THE FIRST SABBATH AT BEAUFORT.

139

There was an evening service, at which the object was to incite Christians to set the standard of their piety high, to show themselves worthy followers of Him who, among the other ends of his work on earth, has taught us how to live as well as to die, who "was holy, harmless, undefiled." In the army, especially, men need all the strength that a due observance of the Lord's Supper can afford. Helped by such means, and compelled as they are to be watchful, or forfeit all, no doubt some among them develop a more robust, symmetrical character in the army than they would ever have reached amid the more quiet scenes of life at home.

XII. THE FIRST SABBATH AT BEAUFORT.

Our forces took possession of this town on the tenth of November, 1861. The flag of the nation, which had been hauled down and dishonored in the capture of Sumter, had just been raised once more, at Hilton Head, on the soil of South Carolina, with shouts of triumph and salvos of artillery.

1

The Roundheads, and the Michigan Eighth were sent to this outpost of the chief military station. The first Sabbath came;-and shall its wonted rest, the teachings and prayers of the sanctuary, be denied to those wanderers from a distant home? No; there were pious officers there, and ministers of Christ, who were careful to mark the day as the day which God has hallowed, and to turn its opportunities to account for the benefit of the soldier.

We were strolling leisurely through the streets, on that Sabbath (writes a correspondent from the place), when suddenly the glorious notes of "Old Hundred" burst on our ears. The extreme quiet of the town, the gentle sigh

1 See the account of them on page 27.

ing of the moss-grown oaks, the full, deep tones of the organ, and the powerful voices of the singers, as they joined in the hymn, combined to awaken feelings which it is not easy to describe. We followed the sounds, and were led to the Baptist church, and there a scene met our eyes, for which, in our ignorance of any such gathering, we were not at all prepared. The glittering muzzles protruding from the windows, and the stack of drums without, proclaimed the nature of the exercises. Nor, on entering the sacred place, was the sight less novel or unexpected. Over the pulpit, from which treason had so long been preached, hung in graceful folds the regimental colors of the Pennsylvania "Roundheads." Ministers of the gospel were in the desk. A sermon was preached, and the other parts of worship performed in connection with the sermon. A prayer for our common country and its lawful rulers was offered once more, and for the first time there since the beginning of the rebellion. After the benediction the Roundheads and the men of the Michigan Eighth gave three patriotic cheers, and then taking down their arms, marched quietly back to their tents.

XIII. A LEAF FROM HIS JOURNAL.

A correspondent from the army who went, with a friend, among the soldiers to distribute medical stores, and Bibles, tracts, and other religious books, found a general eagerness among them to receive such donations. A single leaf from his journal may be copied here.

Wending our way down a deep gully beyond the fort, we passed up and around Fort Marcy, and approached a regimental hospital. Here the sick boys of the Vermont Second took gratefully both our tracts and the comforts

A LEAF FROM HIS JOURNAL.

141

for invalids. I said to one of them, "Do you not want to go home?"

"Yes," said he, "but not till we conquer the rebels."

There were tents in a wooded region on our right, from which the men, as soon as they heard of our errand, came up and begged for books.

"How glad I am for this," said one of them, as he pressed a Testament upon his bosom between his two hands. Half a mile further, we came upon the Pennsylvania First Cavalry. We stopped and handed a tract to a soldier by the road-side. He thanked us, and flourishing the prize over his head, shouted to his comrades, of whom twenty or more came rushing to the spot. The supplying of these brought to us ten times their number, and in five minutes they were twenty deep on either side of our wagon, shouting, "Give me one," "Give me one," "Give me a Testament," and a perfect palisade of extended arms and grasping hands environed us. We urged them to stand back; for it seemed as if wagon and horse would break down under their weight. They did so instantly; but the clamor only rose from a wider circle, "Give me a book! Give me a book!"

One of them held up a pack of cards in his hand, and challenged an exchange.

"Give me a Testament," he said, "and I'll give up the cards!"

The Testament was given, and he then threw the cards beneath our horse's feet. And so we worked, both of us, dealing out our supply of books to the eager, hungering crowd, as fast as our hands could pass them to those who received them. I could think of nothing but the assault of starving men, and these men like a pack of hungry wolves from the forest, that had broken loose upon us. I noticed among them one poor fellow, who, shot through

the lungs, seemed near his end; his lips were pale, and his every feature marked him as a victim of the grave. I stooped down and spoke to him of Christ.

"I can trust in Him," he faintly replied.

The smile on his pallid countenance showed that he was resting on the hope "which is sure and steadfast."

"Dear youth, happy even in such distress," I said to myself. Christian friends of the soldiers should pray that all who die may die as calmly, and remember that what we do for them must be done quickly.

The next regiment to which we came had a chaplain, but the men said, "We never see him!" He is one of a class that ought never to have been here. Many of the chaplains are noble, faithful men, who honor their profession, and make themselves indispensable to the army. But some, I must say, have no fitness for their work, and some are a disgrace to the office.

It was a gift which illustrates the Preacher's word: 1. "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good."

"Are you going to take your book with you to the battle-field?" This question Edward R. Graton, of Company C, a native of Clappville, Mass., addressed to one of his companions, the day before the fight at Newbern, N. C.

"I don't know," the other replied.

"I shall take mine," said he, and at the word he placed it carefully in the left breast pocket of his blouse.

1 Ecclesiastes xi. 6.

FORTUNES OF A BIBLE.

143

These prayer-books, (says the Rev. Mr. James, chaplain of one of the New England Regiments,)1 had been given to them by a friend at home the day they started for the war. A copy was given also to another soldier of the company, but he threw it away at Camp Hicks, in Annapolis.

Among the first who were brought back wounded from the field was Graton,-shot with a ball through his side. It had passed in at his left breast, and out at his back, making a severe and dangerous wound. It would have proved mortal at the instant, had it not passed directly through his prayer-book, a distance of an inch and a quarter. This obstacle deadened the force of the bullet, and gave it another direction. The book lies before me as I write, (says the chaplain,) pierced on its side; and very near the middle of the cover is seen the blood of the owner, staining it through at least two hundred pages.

This prayer-book, worn in his bosom, which turned aside thus the shaft of death, lengthened out his probation a whole precious month. During this time, there was an opportunity for many interviews with him. He often expressed fully and freely his trust in the Lord Jesus, as the sinner's friend and Saviour, and when he died, died peaceful and happy in his sheltering arms.

This little book will be dear to his friends, and especially to his mother. I have engaged to give it to her in person, (says Mr. James,) after our return home.

XV. FORTUNES OF A BIBLE.

The battle had been raging fearfully for many hours on the bloody field of Antietam, with alternate victory and defeat. In one continued shower the leaden hail poured

1 Connected with General Burnside's expedition to Newbern and Roanoke.