plentiful dinner for himself; and
in consideration of a thread or two of silk, a full haversack and
canteen.

After this our mess was well supplied, and our forager began to look
sleek and fat. The secret of his success did not leak out till long
afterward, when he astonished the boys by declaring that he "had been
'living like a fighting-cock' on a paper of needles and two skeins of
silk."

"And," added father, "if he had paid for all the meals he got in
Confederate money, the amount would have been far more than ten
dollars."

I know other boys and girls will think this a queer story, but I hope
they will like it as well as mother and Loo and I did.

CHAPTER VII.

BUNNY.

One bright morning I sat in the matron's room of the "Buckner
Hospital," then located at Newnan, Georgia. Shall I describe to you
this room--or my suite of rooms? Indeed, I fear you will be
disappointed, dear young readers, for perhaps the word "hospital"
conveys to your mind the idea of a handsome and lofty building
containing every convenience for nursing the sick, and for the comfort
of attendants. Alas! during the war hospital arrangements were of the
roughest. Frequent changes of location were imperative, transportation
was difficult. So it became a "military necessity" to seize upon such
buildings as were suitable in the towns where it was intended to
establish a "post." Courthouses, halls, stores, hotels, even churches
had to be used,--the pews being removed and replaced by the rough
hospital beds.

The "Buckner Hospital" was expected to accommodate nearly one thousand
sick and wounded, and embraced every building for two solid squares.
Near the centre a small store had been appropriated to the matron's
use during the day. Here all business relating to the comfort of the
sick and wounded was transacted. The store as it stood, shelves,
counters, and all, became the "linen-room," and was piled from floor
to ceiling with bedding and clean clothing. The back "shed-room" was
the matron's own. A rough table, planed on the top, stood in the
centre. With the exception of one large rocking-chair, kindly donated
by a lady of Ringgold, Georgia, boxes served for chairs. A couch made
of boxes and piled with comforts and pillows stood in one corner. This
served not only as an occasional resting-place for the matron, but,
with the arm-chair, was frequently occupied by soldiers who, in the
early stages of convalescence, having made a pilgr