sense; upon which he replied,--

"The old man is right ignorant; can't read the fust letter; never went
to school a day; but the old man is right sharp!"

He was fond of speaking of himself in this way. He thought education a
good thing, but allowed that all the education in the world could not
give a man sense. He was fifty years old, and had got along thus far in
life very well.

"I reckon thar's go'n' to be a better chance for the poo' man after
this. The Union bein' held together was the greatest thing that could
have happened for us."

"And yet you fought against it."

"I was in the Confederate army two year and a half. I was opposed to
Secession; but I got my head a little turned after the State went out,
and I enlisted. Then, when I had time to reconsider it all over, I
diskivered we was wrong. I told the boys so.

"'Boys,' says I, 'when my time's up, I'm go'n' out of the army, and you
won't see me in ag'in.'

"'You can't help that, old man,' says they; 'fo' by that time the
conscript law'll be changed so 's to go over the heads of older men than
you.'

"'Then,' says I, 'the fust chance presents itself, I fling down my
musket and go spang No'th.'

"They had me put under arrest for that, and kep' me in the guard-house
seven months. I liked that well enough. I was saved a deal of hard
march'n' and lay'n' out in the cold, that winter.

"'Why don't ye come in, boys,' says I, 'and have a warm?'

"I knowed what I was about! The old man was right ignorant, but the old
man was right sharp!"

We passed the line of Sedgwick's retreat a few miles from
Fredericksburg.

"Shedrick's men was in line acrost the road hyer, extendin' into the
woods on both sides; they had jest butchered their meat, and was ishyin'
rations and beginnin' to cook their suppers, when Magruder struck 'em on
the left flank." (Elijah was wrong; it was not Magruder, but McLaws.
These local guides make many such mistakes, and it is necessary to be on
one's guard against them.) "They jest got right up and skedaddled! The
whole line jest faced to the right, and put for Banks's Ford. Thar's the
road they went. They left it piled so full of wagons, Magruder couldn't
follah; but his artillery jest run around by another road I'll show ye,
hard as ever they could lay their feet to the ground, wheeled their guns
in position on the bluffs by the time Shedrick got cleverly to crossin',
and played away. The way they heaped up Shedrick's men was awfu