for both. Thus the additional load of twenty cartridges
was more than counterbalanced by the clothing and necessaries left
behind.

It was dusk when we reached the anchorage, consequently no
landing could take place before the morrow. But as the boats
were ordered to be in readiness at dawn, every man slept in his
clothes, that he might be prepared to start at a moment's
warning. There was something in this state of preparation at
once solemn and exciting. That we should obtain possession of a
place so important as Baltimore without fighting was not to be
expected; and, therefore, this arming and this bustle seemed in
fact to be the prelude to a battle. But no man of the smallest
reflection can look forward to the chance of a sudden and violent
death without experiencing sensations very different from those
which he experiences under any other circumstances. When the
battle has fairly begun, I may say with truth that the feelings
of those engaged are delightful; because they are in fact so many
gamblers playing for the highest stake that can be offered. But
the stir and noise of equipping, and then the calmness and
stillness of expectation, these are the things which force a man
to think. On the other hand, the warlike appearance of
everything about you, the careless faces and rude jokes of the
private soldiers, and something within yourself, which I can
compare to nothing more seemly than the mirth which criminals are
said sometimes to experience and to express previous to their
execution; all these combine to give you a degree of false
hilarity, I had almost said painful from its very excess. It is
an agitation of the nerves, such as we may suppose madmen feel,
which you are inclined to wish removed, though you are not
unwilling to admit that it is agreeable.

And yet, as if in mockery of these deadly preparations, I do not
recollect to have seen a more heavenly night than the present.
The heat of the day was past, a full clear moon shone brightly in
a sky where not a cloud could be discerned, and a heavy dew
falling appeared to refresh the earth, which had been parched and
burnt up by the sun. We lay at this time within two miles of the
shore, consequently every object there was distinctly visible.
Around us were moored numerous ships, which, breaking the tide as
it flowed gently onwards, produced a ceaseless murmur like the
gushing of a mountain stream. The voices of the sentinels too,
as they relie