rand
impulse of the loyal nation--"On to Richmond."

The great wagons, gun carriages, and caissons rolling slowly along, the
rattling drums, with here and there the inspiring strains of a band, the
general officers, with their staffs, were full of interest and excitement
to the soldier boy; and though the business before him was stern and
terrible, yet it seemed like some great pageant, moving grandly along to
celebrate, rather than win, a glorious triumph.

The novelty of the movement, however, soon wore away, and it required only
a few hours to convince the inexperienced soldiers in our regiment that it
was no idle pageant in which they were engaged. The short intervals of
rest which were occasionally allowed were moments to be appreciated. All
day long they toiled upon their weary way, praying for the night to come,
with its coveted hours of repose. The night did come, but it brought no
rest to the weary and footsore soldiers.

Tom was terribly fatigued. His knapsack, which had been light upon his
buoyant frame in the morning, now seemed to weigh two hundred pounds,
while his musket had grown proportionally heavy. Hour after hour, in the
darkness of that gloomy night, he trudged on, keeping his place in the
ranks with a resolution which neither the long hours nor the weary miles
could break down.

"I can't stand this much longer," whined Ben Lethbridge. "I shall drop
pretty soon, and die by the roadside."

"No, you won't," added Hapgood. "Stick to it a little while longer; never
say die."

"I can't stand it."

"Yes, you can. Only think you can, and you can," added the veteran.

"What do they think we are made of? We can't march all day and all night.
I wish I was at home."

"I wish I hadn't come," said Fred Pemberton.

"Cheer up! cheer up, boys. Stick to it a little longer," said the veteran.

It was three o'clock the next morning before they were permitted to halt,
when the boys rolled themselves up in their blankets, and dropped upon the
ground. It was positive enjoyment to Tom, and he felt happy; for rest was
happiness when the body was all worn out. A thought of the cottage and of
his mother crossed his mind, and he dropped asleep to dream of the joys of
home.

Short and sweet was that blessed time of rest; for at four o'clock, after
only one brief hour of repose, the regiment was turned out again, and
resumed its weary march to the southward. But that short interval of rest
was a fountain of stren