he feet of the maddened, howling crowd, were
entirely ruined; beds and bedding, mirrors, and smaller articles had
been carried away, the grand piano had had a fire kindled on the
key-board, as had the sofas and chairs upon their velvet seats, fires
that were, none knew how, extinguished.

Over all were scattered torn books and valuable papers, the
correspondence with the great minds of the country for years, trampled
into the grease and filth, half burned and defaced. The relics of the
precious only son, who had died a few years before--the beautiful
memorial room, filled with pictures he had loved, beautiful vases, where
flowers always bloomed; and a thousand tokens of the loved and lost, had
shared the universal ruin. So had the writings and the clothing of the
lamented father, Isaac T. Hopper--of all these priceless mementoes,
there remained only the marble, life-size, bust of the son, which Mr.
Gibbons had providentially removed to a place of safety, and a few minor
objects. And all this ruin, and irreparable loss, had been visited upon
this charitable and patriotic family, by a furious, demoniac mob,
because they loved Freedom, Justice, and their country.

After this disaster the family were united beneath a hired roof for some
time, while their own house was repaired, and the fragments of its
scattered plenishing, and abundant treasures, were gathered together and
reclaimed.

Mrs. Gibbons returned for a brief space to Point Lookout, where her
purpose was to instal the Misses Woolsey, and then leave them in charge
of the hospital.

Circumstances, however, prevented her from leaving the Point for a much
longer period than she had intended to stay, and when she did leave, she
was accompanied by the Misses Woolsey, and the whole party returned to
New York together.

We have no record of the further army work of Mrs. and Miss Gibbons
until the opening of the grand campaign of the Army of the Potomac, the
following May.

Immediately after the battle of the Wilderness, Mrs. Gibbons received a
telegram desiring her to come to the aid of the wounded. She resolved at
once to go, and urged her daughter to accompany her, as she had always
done before. Miss Gibbons had, in the meantime, married, and in the
course of a few weeks become a widow. She felt reluctant to return to
the work she had so loved, but her mother's wish prevailed. The next day
they started, and in a very short space of time found themselves amidst
t