thering fire into the enemy. With that fiendish yell which the Southern
soldiers invariably use in the hour of battle, they rushed forward with a
fury which was madness, and into which no fear of death entered.

"They are coming!" shouted Somers, as the legions of rebellion surged
down upon the line, yelling like so many demons, as though they expected
the veterans to be vanquished by mere noise. "Stand steady, my men!"

"That reminds me of the Russian advance at Magenta," said Captain de
Banyan, who happened to pass near the spot where Somers stood.

"The Austrians, you mean," replied Somers, trying to keep as cool and
unmoved as his companion.

"Excuse me; I meant the Austrians," replied the captain. "The fact
is----Forward, my brave fellows!" roared he as the order came down the
line.

The enemy had been temporarily checked, and the brigade advanced to
pursue the advantage gained. They poured another terrible volley into the
rebels; when a regiment of the latter, infuriated by whiskey and the
fierce goadings of their officers, rushed down with irresistible force
upon a portion of the Union line, and succeeded in making a partial break
in our regiment. The only remaining line officer in one of the companies
where the rupture occurred was wounded at this critical moment, and borne
under the feet of the excited combatants.

"Lieutenant Somers, take command of that company!" shouted the colonel,
as he dashed towards the imperiled portion of the line.

Somers made haste to obey the order when the line was giving way before
the impetuous charge. He felt that the safety of the whole army depended
upon himself at that momentous instant, and that on the salvation of the
army rested the destiny of his country. What was the life of a single
man, of a hundred thousand even, compared with the fearful issue of that
moment? It was the feeling of the young soldier, and he was ready to lay
down his life for the flag which symbolized the true glory of the nation.

"Rally round me!" he cried, as he discharged his revolver into the breast
of a brave captain who was urging his company forward with the most
unflinching resolution. "Down with them!" he shouted, as he waved his
sword above his head.

"Hurrah!" roared a brave sergeant near him, and the cry was taken up by
the gallant fellows who had been pressed back by sheer force of numbers.

"Forward!" shouted Somers, as he dashed down a bayonet, which would have
transfixed him