confidence in the permanency of the Confederacy will be unshaken. How
must they feel who, in anticipation of Lee's defeat, had received, in
advance, a pardon from the powers at Washington!

Col. Lay was in to-day; he thinks the North will be cheered a little by
their capture of Grand Gulf, in the West. But that is not Vicksburg, or
Charleston, or Richmond.

We have had short allowance of food yesterday and to-day; the country
people being afraid to come to market, lest their horses should be
seized to go in quest of the enemy's cavalry. My family dined to-day on
eight fresh herrings, which cost two dollars.

The trains from Fredericksburg brought down several hundred Federal
officers; among them was a general, a large number of colonels,
lieutenant-colonels, majors, captains, etc. These, when exchanged, as I
suppose they will be--for victory makes our government magnanimous--may,
if they choose, deny the report that the raiding cavalry destroyed the
railroad.

Now what will the _Tribune_ say? It did say, a few months ago, that if
the effort to crush the rebellion failed this spring, it would be
useless to prolong the war--and that peace should be made on the best
practicable terms. Since the beginning of the war, I doubt not 500,000
men have been precipitated upon Virginia. Where are they now? In the
third year of the war, we see "the finest army the world ever saw,"
overthrown by about half its numbers, and in full retreat toward its own
frontier. Perhaps 100,000 invaders have found bloody graves in
Virginia--and an equal number have died of their wounds, or from disease
contracted in this State. The number of maimed and disabled must also be
100,000--and yet Richmond is not taken, or likely to be. To invade and
subjugate a vast territory, inhabited by millions of warlike people, the
assailants must always have four times as many men as the assailed;
therefore we stand on an equal footing with the United States in this
war, and they may, if they be insane enough, protract it indefinitely,
and in the end reap no substantial benefit. On the contrary, the fortune
of war may shift the scene of devastation to their own homes. Perhaps
Lee may follow up this blow until he enters Pennsylvania.

MAY 9TH.--The papers contain the following order from Gen. Lee:

"HEADQUARTERS ARMY NORTHERN VIRGINIA,

"May 7th, 1863.

"GENERAL ORDERS NO. 59.

"With heartfelt gratification, the General Commanding expre