you's got to harden it down inside o' you, or it's notin'." Then he
hit hard at the religionists: "When a man's got de sperit ob de Lord
in him, it weakens him all out, can't hoe de corn." He had a great
deal of broad sense in his speech; but presently some others began
praying vociferously close by, as if to drown this free-thinker, when
at last he exclaimed, "I mean to fight de war through, an' die a good
sojer wid de last kick, dat's _my_ prayer!" and suddenly jumped off
the barrel. I was quite interested at discovering this reverse side of
the temperament, the devotional side preponderates so enormously, and
the greatest scamps kneel and groan in their prayer-meetings with such
entire zest. It shows that there is some individuality developed among
them, and that they will not become too exclusively pietistic.

Their love of the spelling-book is perfectly inexhaustible,--they
stumbling on by themselves, or the blind leading the blind, with the
same pathetic patience which they carry into everything. The chaplain is
getting up a schoolhouse, where he will soon teach them as regularly as
he can. But the alphabet must always be a very incidental business in a
camp.


December 14.

Passages from prayers in the camp:--

"Let me so lib dat when I die I shall _hab manners_, dat I shall know
what to say when I see my Heabenly Lord."

"Let me lib wid de musket in one hand an' de Bible in de oder,--dat if I
die at de muzzle ob de musket, die in de water, die on de land, I may