vilization, judged by our gregarious tastes, that one of the noblest
streams in the world should show to the traveller only here and there a
pleasant mansion, flanked by negro cabins, but nowhere a church-spire
nor a steam-mill. All that we see from Fortress Monroe to City Point are
ridges of breastworks, rifle-pits, and forts, lying bare, yellow, and
deserted, to defend its passage, excepting at James Island, where the
solitary and broken tower of the ancient colony holds guard over some
bramble and ruin. Here Smith founded the celebrated settlement, which
wooed to its threshold the gentle Pocahontas, and fell to fragments at
the behest of the fiery Bacon. The ramparts on the James will remain
forever; great as they are, they would hardly hold the bones of the
slain in the capture and defence. Four hours from Fortress Monroe we
pass Harrison's Landing, where two grand armies, _beaten_ aside from
Richmond, sought the shelter of the river, and at City Point quit our
large craft, to be transferred to a light draught vessel, which is to
carry the first mail going to Richmond under the national flag since the
beginning of the war.

City Point is still a populous place, and the millions of mules upon it
bray hoarsely; but we leave all these behind, as well as the national
standard, which flaunts over General Grant's late head-quarters, and
steam past the mouth of the Appomattox to go through the enemy's lines.

Henceforward every foot of the way is freshly interesting. The Rebel ram
_Atlanta_ in tow of a couple of tugs, goes past us with a torpedo boat
at the rear. She is raking, slant, and formidable; but "old glory" is
waving on her. Directly our own leviathan, the _Roanoke_ drifts up, and
all her storm-throated tars cheer like the belch of her guns. We see to
the right, the tip of Malvern Hill, ever sorrowful and sacred, and soon
a great unfinished ram careens by, which never grew to battle-size; the
true colors shine above her bulwarks like a flower growing in a carcass.
Then at little intervals there are frequent prizes from the docks of
Richmond, tugs, transports, barges, some of which show under our
beautiful banner the Rebel cross, pale and contemptible. These
malcontents committed as great crime against good taste in substituting
for our starry emblem this artistic abomination, as against law and
policy in changing the configuration of the Union. There is another
flag, however, which we see, half exultantly, half vi