--"Battle of Naseby."

The celebration of Christmas in the camps around Nashville was abruptly
terminated by the reception of orders to march in the morning, with
full haversacks and cartridge-boxes. The next day all the roads leading
southward became as rivers flowing armed men. Endless streams of blue,
thickly glinted everywhere with bright and ominous steel, wound around
the hills, poured over the plains, and spread out into angry lakes
wherever a Rebel outpost checked the flow for a few minutes.

Four thousand troopers under the heroic Stanley--the foam-crest on
the war-billow--dashed on in advance. Twelve thousand steadily-moving
infantry under the luckless McCook, poured down the Franklin turnpike,
miles away to the right; twelve thousand more streamed down the
Murfreesboro pike on the left, with the banner of the over-weighted
Crittenden, while grand old Thomas, he whose trumpets never sounded
forth retreat, but always called to victory, moved steadfast as a
glacier in the center, with as many more, a sure support and help to
those on either hand.

The mighty war-wave rolling up the broad plateau of the Cumberland was
fifteen miles wide now. It would be less than a third of that when it
gathered itself together for its mortal dash upon the rocks of rebellion
at Murfreesboro.

It was Friday morning that the wave began rolling southward. All day
Friday, and Saturday, and Sunday, and Monday it rolled steadily onward,
sweeping before it the enemy's pickets and outposts as dry sand by an
incoming tide. Monday evening the leading divisions stood upon the ridge
where Rachel and Fortner had stood, and looked as they did upon the
lights of Murfreesboro, two miles away.

"Two days from to-morrow is New Year's," said Kent Edwards. "Dear
Festival of Egg-Nogg! how sweet are thy memories. I hope the Tennessee
hens are doing their duty this Winter, so that we'll have no trouble
finding eggs when we get into Murfreesboro to-morrow."

"We are likely to be so busy tendering the compliments of the season to
Mr. Bragg," said Harry, lightly, "that we will probably have but little
time to make calls upon the lady-hens who keep open nests."

"We all may be where we'll need lots o' cold water more than anything
else," said Abe grimly.

"Well," said Kent blithely, "if I'm to be made a sweet little angel I
don't know any day that I would rather have for my promotion to date
from. It would have a very proper look to put in the