ter rest she was requested by the Sanitary
Commission to commence a tour among the Aid Societies of the State, for
the purpose of telling the ladies all that her experience had taught her
of the soldier's needs, and the best way of preparing and forwarding
clothing, delicacies and supplies of all kinds. She felt it impossible
to be idle, and however disagreeable this task, she would not shrink
from it. The earnestness with which she was listened to, and the
consciousness of the good to result from her labors, sustained her all
through the arduous winter's work, during which she often met two or
three audiences for an "hour and a half talk," in the course of the day.
Her husband as usual accompanied her, and in the spring, with the
commencement of Grant's campaign over the Rapidan, they both went
forward as agents of the Sanitary Commission.

Through all this dread campaign they worked devotedly. They could not
rest to be appalled by its horrors. They could not think of the grandeur
of its conceptions or the greatness of its victories--they could only
work and wait for leisure to grasp the wonder of the passing events. As
Mrs. Holstein herself says: "While living amidst so much excitement--in
the times which form history--we were unconscious of it all--it was our
daily life!"

Of that long period, Mrs. Holstein records two grand experiences as
conspicuous--the salute which followed the news of the completion of
Sherman's "March to the Sea," and the explosion of the mine at City
Point.

With the first, one battery followed another with continuous
reverberation, till all the air was filled with the roar of artillery.
The other was more awful. The explosion was fearful. The smoke rose in
form like a gigantic umbrella, and from its midst radiated every kind of
murderous missile--shells were thrown and burst in all directions,
muskets and every kind of arms fell like a shower around. Comparatively
few were killed--many of the men were providentially out of the way.
Until the revelations upon the trial of Wirz, it was supposed to have
been caused by an accident, but then men learned that it was part of a
fiendish plot to destroy lives and Government property.

The summer of 1864 was noted for its intense heat and dust, but Mr. and
Mrs. Holstein remained with the army, absorbed in their work, till
November, when Mr. Holstein's health again failed and they went home for
rest. It was not thought prudent for them to return, an