d, whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze up thy young body."
--Shakespeare.

"The death of my son Peter and my beloved wife cast such a deep gloom
over our household that it seemed we never could rally again to do
anything for ourselves or our country. Gen. Anderson returned to his
command a sad and despondent man. He had left Ham to look after things
for us at home, our family now being reduced to Jennie Lyon, Mary
Anderson, the two children, Ham, Martha and myself. We were lonely in
the extreme, and seemed, for some cause undis-coverable to us, to be
drinking the bitter dregs from the poisoned chalice. Ham and Aunt
Martha saw my distress and tried in their honest and simple way to
pour consolation into my soul. The little children, in their childish
simplicity, seemed to be the only fountain whence I could drink draughts
of comfort in my lonely hours of distress. Seraine came to our house to
attend the funeral, as Henry could not reach home in time to be with us
and see the last of his mother and brother. I wrote him by his wife and
directed him to remain. He came to Detroit terribly broken down with
grief, and returned, sad and dejected, to Canada. He was frequently
interrogated as to the cause of his melancholy, but parried it as best
he could.

"About the 12th of February he returned to Detroit, and, bringing
Seraine with him, came to my house. Our meeting was mixed with joy and
sadness. The ladies, as well as my myself, were very much gratified at
having dear Seraine (as we all called her) with us again. She conversed
so sensibly on the subject of our misfortunes that she made us almost
feel that they must be for our good.

"As soon as we could do so, Henry and I sat down to talk over the
situation in Canada and the schemes of the conspirators. He reported to
me all he had seen or heard on the question of the war, stating in the
beginning that there was no time to lose. When he found Wintergreen
they set out for a trip through Canada. After visiting many places and
meeting various persons from the South who had been in Canada for the
purpose of aiding in carrying the Presidential election in favor of the
anti-war or Democratic party, but who had not been able to return since
the election, and were waiting, Micawber-like, for something to turn
up, they had finally arrived at Montreal, where they again met Joseph
Thomlinson and quite a number of faces to them unfamiliar. These persons
we