A NIGHT WITH THE FOURTH CORPS. 97 



into the gloom, or rubbing the sleep from their eyes, as they 

 awaited the ^expected signal to rush to their posts. The lieu- 

 tenant was standing by the fire in an attitude of eager attention, 

 his great-coat thrown back and ready to be cast aside, while the 

 murmur of voices that arose from about the other fires showed 

 that the men there, too, were aroused. Suddenly there was 

 another dropping series of reports, followed in rapid succession 

 by two or three volleys of musketry, and the cry " To arms !" 

 rang out in the night. In an instant everything was in motion, 

 as the men rushed at the top of their speed to the piles of arms. 

 But there was no confusion. Every man knew his place, the 

 ranks were formed as if by magic, the stacks were broken, and 

 the human machine stood there in its completeness, ready to 

 move and to act at the command of its master. The cavalrv, 

 as I could see by the fitful glare of the fires, were standing 

 by their horses, a squad mounted and rode off in the darkness, 

 the guns of the horse-battery were limbered up, and the drivers 

 and gunners stood at their posts. Again the spiteful rattle 

 of small -arms was heard, and flashes of fire sparkled in the 

 distance like fire-flies. 



But our rest, although thus rudely broken, was not to be 

 further disturbed that night, for the fire in our front gradually 

 diminished and moved away from us over to our right, where 

 for a few moments it increased again rapidly, until quite a sharp 

 engagement seemed to be in progress at the outposts over 

 a mile or so from us. This, too, died away in a short time, 

 a messenger from our front reported everything quiet again' 

 in all directions, and the sleepy soldiers once more sought their 

 resting-places, to snatch a few moments more repose before the 

 dawn, for it was now well on into the " wee sma' hours." For 

 the life of me I could not sleep any more, so I rested quietly 

 on my back, watching the waning fire and the recumbent forms 



7 



