incurred in the attempt to divorce that union which God himself hath made; the union of soul and body.

The choice of position, and the giving of the word, were determined by the toss of a dollar: on such chances man chooses to fix the destiny of human life! The parties were stationed at a distance of ten paces from each other, back to back; the fire of both to be delivered between the words "Fire!-one-two-three." As the principals take their positions, a cloud suddenly appears in the east, and the rising sun is veiled before such a scene. But there is one solitary star yet blazing above the horizon, and perhaps many of those who saw it at that moment were reminded of the lines here so sadly, but truthfully, illustrated:

"Between two worlds life hovers like a star,

Twixt night and morn upon the horizon's verge." The word was distinctly and deliberately given the challenger fired immediately, and without effect; his antagonist appeared startled for an instant by the shot, recovered himself in time, and discharged his pistol as the word "three" fell from the lips of the second. A moment later, and it is said the fire would have placed him beyond even the pall and panoply of the "code of honor." His opponent stood erect for an instant, his face assumed a pallid hue, and an expression of extreme agony; he took one step forward, and sunk to the ground. His friends rushed to him, and bore him away. It was found that the ball had entered the right side just above the hip, and passed out in front: the wound was not mortal.

I have no disposition to indulge in any reflections, common-place as they must be, over the scene of which I have given but a brief and imperfect description. The facts in themselves suggest more thought than can be written. Like ninety-nine cases out of the hundred, of resorts to this Draconian code, the verdict is against the injured or challenging party. In this instance, we have seen an individual subjected to a most cruel and mortifying assault, and in the effort to obtain "satisfaction by the laws of honor "-for the laws of the land afford no compensation for wounded pride and insulted feelings, if society would not laugh to scorn the innocent victim who might seek such redress he is severely, if not mortally wounded, by the same hand. He is thus compelled by the tribunal to which he has resorted, to wash out the injury which he has received with his own blood, while the transgressor not only leaves the field

unscathed, but perhaps revels in the eclat of being a "capital shot." Such is the

restitution which this last relic of barbarism and chivalry yields to wanton insult and personal outrage. And thus right and justice become shuttlecocks, to be bandied about by the criminality of society, and thus is human life sported with by the hypocrisy, the weakness, and the charlatanry of enlightened civilization, not subject to the teachings and restraints of Christianity.

Duties of all sorts were multiplied as the time of departure drew near, and increased activity prevailed throughout all the departments. General Wool's long experience as inspector-general of the army, seems to have given him a knowledge of the details of service, scarcely to be acquired in any other capacity; and this knowledge was in daily requisition in the organization and preparation of his troops for the campaign. With a view to a proper determination of the extent of his resources, he appears to have established a complete surveillance over every corps and department of his command, requiring the most minute details to be given him of the daily condition and progress of affairs in the various supply branches of the service, and which, from the grumbling that was not always whispered, many staff gentlemen did not seem to digest with peculiar delectation.

The genius of a commander may be displayed not only in his capacity to grasp at once the complicated materials, and comprehend the varied machinery of an army, but in the facility with which he traces out the details, and discovers the lesser wants, which are lost sight of by the incompetent officer. But it is not to be presumed that the most insignificant matters of execution require his personal attention, or that such attention is given them, if the proper industry and capacity exist in other quarters. General ideas and directions in relation to these matters, ought, it is supposed, properly to come from head quarters; but the chief of an army should not be harassed with the issue of a ration of beans, or of a cartridge, the purchase of a few bushels of corn, or the expenditure of a few feet of plank: these matters might be intrusted to qualified officers of the proper departments. The necessity that has apparently compelled General Wool to take these affairs to a certain extent, into his own hands, is to be regretted, as there are those who are not indisposed to complain, under a small pretext, of improper interference with their own duties. Some who appear to

think that a general has nothing to do, but to lead his troops against the enemy, may be surprised at the unexpected qualities which are found necessary to constitute the chief of an army. It is true that his mere attention to the minutiaehowever necessary-may not have convinced the grumblers of his fitness for a commander, any more than the fact that he happened to have "men about him that are fat,"* like Julius Cæsar, demonstrated that he must therefore be as bald as that illustrious hero, or that he must be slaughtered in the Senate chamber.

The great blunder-originating at Washington and growing out of an insane desire to concentrate troops in advance as rapidly as possible-in ordering us to San Antonio, before a proper accumulation of supplies, was with much difficulty finally overcome, even by the energy of General Wool. The governmental folly of marching more than two regiments from Labaca, a month before their services were required, was not only ruinously expensive, but materially retarded the operations of the campaign. The consequence was, that for a time rations were consumed as fast as they arrived; whereas if we had remained at Camp Irwin, where we might have been equally well instructed, the wagons employed in hauling provisions for our daily consumption, could have been engaged in adding that quantity -probably not less than forty thousand rations to the supplies destined to accompany the army.

Preparatory to a speedy advance, a general review of all the troops was or dered to come off on Sunday, the 20th of September. The commanding general, in costume and bearing worthy of his position, with a portion of his staff, appeared in full uniform; the remaining portion might have been taken for harle quins, such was the ridiculous variety of their uniformity. One thing or the other ought to prevail. If the full dress is not to be taken into the field and worn by all, it ought to be abolished. It is the popular opinion that an army is intended for war rather than for peace, and a style of dress adapted only to the latter vocation, ought to be banished from the service. Whether caps or chapeaus, dress coats or frocks, pompons or plumes, are worn, all should fare alike in the finery. It is certainly more in accordance with the dictates of good taste, if not with military propriety, to make a display of uniform

simplicity, rather than of mongrel magnificence.

With the thermometer stretching to ninety-six degrees of Fahrenheit, and evcry sunbeam plunging torrents of caloric upon the earth, the motley cavalcade left town about 2 o'clock, P. M. Half way to the camp, an ugly cloud made its appearance, and before the party came in sight of the tents, every member of it was thoroughly drenched. Polished steel sabres were for the time lustreless, and epaulettes wept in sorrow over the destruction of their brightness; plumes, which a few moments before rose with conscious gracefulness above the arched necks of gallant steeds, now drooped mournfully towards the earth, and white pantaloons were starchless, which, when donned, had the form and pressure of a Corinthian column. The sun, however, soon dispelled these watery appliances-though without restoring the starch-and before the grand exhibition commenced, the moisture had almost entirely evaporated from the recking limbs of horse and rider, and the party entered upon the field almost as brilliant -if not quite as beautiful-as a rainbow from the shower.

The display, considering the character of the troops-the volunteers constituting much the larger portion,-and from necessity but imperfectly drilled-was respectable and imposing. Having passed from the right down the front of the line, and back by the rear, the general took his position opposite the centre. The line then wheeled into column, preparatory to passing in review. The battery of artillery was in advance; their bronze pieces and glittering sabres flashing back the rays of the sun as proudly as they were received; while the martial bearing of the men, and their precise and accurate evolutions, vindicated their right to the post of honor. Then came the two squadrons, one from each regiment of dragoons. Armed with pistol, carbine, and sabre, whose bright blades and barrels gleamed in the sunbeams, each man seemed a host and looked the hero. After these followed the infantry with measured tread and stately bearing: each company moving as if by machinery, controlled by an invisible power. To those familiar with army operations, this may have seemed a small affair, but the effect during the march of the column far surpassed in beauty the military displays to which we are accustomed at home. In the background rose

a range of hills, carpeted with verdure, and relieved by groups of trees, picturesquely planted by the hand of nature. Prairies stretched away to the right, far as the eye could reach, swelling into hillocks or sinking into valleys, in a series of lively and romantic undulations. In front the silver, waters of the San Antonio flowed in quiet beauty, through banks gorgeously decked with the varied foliage of autumn. Upon a plain thus bounded, the column moved to the stately notes of martial music, with waving plumes and floating banners; rattling sabres and glittering bayonets; the " war horse whose neck is clothed with thunder," champing at his bit, and the "ear-piercing fife and spirit-stirring drum," all contributed to it the perfection of the spectacle, and made one that will not soon be forgotten by the lookers on-nor by those probably who were so thoroughly soaked in the preliminaries.

But there is ever but one step between the sublime and the ridiculous, and our review was but another illustration of the fact. There is no way of controlling the curiosity of a recruit; it runs through all the feminine degrees, from fifteen to fifty, and such turning, and twisting, and dodging, and squinting, to see all that was going on, while the general was riding up and down the line, could only be rivalled by a battalion of the happy inmates of another Capsicum Hall. One cocks up the visor of his cap here, and another throws back the broad brim of a chip hat there; a third performs a semi-revolution to the great peril of his perpendicularity in one place, while perhaps a fourth whirls entirely around upon his axis, causing the whole company, like the plane of the ecliptic, to make a very variable angle with the regimental equator.

The order for the advance to march on the 26th, was issued on the 22d: the body to consist of the artillery, 2d dragoons (one squadron), three companies of the 6th infantry, one Kentucky company, two companies from each of the Illinois regiments, and six companies of the Arkansas cavalry.

A sort of cabinet council-a conclave of the "ten"-was ordered to convene the same evening at head quarters. The commanding general appeared determined to shake the staff napkin, to discover if possible what gem was hidden in it. If all were present, it would not be difficult to fancy the character of the proceedings. We may imagine that the same stale suggestions, the same sage questions, the same solemn responses, were repeated

haps inquired how many common tents a common wagon will carry, while

was curious to know how many shirts an officer should take into the field, and probably quoted the example of Frederick the Great these themes having afforded matter for serious thought and speculation, the assembled military wisdom doubtless dispersed to their respective quarters to dream of fifth-chains," mule-wagons," hard-bread," (( powder," and glory.

gun

The weather did not smile upon our incipient effort at the conquest of Mexico. For weeks we had had no rain, and the troops that marched the 26th, were anticipating fine roads and a pleasant promenade to the Rio Grande. Their hopes suddenly submerged, as on the night of the 24th we were visited with a miniature deluge, and the streets for two days were mudno one knows positively how deep-but to the depth of every man's specific gravity. Wagon masters, teamsters, and muledrivers, and every other camp retainer busy for the march, wore visages as long and wo-begone, as Don Quixote's in his greatest tribulations. San Antonio was perhaps never before the scene of so much life and activity, but in the midst of the bustle, all was dejection and disgust. The speedy prospect of " enlarging the area of freedom," an object so dear to many of our patriotic hearts, was incapable of relaxing any man's grim visage into a smile. The effect of the weather was too deep, and so was the mud.

The troops left in the morning, as prescribed in the order of the 22d. The roads were bad, but the temperature was much improved by the rain. The differ

ent detachments were directed to meet at the Medio. When united they came under the command of Colonel Harney, whose patriotic exertions a few weeks before, in attempting on his own hook," the conquest of Coahuila, were not crowned with complete success. He is a dashing officer,

however, but, acting from impulse, he may sometimes err in his views of duty.*

The order of march was promulgated in a "memoranda," from the adjutantgeneral's office, in which the "pioneers were placed nearly in the rear. From the position to which they were thus assigned, it may be presumed that they had in some way forfeited their proper functions, as a pioneer is defined to be "one who marches in advance of an army, to hew down woods, clear roads, &c." If these were mere nominal pioneers, it was of little consequence perhaps, whether they were in front or rear; but if they were intended to be of practical utility, the propriety of their position must be found in the apparent slip of the pen, to which they must be indebted for it.

At 8 o'clock on the morning of the 29th, the escort of the commanding general was drawn up in line in the lower plaza. The town was of course agog. Streets, doors, and windows, were lined with wagons, carts and cattle, loafing Texans, and sombreroed Mexicans, señoras and señoritas, muchachas naked and halfnaked, all staring as if an event as wonderful as the inauguration of a President was occurring. The result probably disappointed many, as the affair passed off quietly and without display. The cavalcade moved from town a few minutes before nine, with clanging arms but without music or banners.

Three miles from San Antonio, we crossed the bed of the arroyo Alazan, now reduced to a dry mass of gravel. Near the rising and open grounds in the vicinity, which derive their name from the sometime stream, Santa Anna encamped with his army, in 1836, prior to his descent upon the town, and the siege of the Alamo. It is affirmed, by the way, of this most remarkable shuttlecock of fortune, that a night or two before the arrival of his forces at the heights of Alazan, he entered San Antonio in disguise, was present at, and, not being then troubled with a wooden

leg, participated in the gyrations of a fandango, with those who a few weeks later became the victims of his barbarity. These heights are also famed as the scene of a conflict which occurred in 1814, between the troops of two rival Mexican factions.

After leaving this place, the country becomes higher and broken, but except where relieved at distant intervals by the vegetation which skirts an occasional stream, is one vast prairie, treeless, herbless, lifeless, diversified, it is true, by hill and dale, but suggesting no ideas save those of sterility and desolation. Several fires were blazing amid the grass, and the flames were whirled aloft in spiral columns, as the wind caught the fire, creeping snakelike over the ground; but there was nothing of the frightful rapidity which Mr. Cooper so graphically describes; nothing to produce frantic terror, even in a child, nor an approach to the sublimity of horror which he has so vividly and fearfully portrayed. Night perhaps would have added to the magnificence of the scene, but unfortunately we could not pause our motto being, business before beauty.

The picturesque valley of Culebra, through which flows a small stream that falls into the Medina, lies a mile or two from the Wool † road, and about fifteen miles northwest from San Antonio. It was formerly occupied as an extensive stock rancho, attached to the Mission of San Jose. This rancho was near the centre of eleven leagues of land granted by the Spanish government to the Indians of this region, subject to the control and ministrations of the pious fathers, who celebrated their orgies and their orisons within the consecrated walls of that grand and gloomy structure. Immense herds of sheep, goats and cattle, at that time covered the plains, over which barrenness flourishes now in uncontested dominion.

We forded the Medina about four o'clock in the afternoon. It is a beautiful little stream, rolling over a bed of solid limestone at the crossing place, clear as crystal, and flowing with a very rapid current. Our route lay through the village now growing up here, to the spot chosen for our encampment, about a mile beyond.

This village (Castroville) was founded in 1844, by Mr. Henry Castro, of Paris.

The location, considered in reference to the romance of reality, is very beautiful. It lies in a lovely valley, the pellucid waters of the Medina tumbling over the rocks on one side, and gracefully undulating plains and hills stretching in every direction on the other. The settlement is in extreme infancy, and one cannot well judge how the experiment will terminate, but at present, the evidences of prosperity are not very satisfactory. The buildings are all small, of gossamer materials and rudely put together, the timber of the country being hardly large enough for rails. The products of the last year have consisted mostly of a few hundred bushels of corn, and it is not probable that the quantity will soon be materially increased. Notwithstanding the apparently liberal offers of the proprietor-three hundred and twenty acres to every married man who will domiciliate himself-the population increases but slowly, the inducements for agriculturists to settle here being so few. The soil is only of moderate fertility, and the means of getting produce to market, worse than wretched.

The camp was honored about sunset by a visit from the daughter and granddaughter of Mr. Castro, to pay their respects to the commanding general. They were apparelled in neat riding costume, and mounted on small Mexican ponies, and accompanied by several attendants. The daughter had all the complimentary exuberance of the French character, and with less experienced veterans, there might have been fears for their blushes. There

was no difficulty, however, in this instance in appreciating the fine things that were said, as General Wool having himself flourished in the salons of Paris, was quite able to repay them in kind.

The call of the ladies was returned in the evening by General Wool and his aide-de-camp, the latter, it is said, an accomplished French scholar, whose fluency, for a while, may have beguiled the damsels into the sweet delusion that they were once more in the land of their nativity. Thus auspiciously closed the first day of our advance, distance marched twentyseven miles.

The stars were yet twinkling when our camp was first in motion the next morning. The air was raw and chilly, and the long rank grass drooping with the heavy deposits of dew. The river here is about three feet deep, foaming like a torrent, and the music of its waters rolling over the white pebbles of its bottom, gives to the wild and romantic scene a singular fascination. Many of us made our toilet on the bank, the river forming a natural mirror, and the foliage above and around, a more magnificent boudoir than art has ever conceived. The deep repose and quiet grandeur with which nature was here imbued gave new force and beauty to Bryant's exquisite thought

"Tho groves were God's first temples."

On such a morning as this, and with the scene before me as memory now recalls it, seated upon the bended trunk of an overhanging ash, there is a sense of awe, of reverence, and of devotion excited, surpassing any which has its origin in the loftiest and proudest structures of man. The place seems formed for prayer and meditation, and I could not resist offering an humble invocation to the Supreme Ruler of the universe, for strength and guidance for the future, and presenting the offerings and acknowledgments of a grateful heart for the blessings of the past.

All would fain have lingered longer round the lovely spot, but breakfast had to be disposed of, when the tents were struck and the wagons loaded, and we were off at seven o'clock, Soon after leaving camp we ascended the highest point yet seen in Texas, the view from which presented a grand panorama of hills clothed with verdure, and valleys garnished with rich foliage of varied hues, almost equal to a prospect from the tops of the Alleghanies. In descending this eminence, however, the poetry was extinguished by the breaking down of a