were still between us and
the enemy; and that moreover if they had met with disaster, there would
be fugitives enough very soon to tell the story.

We waited impatiently for orders to march; and waited, and waited, till
at length dawn began to flush; and by and bye, when it was quite day,
the column moved.

"The King of France, with twenty thousand men,
Marched up the hill and then--marched down again."

Back toward Harrisburg--one mile--two miles--three miles nearly; and
there by the road-side we halted. Was the enemy in pursuit? Were we
falling back to Harrisburg? Or what was the matter? Whether the halt
was for five minutes or for all day every one was in blissful
ignorance, including, very likely, our commanding officer himself,
Brigadier-General Knipe.

We were in a tributary vale of the renowned Cumberland Valley, a
beautiful farming country. Farm houses lay scattered along the road,
almost within hallooing neighborhood of one another. Although the order
was, on leaving the fort, that each man should provide himself with two
days' cooked rations, yet some, in the hurry and excitement of
departure, had been careless about it; while others had used their
supply improvidently. Thus it happened that on this the very first
morning after setting out, there were not a few hungry stomachs that
had to trust to luck for their needful provender. Beside this there was
a prejudice with many against "hard tack" and cold meat with spring
water to wash them down; particularly when brought into competition
with the possible supplies of a prosperous farmer's garden, cellar and
field. It was not strange therefore, that there were eyes which rested
greedily on every house we passed, nor that some of the men should
improve the earliest moment when we came to a halt, to run for a call
upon the nearest housewife.

Five minutes--ten minutes--half an hour--an hour; and still no move.
It is evident the halt is more than a rest. Shelter-tents and
rubber-cloths begin to appear along the fences, spread for a screen
from the sun. Every near tree has its crowd of loungers underneath. At
first it was only by the road side, but now the adjoining fields too
must furnish their contribution of shade. Further off yonder a company
of fellows are mixing promiscuously and socially among a herd of cows;
in fact there is amateur milking going on, it is evident. Do you see
that farm house three-fourths of a mile over yonder, glancing white