cavalry officer who had just arrived at the post, and that every
article of ours must be out of the house that day by one o'clock! Also
that, as he was officer of the guard, it would be impossible for him
to assist me in the least, except to send some enlisted men to move
the things. At first I was dazed and wholly incapable of comprehending
the situation--it seemed so preposterous to expect anyone to move
everything out of a house in three hours. But as soon as I recovered
my senses I saw at once that not one second of the precious time must
be wasted, and that the superintendence of the whole thing had fallen
upon me.

So I gathered my forces, and the four men started to work in a way
that showed they would do everything in their power to help me. All
that was possible for us to do, however, was almost to throw things
out in a side yard, for remember, please, we had only three short
hours in which to move everything--and this without, warning or
preparation of any kind. All things, big and small, were out by one
o'clock, and just in time, too, to avoid a collision with the colored
soldiers of the incoming cavalry officer, who commenced taking
furniture and boxes in the house at precisely that hour.

Of course there was no hotel or even restaurant for me to go to, and I
was too proud and too indignant to beg shelter in the house of a
friend--in fact, I felt as if I had no friend. So I sat down on a
chair in the yard with the little dog by me, thinking, I remember,
that the chair was our own property and no one had a right to object
to my being there. And I also remember that the whole miserable affair
brought to mind most vividly scenes of eviction that had been
illustrated in the papers from time to time, when poor women had been
evicted for nonpayment of rent!