The opening and reading of all the dispatches, which the General received about bed-time, had, of course, to be gone through with, before he could retire to rest.

His eyes being weak, his secretaries were employed to read the communications.

He was a little deaf withal, and through the slight division between the two apartments the contents of the letters, and his comments upon them, were unpleasantly audible, as he continually admonished his secretary to raise his voice.
"What is that, Walter?
Read that over again." In vain we coughed and hemmed, and knocked over sundry pieces of furniture.

They were too deeply interested to hear aught that passed around them, and if we had been politicians we should have had all the secrets of the _working-men's party_ at our disposal, out of which to have made capital.
The next morning it was still rain! rain! nothing but rain! In spite of it, however, the gentlemen would take a small boat to row to the steamer, to bring up the luggage, not the least important part of that which appertained to us being sundry boxes of silver for paying the annuities to the Winnebagoes at the Portage.
I went out with some others of the company upon the piazza, to witness their departure.

A gentleman pointed out to me Fort Howard, on a projecting point of the opposite shore, about three-quarters of a mile distant--the old barracks, the picketed inclosure, the walls, all looking quaint, and, considering their modern erection, really ancient and venerable.