oard discussing affairs
in general; they were deploring the war, and expressing their hatred of
the Yankees for bringing "sufferment on us as well as our masters." Both
of them had evidently a great aversion to being "run off," as they
called it. One of them wore his master's sword, of which he was very
proud, and he strutted about in a most amusing and consequential manner.

I got into the railroad cars at 2.30 P.M.; the pace was not at all bad,
had we not stopped so often and for such a long time for wood and water.
I sat opposite to a wounded soldier who told me he was an Englishman
from Chelsea. He said he was returning to his regiment, although his
wound in the neck often gave him great pain. The spirit with which
wounded men return to the front, even although their wounds are
imperfectly healed, is worthy of all praise, and shows the indomitable
determination of the Southern people. In the same car there were several
quite young boys of fifteen or sixteen who were badly wounded, and one
or two were minus arms and legs, of which deficiencies they were
evidently very vain.

The country through which we passed was a dense pine forest, sandy soil,
and quite desolate, very uninviting to an invading army. We travelled
all night.

* * * * *

_27th May_ (Wednesday).--Arrived at Montgomery, the capital of Alabama,
at daylight, and left it by another railroad at 5.30 A.M.

All State capitals appear to resemble one another, and look like bits
cut off from great cities. One or two streets have a good deal of
pretension about them; and the inevitable "Capitol," with its dome,
forms the principal feature. A sentry stands at the door of each railway
car, who examines the papers of every passenger with great strictness,
and even after that inspection the same ceremony is performed by an
officer of the provost-marshal's department, who accompanies every
train.[36] The officers and soldiers on this duty are very civil and
courteous, and after getting over their astonishment at finding that I
am a British officer, they do all they can to make me comfortable. They
ask all sorts of curious questions about the British army, and often
express a strong wish to see _one of our regiments fight_. They can
hardly believe that the Coldstream is really dressed in scarlet. To-day
they entered gravely into a discussion amongst themselves, as to whether
British troops would have taken the position at Fredericks