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Charley had arranged all his business affairs, and sent tender messages to absent ones, who little dreamed how near their loved one stood to the grave. The tears filled my eyes more than once as I listened to those parting words. All were sad, and he turned to me:

"Now H I guess you had better take off your thumb."

"Oh, Charley! how can I?" said I.

"But it must be done, you know," he replied, cheerfully. "I thank you very much for your kindness, and now, good-by."

He turned away his head, I raised my thumb, once more the life-current gushed forth, and in three minutes poor Charley was dead.

XIII. THE LAST DUTY TO HIS COUNTRY.

Death has enough that is sorrowful and gloomy even when it enters the quiet and comfortable home, where loving friends and kindred surround the bedside. But to die away from those we love, among strangers, and in circumstances unattended by so many outward alleviations,and yet to die peacefully, joyfully, requires a strong faith, and shows a resignation to the will of God which is surely one of the fruits of the Spirit. Many a brave man, since the war began, has met this last enemy of the Christian with as much heroism as he met the enemy of his country in battle.

One of the delegates of the Christian Commission reports an instance of this nature which should be recorded among the examples of the power of the gospel in the last dread hour.

Among those wounded at Fredericksburg, on Saturday, May third, who were early brought across the river from

the field of carnage, covered with blood, was a young man from Newburyport, Mass. He had been among the most faithful in attendance at our weekly prayer-meeting. I saw at once that his wound was mortal. His injury was such that he could not see. I grasped him by the hand. and spoke to him. He knew me by my voice.

“Oh!” said he, “I am mortally wounded, and soon must die."

"Do you feel willing to die?" I asked.

"Yes; I have done the last duty for my God and my country. Life is dear, but I know that all is right. I have a dear mother and sister at home, whom I love. I would like to die with them in the quiet of home; but I cannot, and am willing to die here."

It must be enough, one would think, to scatter the doubts of the most unbelieving, to stand at the side of such a dying soldier. To see how calmly, with what assurance of hope, the young Christian breathes out his life in the arms of the Saviour, shows at once the power of the consolations which support him, and the reality of the faith from which they spring.

CHAPTER V.

EFFORTS FOR THE SPIRITUAL WELFARE OF THE SOLDIERS.

I. PRAYER IN A CHURCHYARD.

SCATTERED over the battle-fields and camping-grounds of the present war, are consecrated spots, Bethels, every one of them sacred to some soul who there held sweet communion with God. A laborer in the work of the Christian Commission gives the following account of a prayer-meeting which was organized and held for a time, in the churchyard of a village, near Fredericksburg, in Virginia:

Prayer-meetings (he says) had been held previously every evening, and many souls, I trust, converted to God. In the Seventh Michigan, especially, a glorious work commenced erelong, and I trust that it has been carried on by the Holy Spirit of God, and that eternity will reveal glorious results which God wrought for the souls of these earnest, truth-seeking men. Before leaving them, I assisted in organizing a prayer-meeting of their own. Nine or ten, sometimes more, faithful young men, retired every evening after roll-call to their little retreat, and there they prayed together, and talked together to strengthen each other in faith and love. That retreat was the village churchyard. Around a broad, flat, old-fashioned tombstone, as an altar, this faithful little band met, and God met with them and blessed them.

I have often thought what a solemn spot that is which has been the scene of so much devotion, and what solemn moments those were which those disciples spent in prayer,

in that habitation of the dead. Around them lay the lifeless remains of those who, in years gone by, had lived and moved and thought and filled their places among men. Near by was a long row of graves which contained the remains of Union soldiers who had fallen at the first battle of Fredericksburg. Not long since they, too, were living men, soldiers, like these worshippers. Perhaps some of them were praying soldiers, perhaps some of them died without having learned how to pray.

These faithful, Christian young men did not forget their prayer-meeting when the fortunes of war called them away from this chosen spot. They still met as often as the evening came. On one of the evenings during the battle of Gettysburg, when the hour arrived for the meeting, some of the wonted attendants were present, but it was found that some of the most devoted had that day fallen as sacrifices on the altar of their country. They had fallen, but they fell with their armor on, bright and polished. They died exemplifying the power of that faith which had sustained and supported them during the weeks they had lived as Christians.

II. REGIMENTAL CHURCHES.

A gratifying feature which religious effort in behalf of the soldiers assumed during the progress of the war, was the formation, in some of the regiments, of temporary churches. These churches (wrote one of the promoters of this measure) are designed to embrace those who are already professors of religion, as well as new converts. In these they find a spiritual home, in which they can receive the benefits of church care and fellowship. As in the camp, the tent is the soldier's substitute for his ordinary

dwelling,

REGIMENTAL CHURCHES.

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this church is the soul's tabernacle, in the

absence of his regular and permanent sanctuary.

A church in the camp! What a novelty! With it is connected the prayer-meeting, the Bible-class, the singing of God's praise, the preaching of the Word, the rite of baptism, the communion of the saints, and all those sacred services which bless communities at home. We hail the movement as a happy device of Christian enterprise. Faithful, efficient chaplains are needed; but, in the hands of such men, an institution like this must be a great blessing to those whom it is designed to benefit.

A minister of the gospel sits beside me (writes Mr. Alvord, in one of his letters), who has just related to me a scene that took place last Sunday under his own eye.

A young man who had been converted in their meetings was received to the camp church. The chaplain had been preaching to at least eight hundred of the regiment, and, at the close of the service, this young man was asked to give some account of his experience and hopes. He rose to his feet, and was stepping forward to a place where he could be heard. At that moment, most unexpectedly, a group of soldiers joined him, and all pressed forward together to the stand. They were Christian men, and they wished in this way to uphold their comrade, and show themselves on the side of Christ. The candidate was then admitted into the church in due form, while the regiment looked on, and showed by their earnest attention how deeply the scene had interested them.

"The major," said the chaplain, "though he did not profess to be a pious man, grasped me by the arm, after the service, saying with deep feeling, 'Never did I witness so impressive a scene as that!""

The chaplain of the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment refers to a similar organization, under date of October 23d, 1861.