sepulchre, whose craving womb
Hourly inters poor mortals in its tomb;
By ev'ry plague and ev'ry ill possessed,
Ev'n purgatory itself to thee's a jest;
Emblem of hell, nursery of vice,
Thou crawling university of lice;
When wretches numberless to ease their pains,
With smoke and all delude their pensive chains.
How shall I avoid thee? or with what spell
Dissolve the enchantment of thy magic cell?
Ev'n Fox himself can't boast so many martyrs,
As yearly fall within thy wretched quarters.
Money I've none, and debts I cannot pay,
Unless my vermin, will those debts defray.
Not scolding wife, nor inquisition's worse;
Thou'rt ev'ry mischief crammed into one curse."

* * * * *

CHAPTER XXXVIII

Leave the Valley for the Last Time--October 20th to December 31st,
1864.

The retreat from Fisher's Hill to New Market will never be
forgotten by those who participated therein as long as they live. To
recapitulate the movements of the last thirty-six hours and reflect
upon what had been accomplished, it seems beyond human endurance.
No retreat in history, even the famous retreat of Xenophon, while of
greater duration and under different circumstances, still it did not
equal that of Early during the same length of time. From midnight of
the 18th the troops were in line, crossing the river some miles in the
distance before daylight, storms and takes the enemy's lines by nine
o'clock, incessant fighting for five or six miles (either fighting or
on the run), then a stampede of the same distance, then back
across the river and to camp, a two hours' halt, a forced march of
thirty-five miles--making over fifty miles in all--without eating or
drinking, only as could be "caught up" on the march or run. Up the
valley this routed, disorganized rabble (it could not be called an
army) marched, every man as he saw fit, here a General at the head of
a few squads called regiments, or a Colonel or Captain with a few
men at his heels, some with colors and some without; here a Colonel
without a man, there a score or two of men without a commissioned
officer. A great number had abandoned their arms and accoutrements,
others their scanty baggage. Some regiments had lost their whole
supply trains that hauled their cooking utensils and provisions. Then
we could see artillerymen with nothing but a few jaded horses, their
cannons and caissons left in the gen