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As an accompaniment to the solemn service, and reminding us, says the narrator, that we are in a state of war, the gunboat "New London," across the sound, was engaging the enemy, and the booming of cannon was mingled with the notes of prayer and praise. It seemed a fitting inauguration of the great enterprise. The scene was impressive. The speaker spoke to the hearts of the listeners. The allusion to those distant homes in New England brought tears to eyes not accustomed to weep.

CHAPTER III.

COURAGE PROMOTED BY TRUST IN GOD.

I. A MESSAGE FROM THE BIBLE.

In the course of the first year of the present war, the rebels made an attack upon one of our regiments doing picket duty on the Maryland side of the Potomac. There were three houses standing upon the Virginia shore which afforded shelter to the enemy, and it became necessary to have them removed. The colonel tried the effect of shelling them, but, owing to the short range of his guns and the great distance, could not demolish them. The only thing accomplished by this was driving the enemy out of them to the shelter of the woods beyond.

The colonel then asked for volunteers to cross the river and burn the buildings. Only two men came forward, one a private, the other an orderly sergeant. The colonel gave the command to the sergeant, and told him to select as many men as he needed and go. Selecting three men from his own company to manage the boat and assist him, the brave fellows departed on their perilous mission. Ere they reached the middle of the stream, they were greeted with a shower of bullets. Volley followed volley, each passing over their heads without touching a man. As they neared the shore, the house immediately in front of them, which was a large brick one, offered them shelter for landing; and it was not many minutes after ere the smoke issuing from the roof showed their work was accomplished

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there. The next house was soon in flames also; but the third stood some distance from the river; to get to it they must cross a ploughed field directly under the fire of the musketry. Here, as in crossing the river, they were made the target for the enemy's bullets. Strange to say, this "forlorn hope" returned uninjured, and were received with enthusiastic cheers from their brave comrades.

The young sergeant, upon being complimented upon his courage, and interrogated as to the source of it, replied, "It is not in me; give God the glory. When I started, I committed my beloved wife and child to his fatherly care; should I never return. I breathed a prayer for myself and the little band with me. I went further. I entreated that we might all return in safety; and as I stepped from that boat, these words of the ninety-first Psalm came forcibly to my mind: 'A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.' I received it as an answer to my prayer; and though we could hear the bullets whizzing by, almost touching us, I felt no more fear of them than if they had been hailstones."

II. A WORD SPOKEN IN SEASON.

It is related that a colonel in the army went to Governor Buckingham, of the State of Connecticut, and asked him to appoint a godly man, who cared for the souls of men, as chaplain for his regiment. He said he had observed that soldiers who were Christians were more reliable than

those who were not; that in the day of battle they were more courageous. The governor told him he would see to it that he had the services of such a chaplain. After this promise the governor said, "Colonel, you manifest a great interest in the religious welfare of your soldiers. This is commendable; but have you no concern for the salvation of your own soul?" This question, so unexpectedly put to him, gave a new turn to his thoughts. He was led to see his own neglect of religion, and his inconsistency, as he had never seen them before, and to feel that the gospel might have claims on himself as well as on others. On returning to his command, he sought the counsel of a Christian friend, and at length came to a settled faith in the Redeemer.

Not long after this result, occurred the bloody battle of Roanoke, and Colonel Russel, the officer referred to, was among the dead. He fell at the head of the brave troops whom he had been anxious to make braver by planting the fear of God in their hearts. He himself acknowledged to an acquaintance that those few, faithful words of the governor were the means of arousing his conscience, and leading him to seek in earnest God's favor. The timely admonition, as we have reason to believe, was the Spirit's instrumentality for preparing him for his sudden departure.

III. MARCH OF THE NEW YORK SEVENTH TO WASHINGTON.

A member of the New York Seventh Regiment informs us how they spent the first Sabbath, on their memorable. journey to Washington. This regiment was the first that left the city or State of New York, in response to the summons of the President, after the fall of Fort Sumter.

1 Which was fought under General Burnside, February 8, 1862.

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The march occupied several days. The railroad, on the direct route between Philadelphia and Baltimore, had been destroyed by the rebels. Our men were obliged to go by the way of Annapolis, and to rebuild those portions of the road as they proceeded, where the rails had been torn up, in order to prevent the arrival of succor in time to save the Capital.

On the Sabbath, at sunrise, says our informant, the reveille beat, and blankets, guns, knapsacks, — everything was stowed away, and arrangements made to have service at half-past ten o'clock. An order was hardly necessary for this purpose, for all seemed to vie with each other to keep holy, the Sabbath-day. Soon after breakfast, some three hundred had gathered on the saloon-deck, and were singing hymns appropriate to the occasion, such as "Guide me, O thou great Jehovah," "When I can read my title clear," and "On Jordan's stormy banks I stand." At half past ten the services commenced, conducted by the chaplain, Rev. Dr. Weston. Nearly every member had brought with him a prayer-book or a Testament, and all who were near enough to follow the exercise had them in use at this time. It is but truth to say that the Sabbath was passed as every Sabbath should be, -in honoring God.

Just as we left Annapolis, most of the boys, at a temporary halt, took out their Testaments and read a chapter; and I saw a number go aside to offer a prayer that God would be with us on our eventful journey. I myself was among the number. When I returned, I opened my Bible casually at the forty-sixth Psalm, which the boys of Company A requested me to read aloud. It was certainly very appropriate.

Under the circumstances in which we were placed, such passages as these seemed to be written truly for our use and learning:-"God is our refuge and strength; a