they were decked with gold and the richest trappings.

In two or three places the road crosses branches of the Shenandoah river, and the bridges over it having been all destroyed by Jackson during his remarkable campaign in the valley, and not repaired since, we had to cross by fords, which at that season were never more than knee-deep. We reached Winchester at ten

B