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at Washington Irving, which got under weigh and steamed till 9-1/2 p.m., when I changed into the boat Arrow, which steamed two miles up the Dismal Swamp canal, and passed by the wreck of the Fawn, which had been previously captured, sunk and burned by the rebels, and there came to an anchor. During the night I slept on a bench, with my boot for a pillow. Sunday, May 28, the boat Arrow left Coinjock at 5 a.m., and arrived at Norfolk, Va., at 1 p.m. I took dinner at the National House in that place. At 2-1/2 p.m. I took passage from Norfolk in the Louisiana, and arrived at Fortress Monroe at 3-1/2 p.m. We passed by the wreck of the rebel iron-clad Merrimac. At 5 p.m. the Louisiana got under weigh for Baltimore, where she arrived Monday, May 29, at 6 o'clock a.m.; and then I went by way of Philadelphia home, where I arrived about noon of May 30, 1865. The atmosphere never seemed to me more salubrious than at this time; the grass never appeared greener, the flowers never seemed to exhale more fragrance, and the people never seemed kinder. It seemed a perfect Paradise compared with the swamps of North Carolina. During the time of my "leave of absence," I met with the following men of note, all of whom are now dead: Hon. Thaddeus Stevens I met in the reading-room of the United States Hotel at Harrisburg, Pa., seated on a chair with his feet resting on a table, reading the newspapers, a number of files of which he had lying all around him. He would first glance at one file and then at another, till he had examined all. I have heard of two anecdotes told about him. One was, whilst meeting an enemy face to face on the street in Lancaster, Pa., his enemy said to Mr. Stevens, "I never turn out of the road of a fool." The latter said sharply, "I do," and passed around the former. The other incident occurred whilst Mr. Stevens was very ill in Washington, D.C. A friend visited him and complimented him on his appearance. Mr. Stevens very jocularly replied that it was not his appearance that interested him (Mr. Stevens) so much as his disappearance. I have since visited his grave in Lancaster, Pa., which has the following inscription upon the tombstone: Thaddeus Stevens, Born at Danville, Caledonia County, Vermont, April 4, 1792. Died at Washington, D.C., August 11, 1868. STEV
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