and if now I have obtained a
third, and higher one, it is because I have had the good fortune to
command good soldiers. The step upward in rank will simply increase my
debt of gratitude to you."

The officers responded cordially, by assuring me that they rejoiced over
my promotion, and were anxious that I should continue in command of the
brigade to which the Third is attached.

Charlie Davison can sing as many songs as Mickey Free, of "Charles
O'Malley," and sing them well. In Irish melodies he is especially happy.
Hark!

"Dear Erin, how sweetly thy green bosom rises,
An emerald set in the ring of the sea;
Each blade of thy meadows my faithful heart prizes,
Thou Queen of the West, the world's cush la machree.

* * * * *

Thy sons they are brave; but the battle once over,
In brotherly peace with their foes they agree,
And the roseate cheeks of thy daughters discover,
The soul-speaking blush that says cush la machree."

17. Dined with General Wagner, and, in company with Wagner and General
Palmer, witnessed an artillery review.

18. My brigade is still at work on the fortifications. They are,
however, nearly completed.

Shelter tents were issued to our division to-day. We are still using the
larger tent; but it is evidently the intention to leave these behind
when we move. Last fall the shelter tents were used for a time by the
Pioneer Brigade. They are so small that a man can not stand up in them.
The boys were then very bitter in condemnation of them, and called them
dog tents and dog pens. Almost every one of these tents was marked in a
way to indicate the unfavorable opinion which the boys entertained of
them, and in riding through the company quarters of the Pioneer
Brigade, the eye would fall on inscriptions of this sort:

PUPS FOR SALE--RAT TERRIERS--BULL PUPS
HERE--DOG-HOLE NO. 1--SONS OF BITCHES
WITHIN--DOGS--PURPS.

General Rosecrans and staff, while riding by one day, were greeted with
a tremendous bow-wow. The boys were on their hands and knees, stretching
their heads out of the ends of the tents, barking furiously at the
passing cavalcade. The General laughed heartily, and promised them
better accommodations.

The news from Vicksburg is somewhat encouraging, but certainly very
indefinite, and far from satisfactory.

19. Reviews are the order