ated her dream, and he broke out into a laugh, saying:

"'Yes, but you see, massa got all he hands, all he fingers; dey all
dar--none done gone. Dat dream all good, kase, you see, he fingers all
right. O, dat's nuffin. De bug he be Sesh; skare you, dat's all; bite de
chilien little spec, dat's all.'

"We all laughed at the curious speech of old Ham, and yet he sat down
and commenced counting his fingers, and said: "'How many chilien yo'
got, misses?'

"'Seven.'

"'Ham became silent, and nothing more could be got from him on the
subject of the dream. He never spoke of the matter again to any of us,
except to Peter. I found after all was over that he and Peter had the
same interpretation--strange, yet so true."

"Uncle Daniel, what was the interpretation, may I inquire the second
time?" said Dr. Adams.

"It was very strange; but the interpretation is disclosed by the
casualties of war, and as we proceed you will recognize it. But to my
story: The rebel and Union forces were now confronting each other, and
each was constantly on the lookout for the movements of the other. About
midway between the camps of the two armies they were almost constantly
having skirmishes, sometimes with cavalry, and sometimes with infantry.
The successes were about equal. Peter related the story of an old
colored man, I presume something after the style of old Ham, meeting him
while he was making a reconnaissance with his regiment. The old darkey
was tall and very black, and was walking in great haste when Peter
called to him:

"'Uncle, where are you going?'

"'Ise gwine to de ribber, sah. Ise ti'd ob de wa', Ise been cookin',
sah, for de 'Sesh.' He say he gwine to whip dem Yankees on de
ribber,--dat dey am gwine to come right on and drive dem in de ribber
and drown dem like cats; dat's what he say, sho'. I heah him wid dese
old ears, I did.'

"'When did he say he was coming?'

"'Well, massa, he say he comin' right off, sah; he say he kill 'em an'
drown 'em all afore de res' ob de Yankees come for help dem; dat's what
he say.'

"'Who was it said this?'

"'Why, sah, it wah de big Gen'l--de one what boss all de res'; he name
wah Massa Sydenton Jackson. He say he kill all ob you stone dead--he not
leab one ob em.'

"'If he is going to kill all of us, you don't want to go to our camp and
get killed, do you?'

"'No, sah; I doesn't spec' to git killed; I 'bout 'cluded dat I wait
till de shootin' git goin' pretty libely, den I jes'