She says that she
never saw but one she liked."
"And who was he?"
"His name was Caesar; he was a house servant of my late grandfather
Wharton. You don't remember him, I believe; he died the same year with
his master, while we were children. Katy yearly sings his requiem, and,
upon my word, I believe he deserved it. I have heard something of his
helping my English uncle, as we call General Wharton, in some difficulty
that occurred in the old war. My mother always speaks of him with great
affection. Both Caesar and Katy came to Virginia with my mother when she
married. My mother was--"
"An angel!" interrupted the old man, in a voice that startled the young
soldiers by its abruptness and energy.
"Did you know her?" cried the son, with a glow of pleasure on his cheek.
The reply of the stranger was interrupted by sudden and heavy explosions
of artillery, which were immediately followed by continued volleys of
small arms, and in a few minutes the air was filled with the tumult of a
warm and well-contested battle.
The two soldiers hastened with precipitation towards the camp,
accompanied by their new acquaintance. The excitement and anxiety
created by the approaching fight prevented a continuance of the
conversation, and the three held their way to the army, making
occasional conjectures on the cause of the fire, and the probability of
a general engagement.
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