it to come up, which it did, with a crash that knocked every one
forward on their faces, and caused several old ladies to screech
dismally. Hats flew off, bonnets were flattened, the stove
skipped, the lamps fell down, the water jar turned a somersault,
and the wheel just over which I sat received some damage. Of
course, it became necessary for all the men to get out, and stand
about in everybody's way, while repairs were made; and for the
women to wrestle their heads out of the windows, asking ninety-
nine foolish questions to one sensible one. A few wise females
seized this favorable moment to better their seats, well knowing
that few men can face the wooden stare with which they regard the
former possessors of the places they have invaded.

The country through which we passed did not seem so very unlike
that which I had left, except that it was more level and less
wintry. In summer time the wide fields would have shown me new
sights, and the way-side hedges blossomed with new flowers; now,
everything was sere and sodden, and a general air of
shiftlessness prevailed, which would have caused a New England
farmer much disgust, and a strong desire to "buckle to," and
"right up" things. Dreary little houses, with chimneys built
outside, with clay and rough sticks piled crosswise, as we used
to build cob towers, stood in barren looking fields, with cow,
pig, or mule lounging about the door. We often passed colored
people, looking as if they had come out of a picture
book, or off the stage, but not at all the sort of people I'd
been accustomed to see at the North.

Wayside encampments made the fields and lanes gay with blue coats
and the glitter of buttons. Military washes flapped and fluttered