[Illustration: BULL RUN. ]

THE SOCK STORIES, BY "AUNT FANNY'S" DAUGHTER. 

RED, WHITE, AND BLUE SOCKS. 

Part Second. 

BEING

THE SECOND BOOK OF THE SERIES. 

BY

"AUNT FANNY'S" DAUGHTER, THE AUTHOR OF "THE LITTLE WHITE ANGEL. "

 NEW YORK: LEAVITT & ALLEN, 21 & 23 MERCER ST. 1863. 

 ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by S. L. BARROW, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. 

 JOHN F. TROW, PRINTER, STEREOTYPER, AND ELECTROTYPER, 50 Greene Street, New York. 

CONTENTS OF VOL. II. 

 PAGE

 COLONEL FREDDY; OR, THE MARCH AND ENCAMPMENT OF THE DASHAHED ZOUAVES, CHAP. I. --BELLIGERENT POWERS, 5

 II. --BULL RUN, 30

 III. --BEFORE MONTEREY, 50

 IV. --A GRAND REVIEW, 87

 V. --"HOME! SWEET HOME!" 111

 CONCLUSION, 125

COLONEL FREDDY;

OR, THE MARCH AND ENCAMPMENT OF THE DASHAHED ZOUAVES. 

PART II. 

CHAPTER I. 

BELLIGERENT POWERS. 

TUESDAY morning dawned "as clear as a bell, " as an old lady once said, and the Dashahed Zouaves, if not exactly up with the sun, were awake andstirring at a much earlier hour than usual; and after a rather morecareful washing and brushing than soldiers usually indulge in, assembled on the lawn, looking as bright as their own buttons. 

"What fun it is to be soldiers!" cried a little lisping fellow, one ofthe privates. "I only wish thome Southerners would come along now, andyou'd thee how I'd _thmash_ 'em. "

"Bravo, Louie!" said Harry, laughing; "I dare say, if we were to go tothe wars, you'd keep on fighting the battles of your country till youwere chopped into inch bits!"

"And pickled! I expect to be made Lieutenant-general, Commander-in-chief, Colonel, Major, Captain, Lieutenant, SergeantHamilton at the very least!"

"Pooh! that's nothing to the feats of bravery I intend to perform!"cried Peter. "In my first battle I shall capture a 2, 000-poundcolumbiad with one hand tied behind me, and carry it home for a paperweight!"

"While I'm charging a regiment of mounted infantry single handed, andmaking them throw away their swords, and pistols, and things, and runfor that 'last ditch' of theirs double quick!" said Will Costar, laughing; "but here comes breakfast, I'm happy to say. It strikes mecamping out makes a fellow awful hungry, as well as no end of brave. "

A servant who had been sent from the house with breakfast materials, nowapproached, and the table being laid, the soldiers drew their campstools around it; Colonel Freddy sitting at the head and pouring outcoffee with great gravity. Everything was going on smoothly enough, whenHarry tilted the tray on one side, and Charley knocked his elbow on theother, and away went the coffee to the very end of the table!

"Charley, " exclaimed the Colonel, severely, "what do you mean, sir? I'llhave you put in arrest if you don't look out!"

"Who'll put me there?"

"Me!" shouted Peter. "I'm the boy to manage refractories. You'll see howI will come after you with a sharp stick--bayonet, I mean--and put youin arrest like that!" snapping his fingers. 

"By the way, when we've caught our rebels, where is the prison to be?"asked Jimmy. 

"Why, in the smoke house. There's a patent spring bolt on thedoor--father had it fixed the last time we had hams made; and if anybodywas once in there, they'd never get out in the world, unless they coulddraw themselves fine like a wire and squeeze through the chimney. "

"We'll take care to keep out of it, then!" said Charley; "so, Colonel, Ibeg pardon for tilting the biggin--I didn't mean to do it somuch--really!"

"I, too!" cried Harry; "shake hands, old chap!"

Good-tempered Freddy, always ready to "make up, " caught a hand of eachof his comrades, and breakfast went on amicably. 

Now, there lived in the house an old English man servant named JerryPike. He had formerly been a groom and attendant on Peter's uncle, MajorSchermerhorn, and volunteered in the army at the time of the war withMexico, that he might follow his dear master, whom he had served andloved ever since the Major was a mere boy. He had fought bravely besidehim in many a hard battle, and, for his gallant conduct, been promotedto the rank of sergeant. When the hand of death removed that kindmaster, Mr. Schermerhorn had gladly taken Jerry to his own house, andpromised him that should be his home as long as he lived. So now, likea gallant old war horse, who has a fresh green paddock, and lives inclover in his infirm age, Jerry not only stood at ease, but lived atease; and worked or not as he felt disposed. 

When breakfast was over, Peter suddenly cried out, "I say, fellows, suppose we employ ourselves by having a drill! You know old Jerry that Itold you about? I'll ask him to give us a lesson!"

"Yes! that will be grand fun!" said Freddy. "Do go and find him, Peter;I should really like to learn how to drill as the soldiers do; so whenGeneral McClellan comes along, he'll admire us as much as the EnglishGeneral, old Sir Goutby Slogo, did the Seventh Regiment when theyparaded before the Prince. 'Really, most extraordinary style of marchingthese American troops have, ' said he, 'most hequal to the 'Orse Guardsand the Hoxford Blues coming down Regent street!'"

Meanwhile, Peter had scampered off to the house, and in a short timereturned with a comical-looking little old man, dressed in fadedregimentals. 

He touched his cap to the boys as he approached, in military style, andthen drew himself up so very stiff and straight, awaiting their orders, that, as Freddy whispered to Tom, it was a perfect wonder he didn't snapshort off at the waist. 

"Now, Jerry, " began the Colonel, "we want you to give us a _real_drill, you know, just as you used to learn. "

"Yes, a regular one!" chimed in the rest; "we'll run for our guns. "

"Not fur your fust drill, I reckon, genl'men. You'll do bad enoughwithout 'em, hech, hech!" cackled Jerry. 

"Very well--come begin then, Jerry!" cried impatient Will. 

"Are ye all ready?"

"Yes, and waiting. "

"Then, genl'men, FALL IN!" exclaimed the sergeant, the first two wordsbeing uttered in his natural voice, but the last in an awful sepulchraltone, like two raps on the base kettle drum. Off duty, Jerry ratherresembled a toy soldier, but when in giving his orders he stiffened hisbody, threw up his head, and stuck out his hands, he looked so like thewooden figures out of Noah's ark, that the boys burst into a shout oflaughter. 

"Now, genl'men, " exclaimed Jerry in a severe tone, "this won't do. Silence in the ranks. Squad! 'Shun. The fust manoover I shel teach you, genl'men, is the manoover of 'parade rest. ' Now look at me, and do as Ido. "

Anybody would have supposed, naturally enough, that to stand at restmeant to put your hands in your pockets and lean against a tree; butwhat Jerry did, was to slap his right hand against his left, like atorpedo going off, and fold them together; stick out his left foot, leanheavily upon his right, and look more like a Dutch doll than ever. 

The boys accordingly endeavored to imitate this performance; but whenthey came to try it, a difficulty arose. Whatever might be their usualideas on the subject, there was a diversity of opinion now as to theproper foot to be advanced, and a wild uncertainty which was the leftfoot. The new soldiers shuffled backward and forward as if they weredancing hornpipes; while Jerry shouted, "Now, then, genl'men, I can'thear them hands come together smartly as I'd wished, not like a row ofJarsey cider bottles a poppin' one arter the other, but all at once. Now, then, SQUAD! 'SHUN!" in a voice of thunder, "Stan' at parade rest!No--no--them _lef futs_ adwanced! Well if ever!" And Jerry in hisindignation gave himself such a thump on his chest that he knocked allthe breath out of his body, and had to wait some moments before he couldgo on; while the boys, bubbling over with fun, took his scoldings inhigh good humor, and shrieked with laughter at their own ridiculousblunders, to the high wrath of their ancient instructor; who was sodeeply interested and in earnest about his pursuit, that he didn't failto lecture them well for their "insubornation;" which, indeed, nobodyminded, except Tom Pringle, who, by the by, was from Maryland, and manyof whose relations were down South. He had been looking rather sulkyfrom the beginning of the drill, and now suddenly stepped from his placein the ranks, exclaiming, "I won't play! now I vow I won't!"

"Why, Tom, what is the matter? Are you mad at us?" cried half a dozenvoices at once. 

"Humm--" grumbled sulky Tom. 

"What say? I can't hear you, " said Freddy. "Nonsense, Tom, don't bepoky, come back and drill. "

"I won't! Let us alone, will you?"

"All we want is, let us alone!" chanted Peter. "There, Fred, let him becross if he wants to, we can play without him;" and the boys ran back totheir places in the ranks, Freddy calling out, "Come fellows, let's trythat old parade rest once more;" and on Jerry's giving the command, theyreally _did_ do it this time, and were pronounced capable of passing togrander evolutions. 

The first of these was the turn about so as to fall in ranks; somethingthe Dashahed Zouaves hadn't dreamt of before. Get into ranks? Nothingcould be easier than to stand four in a row, as they had done before;but when it came to "right face, " most of the soldiers were found tohave opposite views on the subject, and faced each other, to theirmutual astonishment. The natural consequence was, that in three secondsthe regiment was in such a snarl and huddle, that no one could tellwhich rank he belonged to or anything else; so Jerry, perfectly purplein the face with shouting, by way of helping them out of the scrape, gave them the following remarkable advice: "Squad, 'shun! At th' wud'Foz' the rer-rank will stepsmartly off wi' th' leffut, tekkinapesstoth'rare--Fo-o-o-res!"

"W-h-a-t!" was the unanimous exclamation. 

Jerry repeated his mandate, which, after infinite puzzling (the honestsergeant being no assistance whatever), was discovered to mean, "At theword 'Fours, ' the rear rank will step smartly off with the left foot, taking a pace to the rear. Fours!"

This difficulty solved, the next "article on the programme, " as Petersaid, was the command March! or "harch!" according to Jerry. 

Out stepped Freddy, confident that he knew this much at any rate, followed by the others; but here again that celebrated left foot gotthem into trouble. The right foot _would_ pop out here and there, and assure as it did, at the third step the unlucky Zouave found his legfirmly stuck between the ankles of the boy in front; and the "man"behind him treading on his heels in a way calculated to aggravate asaint; while meantime, the fellows in the rear rank, who were foreverfalling behind while they were staring at their feet to make sure whichwas the left one, _would_ endeavor to make up for it by taking a widestraddling step all of a sudden, and encircled the legs of people infront; a proceeding which, not being in accordance with "Hardee'sTactics, " was not received with approbation by Jerry; who, looking atthem with a sort of deprecating pity, hoarsely said, "Now, Company D!wot--wrong agin? fowod squad! wun, too, three, foore; hup! hup! hup!hold your head up, Mr. Fred; turn out your toes, Master William, andkeep STEADY!"

"Goody!" exclaimed Freddy at last, stopping short in the middle of hismarching, "I can't stand this any longer! There, Jerry, we've had drillenough, thank you; I am knocked into a cocked hat, for my part!"

"Very well, sir; it _is_ powerful hot; an' I must say you young genl'menhave kep' at it steadier nor I expected, a gred deal. "

"Thank you, Jerry, " said George, laughing, "we shall not forget ourfirst drill in a hurry. I can't tell, for my part, which has been mostbothered, you or we. "

"Allers glad to give you a little practice, " grinned Jerry, "thoughyou'd rive the gizzard out of an army drill sergeant, I'd wenture tosay, if he hed the teachin' of you. Hech! hech! hech! Mornin', genl'men, your sarvent, " and Jerry touched his cap to Colonel Freddy and marchedoff chuckling. 

As soon as he had made his exit, the boys clustered around Tom, as hesat turning his back on as many of the company as possible, and allbegan in a breath, "Now, Tom, do tell us what you're mad at; what havewe done? please speak!"

"Well, then, " shouted Tom, springing up, "I'll tell you what, FredericJourdain! I won't be ordered around by any old monkey likethat, "--pointing toward Jerry--"and as for _you_ and _your_ orderingabout, I won't stand that either! fine as you think yourself; theColonel, indeed!"

"Why, Tom, how can you talk so? can't you play like the rest of us? I'msure I haven't taken advantage of being Colonel to be domineering; haveI, boys?"

"No, no! not a bit, Fred--never mind what he says!"

"Oh _do_--_don't_ appeal to them! You do that because you daren't sayoutright you mean to have everything your own way. That may be very wellfor them--you're all a parcel of Yankee shopkeepers together--but, I cantell you, no Southern _gentleman_ will stand it!"

"North or South, Tom, " began Will Costar, pretty sharply, "everyregiment must have a head--and obey the head. We've chosen Fred ourColonel, and you must mind him. When he tells you to drill you've _gotto do it_!"

Tom wheeled round perfectly furious. "You say that again, " he shouted, "and I'll leave the regiment! I will. I won't be told by any Northernerthat I'm his subordinate, and if my State hadn't thought so too, she'dnever have left the Union. "

"What! you dare to say anything against the Union!" cried George, turning white with rage; "do you mean to say that you _admire_ the Southfor seceding?"

"Yes! I've a great mind to secede myself, what's more!"

Freddy, as I said, was as sweet-tempered a little fellow as ever lived;but he was fairly aroused now. His blue eyes flashed fire; he crimsonedto the temples; his fists were clenched--and shouting, "you traitor!"like a flash, he sent Tom flying over on his back, with the camp stoolabout his ears. 

Up jumped Tom, kicked away the stool, and rushed toward Fred. But theothers were too quick for him; they seized his arms and dragged himback; Peter calling out "No, don't fight him, Colonel; he's not worthit; let's have a court martial--that's the way to serve traitors!"

Amid a perfect uproar of rage and contempt for this shameful attack ontheir Colonel, the Zouaves hastily arranged some camp stools for judgeand jury; and George being chosen judge, the oldest members of theregiment took their places around him, and Tom was hauled up before theCourt. 

"Oh stop, pray stop!" cried Freddy at this stage of affairs. "Indeed, Iforgive him for what he said to me, if he will take back his languageabout the Union. I can't stand _that_. "

"You hear what the Colonel says, " said George, sternly; "will youretract?"

"No, never! if you think I'm going to be frightened into submission to aNortherner you're very much mistaken! No Southerner will ever be that!and as for your precious Union, I don't care if I say I hope there neverwill be a Union any more. "

"Then, by George!" shouted the judge, fairly springing from his seat, "You're a traitor, sir! Fellows, whoever is in favor of having thissecessionist put under arrest, say Aye!"

"Aye! AYE! AYE!" in a perfect roar. 

"Does any one object?" Nobody spoke. 

"Then I sentence him to be confined in the guard house till he begspardon; Livingston, Costar, and Boorman to take him there. "

His captors pounced upon their prisoner with very little ceremony whenthis sentence was pronounced; when Tom, without attempting to escape, suddenly commenced striking out at every one he could reach. A grandhurley-burley ensued; but before long Tom was overpowered and dragged tothe smoke, _alias_ guard house; heaping insults and taunts on the Unionand the regiment all the way. Harry flung open the door of the prison, a picturesque little hut built of rough gray stone, and covered withVirginia creepers and wild honeysuckles. The others pushed Tom in, andPeter, dashing forward, slammed the door on him with a bang. Snap! wentthe bolt, and now nothing earthly could open it again but a Bramah keyor a gunpowder explosion. Young Secession was fast, and the Northtriumphant. Hurrah!

CHAPTER II. 

BULL RUN. 

THEIR first excitement over, the gallant Zouaves couldn't help lookingat each other in rather a comical way. To be sure, it was veryaggravating to have their country run down, and themselves assailedwithout leave or license; but they were by no means certain, now theycame to think of it, that they had acted rightly in doing justice to thelittle rebel in such a summary manner. Peter especially, who hadproposed the court martial, had an instinctive feeling that if hisfather were to learn the action they had taken, he would scarcelyconsider it to tally with the exercise of strict politeness to company. In short, without a word said, there was a tacit understanding in thecorps that this was an affair to be kept profoundly secret. 

While they were still silently revolving this delicate question, littleLouie Hamilton suddenly started violently, exclaiming, "Only listen amoment, felloth! what a strange noithe! It sounds like thome wildbeast!"

"Noise? I don't hear any, " said Freddy; "yes I do, though--likesomething trampling the bushes!"

"There's nothing worse than four cows and a house dog about our place, "said Peter; "but what that is I don't know--hush!"

The boys listened with all their ears and elbows, and nearly staredthemselves blind looking around to see what was the matter. They had notlong to wait, however, for the trampling increased in the wood, acurious, low growling was heard, which presently swelled to a roar, andin a moment more, an immense brindled bull was seen dashing through thelocusts, his head down and heels in the air, looking not unlike a greatwheel-barrow, bellowing at a prodigious rate, and making straight towardthe place where they stood!

"Murder, what _shall_ we do?" cried Louie, turning deadly pale withterror, while the Zouaves, for an instant, appeared perfectly paralyzed. 

"Why run! run for your lives!" shouted George, who was the first torecover himself. "Peter, you lead the way; take us the shortest cut tothe house, and--oh!"

Not another word did George utter. He was saving his breath for therace. And now, indeed, began a most prodigious "skedaddle;" the boysalmost flying on ahead, running nearly abreast, and their terrible enemyclose behind, tearing up the ground with his horns, and galloping likean express!

On sped the gallant Zouaves, making off as rapidly from the scene ofaction as their namesakes from Manassas, without pausing to remarkwhich way the wind blew, until, at last, they had skirted the grove, andwere on the straight road for the house. Here Peter stopped a moment, "Because some of the men will be near here, perhaps, " he pantingly said, "and Master Bull will be caught if he ventures after us. " Scarcely hadhe spoken, when the furious animal was once more seen, dashing on fasterthan ever, and flaming with rage, till he might have exploded a powdermill! Now for a last effort! One determined burst over the smooth road, and they are safe in the house!

Little Louie, who was only nine years old, and the youngest of theparty, had grasped hold of Freddy's hand when they first started; andbeen half pulled along by him so far; but now that safety was close athand, he suddenly sank to the ground, moaning out, "Oh Fred, you must goon and leave me; I can't run any more. Oh mamma!"

"No, no, Louie! don't do so!" cried Freddy. "Get up, little man! why, you can't think I would leave you, surely?" and, stooping down, thebrave little fellow caught Louie up in his arms, and, thus burdened, tried to run on toward the house. 

The rest of the boys were now far beyond them; and had just placed theirfeet upon the doorstone, when a loud shout of "help!" made them turnround; and there was Freddy, with Louie in his arms, staggering up theroad, the horns of the bull within a yard of his side!

Like a flash of lightning, Will snatched up a large rake which one ofthe men had left lying on the grass, and dashed down the road. There isone minute to spare, just one! but in that minute Will has reached thespot, and launching his weapon, the iron points descend heavily on theanimal's head. 

The bull, rather aghast at this reception, which did not appear to be atall to his taste, seemed to hesitate a moment whether to charge hisadversary or not; then, with a low growl of baffled fury, he slowlyturned away, and trotted off toward the wood. 

The help had not come a minute too soon; for Freddy, his sensitiveorganization completely overwrought by the events of the morning and hisnarrow escape from death, had fallen fainting to the ground; his handsstill clenched in the folds of little Louie's jacket. Will instantlyraised him, when he saw that all danger was over, and he and some of theothers, who had come crowding down the road, very gently and quicklycarried the insensible boy to the house, and laid him on the lounge inthe library; while Peter ran for the housekeeper to aid in bringing himto life. 

Good Mrs. Lockitt hurried up stairs as fast as she could with camphor, ice water, and everything else she could think of good for fainting. 

"Mrs. Lockitt, where is papa?" asked Peter, as he ran on beside her. 

"Gone to New York, Master Peter, " she replied; "I don't think he will behome before dinner time. "

Our little scapegrace breathed more freely; at least there were a fewhours' safety from detection, and he reentered the library feelingconsiderably relieved. 

There lay Colonel Freddy, his face white as death; one little handhanging lax and pulseless over the side of the lounge, and the ruffledshirt thrust aside from the broad, snowy chest. Harry stood over him, fanning his forehead; while poor Louie was crouched in a corner, sobbing as though his heart would break, and the others stood looking onas if they did not know what to do with themselves. 

Mrs. Lockitt hastened to apply her remedies; and soon a faint color cameback to the cheek, and with a long sigh, the great blue eyes opened oncemore, and the little patient murmured, "Where am I?"

"Oh, then he's not killed, after all!" cried Louie, running to his side. "Dear, dear Freddy! how glad I am you have come to life again!"

This funny little speech made even Freddy laugh, and then Mrs. Lockittsaid, "But, Master Peter, you have not told me yet how it happened thatMaster Frederic got in such a way. "

The eyes of the whole party became round and saucer-y at once; as, alltalking together, they began the history of their fearful adventure. Mrs. Lockitt's wiry false curls would certainly have dropped off withastonishment if they hadn't been sewed fast to her cap, and she fairlywiped her eyes on her spectacle case, which she had taken out of herpocket instead of her handkerchief, as they described Freddy's nobleeffort to save his helpless companion without thinking of himself. Whenthe narrative was brought to a close, she could only exclaim, "Well, Master Freddy, you are a little angel, sure enough! and Master Williamis as brave as a lion. To think of his stopping that great creetur, tobe sure! Wherever in the world it came from is the mystery. " So saying, Mrs. Lockitt bustled out of the room, and after she had gone, there wasa very serious and grateful talk among the elder boys about the escapethey had had, and a sincere thankfulness to God for having preservedtheir lives. 

The puzzle now was, how they were to return to the camp, where poor Tomhad been in captivity all this time. It was certainly necessary to getback--but then the bull! While they were yet deliberating on the hornsof this dilemma, the library door suddenly opened, and in walked--Mr. Schermerhorn!

"Why, boys!" he exclaimed, "how do you come to be here? Fred, what's thematter? you look as pale as a ghost!"

There was general silence for a moment; but these boys had been taughtby pious parents to speak the truth always, whatever came of it. Ah!that is the right principle to go on, dear children; TELL THE TRUTH whenyou have done anything wrong, even if you are sure of being punishedwhen that truth is known. 

So George, as the eldest, with one brave look at his comrades, franklyrelated everything that had happened; beginning at the quarrel withTom, down to the escape from the bull. To describe the varied expressionof his auditor's face between delight and vexation, would require apainter; and when George at last said, "Do you think we deserve to bepunished, sir? or have we paid well enough already for our courtmartial?" Mr. Schermerhorn exclaimed, trying to appear highly incensed, yet scarcely able to help smiling:

"I declare I hardly know! I certainly am terribly angry with you. Howdare you treat a young gentleman so on my place? answer me that, youscapegraces! It is pretty plain who is at the bottom of all this--Peterdares not look at me, I perceive. At the same time, I am rather gladthat Master Tom has been taught what to expect if he runs down theUnion--it will probably save him from turning traitor any more, thoughyou were not the proper persons to pass sentence on him. As for ourplucky little Colonel here--shake hands, Freddy! you have acted like ahero! and for your sake I excuse the court martial. Now, let us see whathas become of the bull, and then go to the release of our friend Tom. Hemust be thoroughly repentant for his misdeeds by this time. "

Mr. Schermerhorn accordingly gave orders that the bull should be huntedup and secured, until his master should be discovered; so that theZouaves might be safe from his attacks hereafter. If any of our readersfeel an interest in the fate of this charming animal, they are informedthat he was, with great difficulty, hunted into the stables; and beforeevening taken away by his master, the farmer from whom he had strayed. 

Leaving the others to await his capture, let us return to Tom. He hadnot been ten minutes in the smoke house before his wrath began to cool, and he would have given sixpence for any way of getting out but bybegging pardon. That was a little too much just yet, and Tom stampedwith rage and shook the door; which resisted his utmost efforts toburst. Then came the sounds without, the rushing, trampling steps, thefurious bellow, and the shout, "Run! run for your lives!" Run! why onearth must they? What had happened? and especially what would become ofhim left alone there, with this unseen enemy perhaps coming at him next. He hunted in vain in every direction for some cranny to peep through;and if it had been possible, would have squeezed his head up thechimney. He shouted for help, but nobody heard him; they were all toofrightened for that. He could hear them crunching along the road, presently; another cry, and then all was still. 

"What shall I do?" thought poor Tom. "Oh, where have they gone to?Please let me out, Freddy! do forgive me, boys! I'll f-fight for theUnion as m-much as you like! oh! oh!" and at last--must it beconfessed?--the gallant Secesh finished by bursting out crying!

Time passed on--of course seeming doubly long to the prisoner--and stillthe boys did not return. Tom cried till he could cry no more; snifflingdesperately, and rubbing his nose violently up in the air--a proceedingwhich did not ameliorate its natural bent in that direction. He reallyfelt thoroughly sorry, and quite ready to beg pardon as soon as the boysshould return; particularly as they had forgotten to provide the captivewith even the traditional bread and water, and dinner-time was close athand. While he was yet struggling between repentance and stomachache, the welcome sound of their voices was heard. They came nearer, and thena key was hastily applied to the fastenings of the door, and it flewopen, disclosing the Zouaves, with Freddy at the head, and Mr. Schermerhorn bringing up the rear. 

Tom hung back a moment yet; then with a sudden impulse he walked towardFreddy, saying, "I beg your pardon, Colonel; please forgive me forinsulting you; and as for the flag"--and without another word, Tom rantoward the flag staff, and catching the long folds of the banner in bothhands, pressed them to his lips. 

"The chivalry forever!" said Mr. Schermerhorn, smiling. "That's right, Tom! bless the old banner! it is your safeguard, and your countrymen'stoo, if they would only believe it. Go and shake hands with him, boys;he is in his right place now, and if ever you are tempted to quarrelagain, I am sure North and South will both remember

 "BULL RUN!"

CHAPTER III. 

BEFORE MONTEREY. 

IT is not necessary to describe the particular proceedings of theDashahed Zouaves during every day of their camp life. They chattered, played, drilled, quarrelled a little once in a while, and made it upagain, eat and slept considerably, and grew sunburnt to an astonishingdegree. 

It was Thursday morning, the fourth of their delightful days in camp. Jerry had been teaching them how to handle a musket and chargebayonets, until they were quite excited, and rather put out that therewas no enemy to practise on but the grasshoppers. At length, when theyhad tried everything that was to be done, Harry exclaimed, "I wish, Jerry, you would tell us a story about the wars! Something realsplendid, now; perfectly crammed with Indians and scalps and awfulbattles and elegant Mexican palaces full of diamonds and gold saucepansand lovely Spanish girls carried off by the hair of their heads!"

This flourishing rigmarole, which Harry delivered regardless of stops, made the boys shout with laughter. 

"You'd better tell the story yourself, since you know so much aboutit!" said Tom. 

"I allow you've never been in Mexico, sir, " said Jerry, grinning. "Idoubt but thar's palisses somewhar in Mexico, but I and my mates hevbeen thar, an' _we_ never seed none o' 'em. No, Master Harry, I can'ttell ye sich stories as that, but I do mind a thing what happened on thefield afore Monterey. "

The boys, delightedly exclaiming, "A story! a story! hurrah!" drew theircamp stools around him; and Jerry, after slowly rubbing his hand roundand round over his bristling chin, while he considered what to sayfirst, began his story as follows:

JERRY'S STORY. 

 "It wor a Sunday night, young genl'men, the 21st of September, and powerful hot. We had been fightin' like mad, wi' not a moment's rest, all day, an' now at last wor under the canwas, they of us as wor left alive, a tryin' to sleep. The skeeters buzzed aroun' wonderful thick, and the groun' aneath our feet wor like red-hot tin plates, wi' the sun burnin' an blisterin' down. At last my mate Bill says, says he, 'Jerry, my mate, hang me ef I can stan' this any longer. Let you an' me get up an' see ef it be cooler out-o'-doors. '

 "I wor tired enough wi' the day's fight, an' worrited, too, wi' a wound in my shoulder; but the tent wor no better nor the open field, an' we got up an' went out. Thar wor no moon, but the sky was wonderful full o' stars, so we could see how we wor stannin' wi' our feet among the bodies o' the poor fellows as had fired their last shot that day. It wor a sight, young genl'men, what would make sich as you sick an' faint to look on; but sogers must larn not to min' it; an' we stood thar, not thinkin' how awful it wor, and yet still an' quiet, too. 

 "'Ah, Jerry, ' says Bill--he wor a young lad, an' brought up by a pious mother, I allow--'I dunnot like this fightin' on the Sabba' day. The Lord will not bless our arms, I'm afeard, if we go agin His will so. '

 "I laughed--more shame to me--an' said, 'I'm a sight older nor you, mate, an' I've seed a sight o' wictories got on a Sunday. The better the day, the better the deed, I reckon. '

 "'Well, I don't know, ' he says; 'mebbe things is allers mixed in time o' war, an' right an' wrong change sides a' purpose to suit them as wants battle an' tumult to be ragin'; but it don't go wi' my grain, noways. '

 "I hadn't experienced a change o' heart then, as I did arterward, bless the Lord! an' I hardly unnerstood what he said. While we wor a stannin' there, all to onct too dark figgers kim a creepin' over the field to'ard the Major's tent. 'Look thar, Jerry, ' whispered Bill, kind o' startin' like, 'thar's some of them rascally Mexicans. ' I looked at 'em wi'out sayin' a wured, an' then I went back to the tent fur my six-shooter--Bill arter me;--fur ef it ain't the dooty o' every Christian to extarminate them warmints o' Mexicans, I'll be drummed out of the army to-morrer. 

 "Wall, young genl'men--we tuck our pistols, and slow and quiet we moved to whar we seed the two Greasers, as they call 'em. On they kim, creepin' to'ard my Major's tent, an' at las' one o' 'em raised the canwas a bit. Bill levelled his rewolver in a wink, an' fired. You shud ha' seed how they tuck to their heels! yelling all the way, till wun o' em' dropped. The other didn't stop, but just pulled ahead. I fired arter him wi'out touching him; but the noise woke the Major, an' when he hearn wot the matter wor, he ordered the alarm to be sounded an' the men turned out. 'It's a 'buscade to catch us, ' he says, 'an' I'm fur being fust on the field. '

 "Bill an' I buckled on our cartridge boxes, caught up our muskets, an' were soon in the ranks. On we marched, stiddy an' swift, to the enemy's fortifications; an' wen we were six hundred yards distant, kim the command, 'Double quick. ' The sky hed clouded up all of a suddent, an' we couldn't see well where we wor, but thar was suthin' afore us like a low, black wall. As we kim nearer, it moved kind o' cautious like, an' when we wor within musket range, wi' a roar like ten thousand divils, they charged forred! Thar wor the flash and crack o' powder, and the ring! ping! o' the bullets, as we power'd our shot on them an' they on us; but not another soun'; cr-r-r-ack went the muskets on every side agin, an' the rascals wor driven back a minnit. 'Charge bayonets!' shouted the Major, wen he seed that. Thar wos a pause; a rush forred; we wor met by the innimy half way; an' then I hearn the awfullest o' created soun's--a man's scream. I looked roun', an' there wos Bill, lying on his face, struck through an' through. Thar wos no time to see to him then, fur the men wor fur ahead o' me, an' I hed to run an' jine the rest. 

 "We hed a sharp, quick skirmish o' it--for ef thar is a cowardly critter on the created airth it's a Greaser--an' in less nor half an' hour wor beatin' back to quarters. When all wor quiet agin, I left my tent, an' away to look fur Bill. I sarched an' sarched till my heart were almost broke, an at last I cried out, 'Oh Bill, my mate, whar be you?' an' I hearn a fibble v'ice say, 'Here I be, Jerry!'

 "I swon! I wor gladder nor anything wen I hearn that. I hugged him to my heart, I wor moved so powerful, an' then I tuck him on my back, an' off to camp; werry slow an' patient, fur he were sore wownded, an' the life in him wery low. 

 "Wall, young genl'men, I'll not weary you wi' the long hours as dragged by afore mornin'. I med him as snug as I could, and at daybreak we hed him took to the sugeon's tent. 

 "I wor on guard all that mornin' an' could not get to my lad; but at last the relief kim roun', an' the man as was to take my place says, says he, 'Jerry, my mate, ef I was you I'd go right to the hosp'tl an' stay by poor Bill' (fur they all knew as I sot gret store by him); 'He is werry wild in his head, I hearn, an' the sugeon says as how he can't last long. '

 "Ye may b'lieve how my hairt jumped wen I hearn that. I laid down my gun, an' ran fur the wooden shed, which were all the place they hed fur them as was wownded. An' thar wor Bill--my mate Bill--laying on a blanket spred on the floore, wi' his clothes all on (fur it's a hard bed, an' his own bloody uniform, that a sojer must die in), wi' the corpse o' another poor fellow as had died all alone in the night a'most touching him, an' slopped wi' blood. I moved it fur away all in a trimble o' sorrer, an' kivered it decent like, so as Bill mightn't see it an' get downhearted fur hisself. Then I went an' sot down aside my mate. He didn't know me, no more nor if I wor a stranger; but kept throwin' his arms about, an' moanin' out continual, 'Oh mother! mother! Why don't you come to your boy?'

 "I bust right out crying, I do own, wen I hearn that, an' takin' his han' in mine, I tried to quiet him down a bit; telling him it wor bad fur his wownd to be so res'less (fur every time he tossed, thar kim a little leap o' blood from his breast); an' at last, about foore o'clock in the day, he opened his eyes quite sensible like, an' says to me, he says, 'Dear matey, is that you? Thank you fur coming to see me afore I die. '

 "'No, Bill, don't talk so, ' I says, a strivin' to be cheerful like, tho' I seed death in his face, 'You'll be well afore long. '

 "'Aye, well in heaven, ' he says; and then, arter a minnit, 'Jerry, ' he says, 'thar's a little bounty money as belongs to me in my knapsack, an' my month's wages. I want you, wen I am gone, to take it to my mother, an' tell her--'(he wor gaspin' fearful)--'as I died--fightin' fur my country--an' the flag. God bless you, Jerry--you hev been a good frien' to me, an' I knows as you'll do this--an' bid the boys good-by--fur me. '

 "I promised, wi' the tears streamin' down my cheeks; an' then we wor quiet a bit, fur it hurt Bill's breast to talk, an' I could not say a wured fur the choke in my throat. Arter a while he says, 'Jerry, won't you sing me the hymn as I taught you aboard the transport? about the Lord our Captin?'

 "I could hardly find v'ice to begin, but it wor Bill's dying wish, an' I made shift to sing as well as I could--

 "'We air marchin' on together To our etarnal rest; Niver askin' why we're ordered-- For the Lord He knoweth best. Christ is our Captain! 'Forred!' is His word; Ranks all steady, muskets ready, In the army o' the Lord!

 "'Satan's hosts are all aroun' us, An' strive to enter in; But our outworks they are stronger Nor the dark brigades o' sin! Christ is our Fortress! Righteousness our sword; Truth the standard--in the vanguard-- O' the army o' the Lord!

 "'Comrads, we air ever fightin' A battle fur the right; Ever on the on'ard movement Fur our home o' peace an' light. Christ is our Leader! Heaven our reward, Comin' nearer, shinin' clearer-- In the army o' the Lord!'

 "Arter I hed sung the hymn--an' it wor all I could do to get through--Bill seemed to be a sight easier. He lay still, smilin' like a child on the mother's breast. Pretty soon arter, the Major kim in; an' wen he seed Bill lookin' so peaceful, he says, says he, 'Why, cheer up, my lad! the sugeon sayd as how you wor in a bad way; but you look finely now;'--fur he didn't know it wor the death look coming over him. 'You'll be about soon, ' says the Major, 'an' fightin' fur the flag as brave as ever, '

 "Bill didn't say nothing--he seemed to be getting wild agin;--an' looked stupid like at our Major till he hearn the wureds about the flag. Then he caught his breath suddint like, an', afore we could stop him, he had sprang to his feet--shakin' to an' fro like a reed--but as straight as he ever wor on parade; an', his v'ice all hoarse an' full o' death, an' his arm in the air, he shouted, 'Aye! God--bless--the--flag! we'll fight fur it till--' an' then we hearn a sort o' snap, an' he fell forred--dead!

 "We buried him that night, I an' my mates. I cut off a lock o' his hair fur his poor mother, afore we put the airth over him; an' giv it to her, wi' poor Bill's money, faithful an' true, wen we kim home. I've lived to be an old man since then, an' see the Major go afore me, as I hoped to sarve till my dyin' day; but Lord willing I shel go next, to win the Salwation as I've fitten for, by Bill's side, a sojer in Christ's army, in the Etarnal Jerusalem!"

The boys took a long breath when Jerry had finished his story, and morethan one bright eye was filled with tears. The rough words, and plain, unpolished manner of the old soldier, only heightened the impressionmade by his story; and as he rose to go away, evidently much moved bythe painful recollections it excited, there was a hearty, "Thank you, sergeant, for your story--it was real good!" Jerry only touched his capto the young soldiers, and marched off hastily, while the boys lookedafter him in respectful silence. But young spirits soon recover fromgloomy influences, and in a few moments they were all chattering merrilyagain. 

"What a pity we must go home Monday!" cried Louie; "I wish we could campout forever! Oh, Freddy, do write a letter to General McClellan, and askhim to let us join the army right away! Tell him we'll buy some newindia-rubber back-bones and stretch ourselves out big directly, if he'llonly send right on for us!"

"Perhaps he would, if he knew how jolly we can drill already!" saidPeter, laughing. "I tell you what, boys, the very thing! let's have areview before we go home. I'll ask all the boys and girls I know to comeand look on, and we might have quite a grand entertainment. Won't thatbe splendid? We can march about all over, and fire off the cannons andeverything! I'm sure father will let us. "

"Yes, but how's General McClellan to hear anything about it?" inquiredpractical Louie. 

"Why--I don't know, " said Peter, rather taken aback by this view of thesubject. "Well, somehow--never mind, it will be grand fun, and I meanto ask my father right away. "

"Take me with you?" called a dozen fellows directly. Finally it wasconcluded that it might make more impression on Mr. Schermerhorn's mind, if the application came from the regiment in a body; so, running fortheir swords and guns, officers and men found their places in thebattalion, and the grand procession started on its way--chattering allthe time, in utter defiance of that "article of war" which forbids"talking in the ranks. " Just as they were passing the lake, they heardcarriage wheels crunching on the gravel, and drew up in a long line onthe other side of the road to let the vehicle pass them; much to theastonishment of two pretty young ladies and a sweet little girl, aboutFreddy's age, who were leaning comfortably back in the handsomebarouche. 

"Why, Peter!" exclaimed one of the ladies, "what in the world is allthis?"

"This!" cried Peter, running up to the carriage, "why, these are theDashahed Zouaves, Miss Carlton. We have been in camp ever since Monday. Good morning, Miss Jessie, " to the little girl on the front seat, whowas looking on with deep interest. 

"Oh, to be sure, I remember, " said Miss Carlton, laughing; "come, introduce the Zouaves, Peter; we are wild to know them!"

The boys clustered eagerly about the carriage and a lively chat tookplace. The Zouaves, some blushing and bashful, others frank andconfident, and all desperately in love already with pretty littleJessie, related in high glee their adventures--except the celebratedcourt martial--and enlarged glowingly upon the all-important subject ofthe grand review. 

Colonel Freddy, of course, played a prominent part in all this, and withhis handsome face, bright eyes, and frank, gentlemanly ways, needed onlythose poor lost curls to be a perfect picture of a soldier. He chatteredaway with Miss Lucy, the second sister, and obtained her special promisethat she would plead their cause with Mr. Schermerhorn in case theunited petitions of the corps should fail. The young ladies did not knowof Mrs. Schermerhorn's departure, but Freddy and Peter together coaxedthem to come up to the house "anyhow. " The carriage was accordinglytaken into the procession, and followed it meekly to the house; theZouaves insisting on being escort, much to the terror of the youngladies; who were in constant apprehension that the rear rank and thehorses might come to kicks--not to say blows--and the embarrassment ofthe coachman; who, as they were constantly stopping unexpectedly to turnround and talk, didn't know "where to have them, " as the saying is. However, they reached their destination in safety before long, andfound Mr. Schermerhorn seated on the piazza. He hastened forward to meetthem, with the cordial greeting of an old friend. 

"Well, old bachelor, " said Miss Carlton, gayly, as the young ladiesascended the steps, "you see we have come to visit you in state, withthe military escort befitting patriotic young ladies who have fourbrothers on the Potomac. What has become of Madame, please?"

"Gone to Niagara and left me a 'lone lorn creetur;'" said Mr. Schermerhorn, laughing. "Basely deserted me when my farming couldn't beleft. But how am I to account for the presence of the military, mademoiselle?"

"Really, I beg their pardons, " exclaimed Miss Carlton. "They have comeon a special deputation to you, Mr. Schermerhorn, so pray don't let usinterrupt business. "

Thus apostrophised, the boys scampered eagerly up the steps; and Freddy, a little bashful, but looking as bright as a button, delivered thefollowing brief oration: "Mr. Schermerhorn: I want--that is, the boyswant--I mean we all want--to have a grand review on Saturday, and askour friends to look on. Will you let us do it, please?"

"Certainly, with the greatest pleasure!" replied Mr. Schermerhorn, smiling; "but what will become of you good people when I tell you thatI have just received a letter from Mrs. Schermerhorn, asking me to joinher this week instead of next, and bring Peter with me. "

"Oh! father, please let me stay!" interrupted Peter; "can't you tell maI've joined the army for the war? We all want to stay like everything!"

"And forage for yourselves?" said his father, laughing. "No, the armymust give you up, and lose a valuable member, Master Peter; but justhave the goodness to listen a moment. The review shall take place, butas the camp will have to break up on Saturday instead of Monday, as Ihad intended, the performances must come off to-morrow. Does that suityour ideas?"

The boys gave a delighted consent to this arrangement, and now the onlything which dampened their enjoyment was the prospect of such a speedyend being put to their camp life. "Confound it! what was the fun for afellow to be poked into a stupid watering place, where he must bother tokeep his hair parted down the middle, and a clean collar stiff enough tochoke him on from morning till night?" as Tom indignantly remarked toGeorge and Will the same evening. "The fact is, this sort of thing is_the_ thing for a _man_ after all!" an opinion in which the other _men_fully concurred. 

But let us return to the piazza, where we have left the party. After afew moments more spent in chatting with Mr. Schermerhorn, it was decidedto accept Colonel Freddy's polite invitation, which he gave with such abright little bow, to inspect the camp. You may be sure it was inapple-pie order, for Jerry, who had taken the Zouaves under his specialcharge, insisted on their keeping it in such a state of neatness as onlya soldier ever achieved. The party made an extremely picturesquegroup--the gay uniforms of the Zouaves, and light summer dresses of theladies, charmingly relieved against the background of trees; while Mr. Schermerhorn's stately six feet, and somewhat portly proportions, quitereminded one of General Scott; especially among such a small army; inwhich George alone quite came up to the regulation "63 inches. "

Little Jessie ran hither and thither, surrounded by a crowd of adorers, who would have given their brightest buttons, every "man" of them, to bethe most entertaining fellow of the corps. They showed her the batteryand the stacks of shining guns--made to stand up by Jerry in a wonderfulfashion that the boys never could hope to attain--the inside of all thetents, and the smoke guard house (Tom couldn't help a blush as he lookedin); and finally, as a parting compliment (which, let me tell you, isthe greatest, in a boy's estimation, that can possibly be paid), Freddymade her a present of his very largest and most gorgeous "glass agates;"one of which was all the colors of the rainbow, and the otherpatriotically adorned with the Stars and Stripes in enamel. Peterclimbed to the top of the tallest cherry tree, and brought her down abough at least a yard and a half long, crammed with "ox hearts;" Harryeagerly offered to make any number of "stunning baskets" out of thestones, and in short there never was such a belle seen before. 

"Oh, a'int she jolly!" was the ruling opinion among the Zouaves. Aprivate remark was also circulated to the effect that "Miss Jessie wasstunningly pretty. "

The young ladies at last said good-by to the camp; promising faithfullyto send all the visitors they could to the grand review, and drove offhighly entertained with their visit. Mr. Schermerhorn decided to takethe afternoon boat for the city and return early Friday morning, and theboys, left to themselves, began to think of dinner, as it was twoo'clock. A brisk discussion was kept up all dinner time you may be sure, concerning the event to come off on the morrow. 

"I should like to know, for my part, what we do in a review, " saidJimmy, balancing his fork artistically on the end of his finger, andlooking solemnly round the table. 

"Why, show off everything we know!" said Charley Spicer. "March about, and form into ranks and columns, and all that first, then do charming"parade rest, " "'der humps!" and the rest of it; and finish off byfiring off our guns, and showing how we can't hit anything by anypossibility!"

"But these guns won't fire off!" objected Jimmy. 

"Well, the cannon then!"

"But I'm sure father won't let us have any powder, " said Peterdisconsolately. "You can't think how I burnt the end of my nose lastFourth with powder! It was so sore I couldn't blow it for a week!"

The boys all burst out laughing at this dreadful disaster, and Georgesaid, "You weren't lighting it with the end of your nose, were you?"

"No; but I was stooping over, charging one of my cannon, and I droppedthe 'punk' right in the muzzle somehow, and, would you believe it, thenasty thing went off and burnt my nose! and father said I shouldn't playwith powder any more, because I might have put out my eyes. "

"Well, we must take it out in marching, then, " said Freddy, with atremendous sigh. 

"No, hold on; I'll tell you what we can do!" cried Tom, eagerly. "I havesome 'double headers' left from the Fourth; we might fire them out ofthe cannon; they make noise enough, I'm sure. I'll write to my motherthis afternoon and get them. "

The boys couldn't help being struck with the generosity of this offer, coming from Tom after their late rather unkind treatment of him; and theolder ones especially were very particular to thank him for his present. As soon as dinner was over, he started for the house to ask Mr. Schermerhorn to carry his message. As he hurried along the road, hisbright black eyes sparkling with the happiness of doing a good action, he heard trotting steps behind him, felt an arm stealing round his neck, schoolboy fashion, and there was Freddy. 

"I ran after you all the way, " he pantingly said. "I want to tell you, dear Tom, how much we are obliged to you for giving us your crackers, and how sorry we are that we acted so rudely to you the other day. Please forgive us; we all like you so much, and we would feel as mean asanything to take your present without begging pardon. George, Peter, andI feel truly ashamed of ourselves every time we think of that abominablecourt martial. "

"There, old fellow, don't say a word more about it!" was the heartyresponse; and Tom threw his arm affectionately about his companion. "Itwas my fault, Freddy, and all because I was mad at poor old Jerry; howsilly! I was sorry for what I said right afterward. "

"Then we are friends again?" cried Freddy, joyfully. 

"Yes; I'll like you as long as I live! and ever so much longer. " And sowe will leave the two on their walk to the house, and close thisabominably long chapter. 

CHAPTER IV. 

A GRAND REVIEW. 

THERE are really scarcely words enough in the dictionary properly todescribe the immense amount of drill got through with by the DashahedZouaves between three o'clock that afternoon and twelve, noon, of thefollowing day. This Friday afternoon was going to be memorable inhistory for one of the most splendid reviews on record. They almost ranpoor old Jerry off his legs in their eagerness to go over every possiblevariety of exercise known to "Hardee's Tactics, " and nearly dislocatedtheir shoulder blades trying to waggle their elbows backward and forwardall at once when they went at "double quick;" at the same time keepingthe other arm immovably pinioned to their sides. Then that wonderfuloperation of stacking the rebellious guns, which obstinately clattereddown nine times and a half out of ten, had to be gone through with, anda special understanding promulgated in the corps as to when Jerry's"'der arms!" meant "shoulder arms, " and when "order arms" (or bringingall the muskets down together with a bang); and, in short, there neverwas such a busy time seen in camp before. 

Friday morning dawned, if possible, still more splendidly than any ofthe preceding days, with a cool, refreshing breeze, just enough snowyclouds in the sky to keep off the fiery summer heat in a measure, andnot a headache nor a heartache among the Zouaves to mar the pleasure ofthe day. The review was to come off at four o'clock, when the July sunwould be somewhat diminished in warmth, and from some hints that Jerrylet fall, Mrs. Lockitt, and the fat cook, Mrs. Mincemeat, were holdinghigh council up at the house, over a certain collation to be partaken ofat the end of the entertainments. 

As the day wore on the excitement of our friends the Zouaves increased. They could hardly either eat their dinners, or sit down for more than amoment at a time; and when, about three o'clock, Mr. Schermerhornentered the busy little camp, he was surrounded directly with a crowd ofeager questioners, all talking at once, and making as much noise as acolony of rooks. 

"Patience, patience, my good friends!" laughed Mr. Schermerhorn, holdingup a finger for silence. "Every one in turn. Tom, here are your 'doubleheaders, ' with love from your mother. Fred, I saw your father to-day, and they are all coming down to the review. George, here is a note leftfor you in my box at the Post Office, and Dashahed Zouaves ingeneral--I have one piece of advice to give you. Get dressed quietly, and then sit down and rest yourselves. You will be tired out by the endof the afternoon, at all events; so don't frisk about more than you canhelp at present;" and Mr. Schermerhorn left the camp; while the boys, under strong pressure of Jerry, and the distant notes of a band whichsuddenly began to make itself heard, dressed themselves as nicely asthey could, and sat down with heroic determination to wait for fouro'clock. 

Presently, carriages began to crunch over the gravel road one afteranother, filled with merry children, and not a few grown people besides. Mr. And Mrs. Jourdain, with Bella, were among the first to arrive; andsoon after the Carltons' barouche drove up. Jessie, for some unknownreason, was full of half nervous glee, and broke into innumerable littletrilling laughs when any one spoke to her. A sheet of lilac note paper, folded up tight, which she held in her hand, seemed to have something todo with it, and her soft brown curls and spreading muslin skirts were inequal danger of irremediable "mussing, " as she fidgetted about on thecarriage seat, fully as restless as any of the Zouaves. 

Mr. Schermerhorn received his guests on the piazza, where all the chairsin the house, one would think, were placed for the company, as the bestview of the lawn was from this point. To the extreme right were thewhite tents of the camp, half hidden by the immense trunk of amagnificent elm, the only tree that broke the smooth expanse of thelawn. On the left a thick hawthorne hedge separated the ornamentalgrounds from the cultivated fields of the place, while in front the viewwas bounded by the blue and sparkling waters of the Sound. 

Soon four o'clock struck; and, punctual to the moment, the Zouaves couldbe seen in the distance, forming their ranks. Jerry, in his newest suitof regimentals, bustled about here and there, and presently his voicewas heard shouting, "Are ye all ready now? SQUAD, 'SHUN! HARCH!" and tothe melodious notes of "Dixie, " performed by the band, which wasstationed nearer the house, the regiment started up the lawn! Jerrymarching up beside them, and occasionally uttering such mysteriousmandates as, "Easy in the centre! keep your fours in the wheel! _Steady_now!"

Oh, what a burst of delighted applause greeted them as they neared thehouse! The boys hurrahed, the girls clapped their hands, ladies andgentlemen waved their hats and handkerchiefs; while the DashahedZouaves, too soldierly _now_ to grin, drew up in a long line, and stoodlike statues, without so much as winking. 

And now the music died away, and everybody was as still as a mouse, while Jerry advanced to the front, and issued the preliminary order:

"To the rear--open order!" and the rear rank straightway fell back;executing, in fact, that wonderful "tekkinapesstoth'rare" which hadpuzzled them so much on the first day of their drilling. Then came thoseother wonderful orders:

 "P'_sent_ humps! "_Der_ humps! "Gr'_nd_ humps!"

And so on, at which the muskets flew backward and forward, up and down, with such wonderful precision. The spectators were delighted beyondmeasure; an enthusiastic young gentleman, with about three hairs oneach side of his mustache, who belonged to the Twenty-second Regiment, declared "It was the best drill he had seen out of his company room!" acelebrated artist, whose name I dare not tell for the world, sharpenedhis pencil, and broke the point off three times in his hurry, and atlast produced the beautiful sketch which appears at the front of thisvolume; while all the little boys who were looking on, felt as if theywould give every one of their new boots and glass agates to belong tothe gallant Dashahed Zouaves. 

[Illustration: "DOUBLE-QUICK. "]

After the guns had been put in every possible variety of position, theregiment went through their marching. They broke into companies, formed the line again, divided in two equal parts, called "breaking intoplatoons, " showed how to "wheel on the right flank, " and all manner ofother mysteries. 

Finally, they returned to their companies, and on Jerry's giving theorder, they started at "double quick" (which is the most comicaltritty-trot movement you can think of), dashed down the slope of thelawn, round the great elm, up hill again full speed, and in a momentmore were drawn up in unbroken lines before the house, and standing onceagain like so many statues. 

It was really splendid! Round after round of applause greeted theZouaves, who kept their positions for a moment, then snatching offtheir saucy little fez caps, they gave the company three cheers inreturn, of the most tremendous description; which quite took away thelittle remaining breath they had after the "double quick. "

Thus ended the first part of the review; and now, with the assistance oftheir rather Lilliputian battery, and Tom's double headers, they wentthrough some firing quite loud enough to make the little girls start andjump uncomfortably; so this part of the entertainment was brought torather a sudden conclusion. Jerry had just issued the order, "Close upin ranks to dismiss, " when Mr. Schermerhorn, who, with Miss Carlton andJessie, had left the piazza a few minutes before, came forward, saying, "Have the goodness to wait a moment, Colonel; there is one more ceremonyto go through with. "

The boys looked at each other in silent curiosity, wondering what couldbe coming; when, all at once, the chairs on the piazza huddled back in agreat hurry, to make a lane for a beautiful little figure, which cametripping from the open door. 

It was Jessie; but a great change had been made in her appearance. Overher snowy muslin skirts she had a short classic tunic of red, white, andblue silk; a wreath of red and white roses and bright blue jonquilsencircled her curls, and in her hand she carried a superb banner. Itwas made of dark blue silk, trimmed with gold fringe; on one side waspainted an American eagle, and on the other the words "DashahedZouaves, " surrounded with a blaze of glory and gold stars. She advancedto the edge of the piazza, and in a clear, sweet voice, a littletremulous, but very distinct, she said:

 "COLONEL AND BRAVE SOLDIERS:

 "I congratulate you, in the name of our friends, on the success you have achieved. You have shown us to-day what Young America can do; and as a testimonial of our high admiration, I present you the colors of your regiment!

 "Take them, as the assurance that our hearts are with you; bear them as the symbol of the Cause you have enlisted under; and should you fall beneath them on the field of battle, I bid you lay down your lives cheerfully for the flag of your country, and breathe with your last sigh the name of the Union! Colonel, take your colors!"

Freddy's cheeks grew crimson, and the great tears swelled to his eyes ashe advanced to take the flag which Jessie held toward him. And now ourlittle Colonel came out bright, sure enough. Perhaps not another memberof the regiment, called upon to make a speech in this way, could havethought of a word to reply; but Freddy's quick wit supplied him withthe right ideas; and it was with a proud, happy face, and clear voicethat he responded:

 "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:

 "I thank you, in the name of my regiment, for the honor you have done us. Inspired by your praises, proud to belong to the army of the Republic, we hope to go on as we have begun. To your kindness we owe the distinguishing colors under which we march hereafter; and by the Union for which we fight, they shall never float over a retreating battalion!"

Oh! the cheers and clapping of hands which followed this little speech!Everybody was looking at Freddy as he stood there, the colors in hishand, and the bright flush on his cheek, with the greatest admiration. Of course, his parents weren't proud of him; certainly not!

But the wonders were not at an end yet; for suddenly the band beganplaying a new air, and to this accompaniment, the sweet voice of somelady unseen, but which sounded to those who knew, wonderfully like MissLucy Carlton's, sang the following patriotic ballad:

 "We will stand by our Flag--let it lead where it will-- Our hearts and our hopes fondly cling to it still; Through battle and danger our Cause must be won-- Yet forward! undaunted we'll follow it on! 'Tis the Flag! the old Flag! still unsullied and bright, As when first its fair stars lit oppression's dark night And the standard that guides us forever shall be The Star-spangled Banner, the Flag of the Free!

 "A handful of living--an army of dead, The last charge been made and the last prayer been said; What is it--as sad we retreat from the plain That cheers us, and nerves us to rally again? 'Tis the Flag! the old Flag! to our country God-given, That gleams through our ranks like a glory from heaven! And the foe, as they fly, in our vanguard shall see The Star-spangled Banner, the Flag of the Free!

 "We will fight for the Flag, by the love that we bear In the Union and Freedom, we'll baffle despair; Trust on in our country, strike home for the right, And Treason shall vanish like mists of the night. Then cheer the old Flag! every star in it glows, The terror of traitors! the curse of our foes! And the victory that crowns us shall glorified be, 'Neath the Star-spangled Banner, the Flag of the Free!"

As the song ended, there was another tumult of applause; and then theband struck up a lively quickstep, and the company, with the Zouavesmarching ahead, poured out on the lawn toward the camp, where abountiful collation was awaiting them, spread on the regimental table. Two splendid pyramids of flowers ornamented the centre, and all mannerof "goodies, " as the children call them, occupied every inch of space onthe sides. At the head of the table Jerry had contrived a canopy from alarge flag, and underneath this, Miss Jessie, Colonel Freddy, with theother officers, and some favored young ladies of their own age, tooktheir seats. The other children found places around the table, and amerrier féte champêtre never was seen. The band continued to play livelyairs from time to time, and I really can give you my word as an author, that nobody looked cross for a single minute!

Between you and me, little reader, there had been a secret arrangementamong the grown folks interested in the regiment, to get all this up insuch fine style. Every one had contributed something to give the Zouavestheir flag and music, while to Mr. Schermerhorn it fell to supply thesupper; and arrangements had been made and invitations issued since thebeginning of the week. The regiment, certainly, had the credit, however, of getting up the review, it only having been the idea of their goodfriends to have the entertainment and flag presentation. So there was apleasant surprise on both sides; and each party in the transaction, wasquite as much astonished and delighted as the other could wish. 

The long sunset shadows were rapidly stealing over the velvet sward asthe company rose from table, adding a new charm to the beauty of thescene. Everywhere the grass was dotted with groups of elegant ladies andgentlemen, and merry children, in light summer dresses and quaintlypretty uniforms. The little camp, with the stacks of guns down itscentre, the bayonets flashing in the last rays of the sun, was allcrowded and brilliant with happy people; looking into the tents andadmiring their exquisite order, inspecting the bright muskets, andlistening eagerly or good-humoredly, as they happened to be children orgrown people, to the explanations and comments of the Zouaves. 

And on the little grassy knoll, where the flag staff was planted, central figure of the scene, stood Colonel Freddy, silent and thoughtfulfor the first time to-day, with Jerry beside him. The old man hadscarcely left his side since the boy took the flag; he would permit noone else to wait upon him at table, and his eyes followed him as hemoved among the gay crowd, with a glance of the utmost pride andaffection. The old volunteer seemed to feel that the heart of a soldierbeat beneath the little dandy ruffled shirt and gold-laced jacket of theyoung Colonel. Suddenly, the boy snatches up again the regimentalcolors; the Stars and Stripes, and little Jessie's flag, and shakesthem out to the evening breeze; and as they flash into view and oncemore the cheers of the Zouaves greet their colors, he says, withquivering lip and flashing eye, "Jerry, if God spares me to be a man, I'll live and die a soldier!"

The soft evening light was deepening into night, and the beautifulplanet Venus rising in the west, when the visitors bade adieu to thecamp; the Zouaves were shaken hands with until their wrists fairlyached; and then they all shook hands with "dear" Jessie, as Charley washeard to call her before the end of the day, and heard her say in hersoft little voice how sorry she was they must go to-morrow (though shecertainly couldn't have been sorrier than _they_ were), and then thegood people all got into their carriages again, and drove off; wavingtheir handkerchiefs for good-by as long as the camp could be seen; andso, with the sound of the last wheels dying away in the distance, endedthe very end of

 THE GRAND REVIEW. 

CHAPTER V. --AND LAST. 

"HOME, SWEET HOME. "

AND now, at last, had come that "day of disaster, " when Camp McClellanmust be deserted. The very sun didn't shine so brilliantly as usual, thought the Zouaves; and it was positively certain that the past fivedays, although they had occurred in the middle of summer, were the veryshortest ever known! Eleven o'clock was the hour appointed for thebreaking up of the camp, in order that they might return to the city bythe early afternoon boat. 

"Is it possible we have been here a week?" exclaimed Jimmy, as he satdown to breakfast. "It seems as if we had only come yesterday. "

"What a jolly time it has been!" chimed in Charley Spicer. "I don't wantto go to Newport a bit. Where are you going, Tom?"

"To Baltimore--but I don't mean to Secesh!" added Tom, with a littleblush. "I have a cousin in the Palmetto Guards at Charleston, and that'sone too many rebels in the family. "

"Never mind!" cried George Chadwick; "the Pringles are a first ratefamily; the rest of you are loyal enough, I'm sure!" and George gaveTom such a slap on the back, in token of his good will, that it quitebrought the tears into his eyes. 

When breakfast was over, the Zouaves repaired to their tents, andproceeded to pack their clothes away out of the lockers. They were notvery scientific packers, and, in fact, the usual mode of doing thebusiness was to ram everything higgledy-piggledy into their valises, andthen jump on them until they consented to come together and be locked. Presently Jerry came trotting down with a donkey cart used on the farm, and under his directions the boys folded their blankets neatly up, andplaced them in the vehicle, which then drove off with its load, leavingthem to get out and pile together the other furnishings of the tents;for, of course, as soldiers, they were expected to wind up their ownaffairs, and we all know that boys will do considerable _hard work_ whenit comes in the form of _play_. Just as the cart, with its viciouslittle wrong-headed steed, had tugged, and jerked, and worried itselfout of sight, a light basket carriage, drawn by two dashing blackCanadian ponies, drew up opposite the camp, and the reins were let fallby a young lady in a saucy "pork pie" straw hat, who was driving--noother than Miss Carlton, with Jessie beside her. The boys eagerlysurrounded the little carriage, and Miss Carlton said, laughing, "Jessiebegged so hard for a last look at the camp, that I had to bring her. Soyou are really going away?"

"Really, " repeated Freddy; "but I am so glad you came, Miss Jessie, justin time to see us off. "

"You know soldiers take themselves away houses and all, " said George;"you will see the tents come down with a run presently. "

"And here comes Jerry to help us!" added Harry. As he spoke, the donkeycart rattled up, and Jerry, touching his cap to the ladies, got out, andprepared to superintend the downfall of the tents. By his directions, two of the Zouaves went to each tent, and pulled the stakes first fromone corner, then the other; then they grasped firmly the pole whichsupported the centre, and when the sergeant ejaculated "Now!" like aflash! the tents slid smoothly to the ground all at the same moment, just as you may have made a row of blocks fall down by upsetting thefirst one. 

And now came the last ceremony, the hauling down of the flag. 

"Stand by to fire a salute!" shouted Jerry, and instantly a company wasdetached, who brought the six little cannon under the flagstaff, andcharged them with the last of the double headers, saved for thispurpose; Freddy stood close to the flagstaff, with the halyards ready inhis hands. Crack! fizz! went six matches for the cannon. "Make ready!apply light, FIRE!"

BANG! and the folds of the flag stream out proudly in the breeze, as itrapidly descends the halyards, and flutters softly to the greensward. 

There was perfectly dead silence for a moment; then the voice of Mr. Schermerhorn was heard calling, "Come, boys, are you ready? Jump in, then, it is time to start for the boat. " The boys turned and saw thecarriages which had brought them so merrily to the camp waiting toconvey them once more to the wharf; while a man belonging to the farmwas rapidly piling the regimental luggage into a wagon. 

With sorrowful faces the Zouaves clustered around the pretty ponychaise; shaking hands once more with Jessie, and internally vowing toadore her as long as they lived. Then they got into the carriages, andold Jerry grasped Freddy's hand with an affectionate "Good-by, my littleColonel, God bless ye! Old Jerry won't never forget your noble face aslong as he lives. " It would have seemed like insulting the old man tooffer him money in return for his loving admiration, but the handsomegilt-edged Bible that found its way to him soon after the departure ofthe regiment, was inscribed with the irregular schoolboy signature of"Freddy Jourdain, with love to his old friend Jeremiah Pike. "

As for the regimental standards, they were found to be rather beyondthe capacity of a rockaway crammed full of Zouaves, so Tom insisted onriding on top of the baggage, that he might have the pleasure ofcarrying them all the way. Up he mounted, as brisk as a lamplighter, with that monkey, Peter, after him, the flags were handed up, and withthree ringing cheers, the vehicles started at a rapid trot, and theregiment was fairly off. They almost broke their necks leaning back tosee the last of "dear Jessie, " until the locusts hid them from sight, when they relapsed into somewhat dismal silence for full five minutes. 

As Peter was going on to Niagara with his father, Mr. Schermerhornaccompanied the regiment to the city, which looked dustier and redbrickier (what a word!) than ever, now that they were fresh from thelovely green of the country. By Mr. Schermerhorn's advice, the partytook possession of two empty Fifth avenue stages which happened to bewaiting at the Fulton ferry, and rode slowly up Broadway to Chambersstreet, where Peter and his father bid them good-by, and went off to thedépôt. As Peter had declined changing his clothes before he left, theyhad to travel all the way to Buffalo with our young friend in thisunusual guise; but, as people had become used to seeing soldiersparading about in uniform, they didn't seem particularly surprised, whereat Master Peter was rather disappointed. 

To go back to the Zouaves, however. When the stages turned into Fifthavenue, they decided to get out; and after forming their ranks in finestyle, they marched up the avenue, on the sidewalk this time, stoppingat the various houses or street corners where they must bid adieu to oneand another of their number, promising to see each other again as soonas possible. 

At last only Tom and Freddy were left to go home by themselves. As theymarched along, keeping faultless step, Freddy exclaimed, "I tell youwhat, Tom! I mean to ask my father, the minute he comes home, to let mego to West Point as soon as I leave school! I must be a soldier--Ican't think of anything else!"

"That's just what I mean to do!" cried Tom, with sparkling eyes; "and, Fred, if you get promoted before me, promise you will have me in yourregiment, won't you?"

"Yes I will, certainly!" answered Freddy; "but you're the oldest, Tom, and, you know, the oldest gets promoted first; so mind you don't forgetme when you come to your command!"

As he spoke, they reached his own home; and our hero, glad after all tocome back to father, mother, and sister, bounded up the steps, and rangthe bell good and _hard_, just to let Joseph know that a personage ofeminence had arrived. As the door opened, he turned gayly round, cap inhand, saying, "Good-by, Maryland; you've left the regiment, but you'llnever leave the Union!" and the last words he heard Tom say were, "No, by George, _never_!"

 * * * * *

And now, dear little readers, my boy friends in particular, the historyof Freddy Jourdain must close. He still lives in New York, and attendsDr. Larned's school, where he is at the head of all his classes. 

The Dashahed Zouaves have met very often since the encampment, and hadmany a good drill in their room--the large attic floor which Mr. Jourdain allowed them for their special accommodation, and where thebeautiful regimental colors are carefully kept, to be proudly displayedin every parade of the Zouaves. 

When he is sixteen, the boy Colonel is to enter West Point Academy, andlearn to be a real soldier; while Tom--poor Tom, who went down toBaltimore that pleasant July month, promising so faithfully to joinFreddy in the cadet corps, may never see the North again. 

And in conclusion let me say, that should our country again be in dangerin after years, which God forbid, we may be sure that first in thefield, and foremost in the van of the grand army, will be our gallantyoung friend, COLONEL FREDDY. 

CONCLUSION. 

IT took a great many Saturday afternoons to finish the story of "ColonelFreddy, " and the children returned to it at each reading with renewedand breathless interest. George and Helen couldn't help jumping up offtheir seats once or twice and clapping their hands with delight whenanything specially exciting took place in the pages of the wonderfulstory that was seen "before it was printed, " and a great many "oh's" and"ah's" testified to their appreciation of the gallant "DashahedZouaves. " They laughed over the captive Tom, and cried over the truestory of the old sergeant; and when at length the very last word hadbeen read, and their mother had laid down the manuscript, George sprangup once more, exclaiming; "Oh, I wish I could be a boy soldier! Mamma, mayn't I recruit a regiment and camp out too?" "And oh! if I could onlypresent a flag!" cried his sister; "I wish I had been Jessie; what apity it wasn't all true!"

"And what if I should tell you, " said their mother, laughing, "that alittle bird has whispered in my ear that 'Colonel Freddy' waswonderfully like your little Long Island friend Hilton R----?"

"Oh, mamma! why, what makes you think so?"

"Oh, something funny I heard about him last summer; never mind what!"

The children wisely concluded that it was no use to ask any morequestions; at the same moment solemnly resolving that the very next timethey paid a visit to their aunt, who lived at Astoria, they would begher to let them drive over to Mr. R----'s place, and find out all aboutit. 

After this, there were no more readings for several Saturdays; but atlast one morning when the children had almost given up all hopes of morestories, George opened his eyes on the sock hanging against the door, which looked more bulgy than ever. "Hurrah!" he shouted; "Aunt Fanny'sdaughter hasn't forgotten us, after all!" and dressing himself in adouble quick, helter-skelter fashion, George dashed out into the entry, forgot his good resolution, and slid down the banisters like a streak oflightning and began pummelling on his sister's door with both fists;shouting, "Come, get up! get up, Nelly! here's another Sock story forus!"

This delightful announcement was quite sufficient to make Helen'sstockings, which she was just drawing on in a lazy fashion, fly up totheir places in a hurry; then she popped her button-over boots on thewrong feet, and had to take them off and try again; and, in short, thewhole of her dressing was an excellent illustration of that time-honoredmaxim, "The more _haste_, the worse _speed_;" George, meanwhile, performing a distracted Indian war dance in the entry outside, until hisfather opened his door and wanted to know what the racket was all about. 

"Socks! socks! father!" cried George, joyfully. 

At this moment Helen came out, and the two children scampered downstairs, and sitting down side by side on the sofa, they proceeded toexamine this second instalment of the Sock stories. They found it wasagain a whole book; and the title, on a little page by itself, read"GERMAN SOCKS. "

"Oh, I am so glad!" said Helen. "These must be more stories like thatdear 'Little White Angel. '"

And so they proved to be; for, on their mother's commencing to read thefirst story, it was found to be called, "God's Pensioners;" andcommenced, "It was a cold--" but stop! halt! This book was to be devotedto "Colonel Freddy;" but if you will only go to Mr. Leavitt's, thepublishers, you will there discover what was the rest of the second SockStories. 

 THE END. 

 * * * * *

Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired. 

Page 41, "dilemna" changed to "dilemma" (horns of this dilemma)

Page 81, "arttisically" changed to "artistically" (his forkartistically)