Here, when his eyes were uncovered, he found himself surrounded by a motley multitude, which might well have reminded him of Robin Hood and his outlaws.

The scene was unquestionably wonderfully picturesque and attractive, and our young officer seems to have been duly impressed by it.

He was in the middle of one of those grand natural amphitheatres so common in our swamp forests, in which the massive pine, the gigantic cypress, and the stately and ever-green laurel, streaming with moss, and linking their opposite arms, inflexibly locked in the embrace of centuries, group together, with elaborate limbs and leaves, the chief and most graceful features of Gothic architecture.
To these recesses, through the massed foliage of the forest, the sunlight came as sparingly, and with rays as mellow and subdued, as through the painted window of the old cathedral, falling upon aisle and chancel.

Scattered around were the forms of those hardy warriors with whom our young officer was yet destined, most probably, to meet in conflict,--strange or savage in costume or attitude--lithe and sinewy of frame--keen-eyed and wakeful at the least alarm.

Some slept, some joined in boyish sports; some with foot in stirrup, stood ready for the signal to mount and march.