soldier,' she continued, 'both of the Northern and Southern
army, has had something to eat at this table, and I expect many
more will in the future, before this terrible and distressing
war shall have come to an end.' She didn't say a word, though,
by which we could tell whether her sympathies were on the Union
side or against us, and of course we didn't try to find out.
She was just the sweetest looking woman I have yet seen in the
whole Southern Confederacy. If they have any angels anywhere
that look kinder, or sweeter, or purer than she did, I would
just like to see them trotted out. I guess she was about
thirty-five years old. She was of medium height, a little on
the plump order, with blue eyes, brown hair, a clear, ruddy
complexion, and the whitest, softest looking little hands I
ever saw in my life.

"When we had finished our dinner, John and I thanked her ever
so many times for her kindness, and then bade her a most
respectful good-by. He and I both agreed on our way back to
camp to say nothing about the lady and the nice dinner she gave
us, because if we blowed about it, the result would probably be
more hungry callers than her generosity could well afford.

"But these close times I guess are not going to last much
longer. The talk in camp this evening is that we are going to
have full rations once more in a day or two, that the railroad
will soon be in running order again, and then we can just snap
our fingers at old Forrest and his whole outfit.

"Well, I will bring my letter to a close. Don't worry if you
fail to get a letter from me now as regularly as before. Things
are a trifle unsettled down here yet, and we may not be able to
count on the usual regularity of the mails for some time to
come.

"So good-by for this time.

"LEANDER STILLWELL."

Soon after we returned to Jackson a detail of some from each company
was sent to Bolivar and brought up our knapsacks and blankets, and we
were then more comfortable. On December 29th, my company and two others
of our regiment were sent by rail to Carroll Station, about eight miles
north of Jackson. There had been a detachment of about a hundred men of
the 106th Illinois Infantry previously stationed here, guarding th