at
Bowling Green. The Yankees are well aware of our weakness, but they
intend to claim the astounding feat of routing 150,000 men with 100,000!
And they suppose that by giving us credit for such a vast army, we shall
not deem it necessary to send reinforcements. Well, _reinforcements are
not sent_.

JANUARY 24TH.--Beauregard has been ordered to the West. I knew the doom
was upon him! But he will make his mark even at Columbus, though the
place seems to me to be altogether untenable and of no practicable
importance, since the enemy may attack both in front and rear. It would
seem that some of the jealous functionaries would submit to any
misfortune which would destroy Beauregard's popularity. But these are
exceptions: they are few and far between, thank Heaven!

JANUARY 25TH.--The French players have been permitted by the Secretary
to leave the country. But _British_ subjects are now refused passports.

JANUARY 26TH.--President Tyler has been elected to Congress by an
overwhelming majority.

JANUARY 27TH.--The Secretary of War has issued such a peremptory order
to Gen. Wise, that the latter has no alternative but to attempt the
defense of Roanoke Island with 3000 men against 15,000 and a fleet of
gun-boats. The general is quite sick, but he will fight. His son, Capt.
O. Jennings Wise, who has been under fire many times already, commands a
company on the island. He will _deserve_ promotion. The government seems
to have proscribed the great men of the past and their families, as if
_this government was the property of the few men who happen to wield
power at the present moment_. Arrogance and presumption in the South
must, sooner or later, have a fall. The great men who were the leaders
of this revolution may be ignored, but they cannot be kept down by the
smaller fry who aspire to wield the destinies of a great and patriotic
people. Smith and Lovell, New York politicians and Street Commissioners,
have been made _major_-generals, while Wise and Breckinridge are
brigadiers.

JANUARY 28TH.--There must soon be collisions in the West on a large
scale; but the system of lying, in vogue among the Yankees, most
effectually defeats all attempts at reliable computation of numbers.
They say we have 150,000 men in Tennessee and Kentucky, whereas we have
not 60,000. Their own numbers they represent to be not exceeding 50,000,
but I suspect they have three times that number. The shadows of events
are crowding thickly upon us, and