corner of the
depot-yard we saw a train of seven or eight cars standing, apparently
unoccupied. 'There it is,' said Dr. S. ----. 'Why, it looks like any
ordinary train,' I innocently remarked, but I was soon to find out the
difference. We chanced to see Dr. Meyers, the Surgeon-in-charge, on the
first car into which we went, and he made us welcome to do and to give
whatever we had for the men, and so, armed with authority from the
'powers that be,' we went forward with confidence.

"Imagine a car a little wider than the ordinary one, placed on springs,
and having on each side three tiers of berths or cots, suspended by
rubber bands. These cots are so arranged as to yield to the motion of
the car, thereby avoiding that jolting experienced even on the smoothest
and best kept road. I didn't stop to investigate the plan of the car
then, for I saw before me, on either hand, a long line of soldiers, shot
in almost every conceivable manner, their wounds fresh from the
battle-field, and all were patient and quiet; not a groan or complaint
escaped them, though I saw some faces twisted into strange contortions
with the agony of their wounds. I commenced distributing my oranges
right and left, but soon realized the smallness of my basket and the
largeness of the demand, and sadly passed by all but the worst cases. In
the third car that we entered we found the Colonel, Lieutenant-Colonel,
and Adjutant of the Twenty-ninth Ohio, all severely wounded. We stopped
and talked awhile. Mindful of the motto of my Commission, to give 'aid
and comfort,' I trickled a little sympathy on them. 'Poor fellows!' said
I. 'No, indeed,' said they. 'We _did_ suffer riding twenty miles'--it
couldn't have been more than fourteen or fifteen, but a shattered limb
or a ball in one's side lengthens the miles astonishingly--in those
horrid ambulances to the cars. 'We cried last night like children, some
of us,' said a Lieutenant,'but we're all right now. This Hospital Train
is a jolly thing. It goes like a cradle.' Seeing my sympathy wasted, I
tried another tack. 'Did you know that Sherman was in Dalton?' 'No!'
cried the Colonel and all the men who could, raised themselves up and
stared at me with eager, questioning eyes. 'Is that so?' 'Yes,' I
replied, 'It is true.' 'Then, I don't care for this little wound,' said
one fellow, slapping his right leg, which was pierced and torn by a
minie ball. Brave men! How I longed to take our whole North, and pour
out its w