n October that our
steamer, the United States, touched the landing at Hilton Head. A motley
assemblage had collected on the wharf,--officers, soldiers, and
"contrabands" of every size and hue: black was, however, the prevailing
color. The first view of Hilton Head is desolate enough,--a long, low,
sandy point, stretching out into the sea, with no visible dwellings upon
it, except the rows of small white-roofed houses which have lately been
built for the freed people.

After signing a paper wherein we declared ourselves loyal to the
Government, and wherein, also, were set forth fearful penalties, should
we ever be found guilty of treason, we were allowed to land, and
immediately took General Saxton's boat, the Flora, for Beaufort. The
General was on board, and we were presented to him. He is handsome,
courteous, and affable, and looks--as he is--the gentleman and the
soldier.

From Hilton Head to Beaufort the same long, low line of sandy coast,
bordered by trees; formidable gunboats in the distance, and the gray
ruins of an old fort, said to have been built by the Huguenots more than
two hundred years ago. Arrived at Beaufort, we found that we had not yet
reached our journey's end. While waiting for the boat which was to take
us to our island of St. Helena, we had a little time to observe the
ancient town. The houses in the main street, which fronts the "Bay," are
large and handsome, built of wood, in the usual Southern style, with
spacious piazzas, and surrounded by fine trees. We noticed in one yard a
magnolia, as high as some of our largest shade-maples, with rich, dark,
shining foliage. A large building which was once the Public Library is
now a shelter for freed people from Fernandina. Did the Rebels know it,
they would doubtless upturn their aristocratic noses, and exclaim in
disgust, "To what base uses," etc. We confess that it was highly
satisfactory to us to see how the tables are turned, now that "the
whirligig of time has brought about its revenges." We saw the
market-place, in which slaves were sometimes sold; but we were told that
the buying and selling at auction were usually done in Charleston. The
arsenal, a large stone structure, was guarded by cannon and sentinels.
The houses in the smaller streets had, mostly, a dismantled, desolate
look. We saw no one in the streets but soldiers and freed people. There
were indications that already Northern improvements had reached this
Southern town. Among them was