ifle, and fell backward, with well nigh
an ounce ball right over his left eye, through and through his head. Our
men cheered for the Chaplain. The Rebs fired in reply, and rushed to
secure the body. That cost them three more men, but they got their
bodies, and fast as legs could carry them, cut to their fort about
three miles to their rear. We of course couldn't attack the fort, and
returned to camp. The boys were loud in praise of the Chaplain. Their
chin music, as they called camp rumors, had it that the officer killed
was a Rebel chaplain. Old Rosy, when he heard of it, laughed, and swore
like a trooper. I hear he has got over swearing now--but it couldn't
have been until after he left Western Virginny. I heard our Chaplain say
that he heard a brother chaplain say, and he believed him to be a
Christian,--that he believed that the Apostle Paul himself would learn
to swear inside of six months, if he entered the service in Western
Virginny. Washington prayed at Trenton, and swore at Monmouth, and I
don't believe that the War Department requires Chaplains to be better
Christians than Washington. Our old Chaplain used to say that there were
many things worse than swearing, and that he didn't believe that men
often swore away their chances of heaven."

"Comforting gospel for you, captain," said that troublesome officer.

"He was a bully chaplain," continued the captain, becoming more
animated, probably because the regimental chaplain, turtle-like, had
again protruded his head from between the blankets. "He had no long
tailed words or doctrines that nobody understood, that tire soldiers,
because they don't understand them, and make them think that the
chaplain is talking only to a few officers. That's what so often keeps
men away from religious services. Our chaplain used to say that you
could tell who Paul was talking to by his style of talk. I can't say how
that is from my own reading; but I always heard that Paul was a sensible
man, and if so he certainly would suit himself to the understanding of
his crowd."

"Our old chaplain talked right at you. No mistake he meant
you--downright, plain, practical, and earnest. He'd tell his crowd of
backwoodsmen, flatboatmen and deck hands--the hardest customers that the
gospel was ever preached to,--'That the war carried on by the Government
was the most righteous of wars; they were doing God's service by
fighting in it. On the part of the rebels it was the most unnatural and
wi