s communication to the President still there, although marked
"_immediate_." And there are no indications of Mr. Walker's quitting
office that I can see.

AUGUST 22D.--"_Immediate_" is still there; but the Secretary has not yet
been to the council board, though yesterday was cabinet day. Yet the
President sends Capt. Josselyn regularly with the papers referred to the
Secretary. These are always given to me, and after they are "briefed,"
delivered to the Secretary. Among these I see some pretty _sharp_ pencil
marks. Among the rest, the whole batch of Tochman papers being returned
unread, with the injunction that "when papers of such volume are sent to
him for perusal, it is the business of the Secretary to see that a brief
abstract of their contents accompany them."

AUGUST 23D.--No arms yet of any amount from Europe; though our agent
writes that he has a number of manufactories at work. The U. S. agent
has engaged the rest. All the world seems to be in the market buying
arms. Mr. Dayton, U. S. Minister in Paris, has bought 30,000 flint-locks
in France; and our agent wants authority to buy some too. He says the
French statisticians allege that no greater mortality in battle occurs
from the use of the percussion and the rifled musket than from the old
smooth-bore flint-lock musket. This may be owing to the fact that a
shorter range is sought with the latter.

AUGUST 24TH.--We are resting on our oars after the victory at Manassas,
while the enemy is drilling and equipping 500,000 or 600,000 men. I hope
we may not soon be floating down stream! We know the enemy is, besides,
building iron-clad steamers--and yet we are not even erecting casemate
batteries! We are losing precious time, and, perhaps, the government is
saving money!

AUGUST 25TH.---I believe the Secretary will resign; but "_immediate_"
still lies on his table.

News of a battle near Springfield, Mo. McCulloch and Price defeat the
Federals, killing and wounding thousands. Gen. Lyon killed.

AUGUST 26TH.--What a number of cavalry companies are daily tendered in
the letters received at this department. Almost invariably they are
refused; and really it is painful to me to write these letters. This
government must be aware, from the statistics of the census, that the
South has quite as many horses as the North, and twice as many good
riders. But for infantry, the North can put three men in the field to
our one. Ten thousand mounted men, on the border of the ene