in the Libby; yet it was a
great thing to be occasionally warm.

The amusements of our new friends were striking, if not elegant. When
a dense crowd would gather round the fire, some mischievous Irishman
would cry out, "Char-rge, me boys;" and, with his confederates, rush
against the mass, knocking men in all directions, upsetting pots,
skinning elbows, and spoiling tempers generally. Fights were of
frequent occurrence, and it only needed the addition of intoxicating
liquor to constitute a perfect pandemonium.

The evenings were a compensation. After the turmoil of the day was
over, and most of those who had blankets had retired to rest, a party
of the worst rowdies, who had been annoying us all day, would gather
around the stove, and appear in a new character--that of
story-tellers. I have spent the greater part of the night in listening
to them, and have heard some of the finest fairy tales, and most
romantic legends. But the approach of day put an end to all the
romantic disposition of my companions, and left them ill ruffians as
before.

We soon wearied of this perpetual ferment, and petitioned to be put
below in the room with the Union men. After some delay it was granted,
and then came a more pleasant part of my prison life. The room was
large, but dark, and the windows not only secured by crossing bars,
but woven over with wires. The refuse tobacco-stems of the manufactory
had been thrown in this room, till they covered the floor to a depth
of several inches.

But to compensate for these disagreeable accompaniments of our new
apartment, it had a stove, and was warm; so that the terrible
suffering with the cold, which none can appreciate but those who have
endured, was now at an end. There was also good society here--nearly a
hundred Union men from different parts of the South--all intensely
patriotic, and many of them possessing great intelligence. In talking
with these men, and hearing their adventures and opinions, I passed
many a pleasant hour, and gained a great insight into the views of
Southern Unionists.

One of these, who became an intimate friend, was a Scotchman, named
Miller. When the war commenced, he was residing in Texas, and
witnessed the manner in which that State was precipitated into
secession. The first part of the plan was to excite rumors of a
contemplated slave insurrection; then the conspirators would place
poison and weapons in certain localities, and find them, as if by
accident.