a general survey of the premises. This was about eight o'clock in the evening; the streets were full of citizens and troopers, and the full moon shone bright as day. He was again alarmed by a party of soldiers mounting the stairs, and feared that the slight lowering and raising of the flag, made when he was trying the halyards, had been observed from the streets. He stood bchind the door, determined to jump by the first comers, and over the heads of those coming after, and make a run for the dock, some four or five blocks off, jump in and swim to the Pawnee Happily the troops went into another room. He then went toward the river to alter the moorings of a small vessel, so that her change of position might signify to his brother, that a boat could approach within hail; but was turned back by sentinels at every street approaching the river; the whole shore was guarded. He then determined to go back to the hotel, haul down the flag, and trust to the chapter of accidents. After a careful reconnoissance, at about ten o'clock, when everybody's attention was engaged by the passing of three cavalry com panies, he hauled down the flag, cut the halyards and made them fast to the cleet, that they might not be observed swinging loosely. To his horror he discovered that he had caught an "elephant." The flag was over thirty feet long, and about fifteen feet wide. He took off his coat, vest, and pants, and commenced winding the flag about his body. To use his own expression, he thought he never should get it all coiled away. He succeeded, however, by making a sort of Daniel Lambert of himself. Tying around him his pants and coat with a cord, he effectually hid the piratical emblem. Marching boldly down stairs, he got out of the house without exciting suspicion, and started on his travels. Critical as was his position, with the river bank lined with sentries, and the picket guards extended to Long Bridge, where he knew the draw was raised, it soon became perilous in the extreme, by a general alarm, which was given in consequence of the flag having been mis-1 sed. Patrolmen rushed in every direction to "cut off retreat" from the house, yet the fleet-footed Yankee only laughed at their pains, for he was safely beyond the square. An old shed

offered a retreat from the excited street. Into it he crept, proposing to lie concealed until the moon should be obscured by passing clouds, when he determined to push for the back country, make a circuit above the town, and swim across to Ellsworth's Zouave camp, whose fires he could plainly see. He saw his brother's boat (with a detachment of twelve men from the Massachusetts Fifth) lying off in the middle of the river, but dared not hail her, for fear of causing his certain arrest. He managed to push from picket to picket, by wary advances, at one time lying flat on his back for half-an-hour, while the guard was smoking within a few feet of him, until he broke cover in the open country, beyond the suburbs, when the moon shown out brightly, and he found himself suddenly confronted by two sentries. He made a rush to pass them, when both of them seized him. He grasped one by the breast and threw him to the ground with such violence that he wrenched off one of the Virginian army buttons, which he afterward wore on his watch-guard as a trophy. The other sentry dropped his gun and fled; but a third soldier, a powerful man, clinched him from behind, and, after a brief but fierce struggle, he was hopelessly a prisoner. He retained his presence of mind, and by ready wit and fertility of invention saved himself from personal violence.

His captor proved to be Jackson, who, at first indignant at the theft, was so pleased with the nonchalance of the Yankee as to be disarmed of his anger; and he marched the prisoner back to the hotel in perfect good humor. Fuller was permited. to retire to his room on his parole not to escape. Jackson remarked that he was "too smart and decent for a miserable Yankee." Fuller tried the power of money, but the rank rebel replied that "it could not be bought for $10,000❞—that "old Lincoln had threatened to take it down, and he wanted to see him do it."

After a night of anxious unrest, Mr. Fuller came down to breakfast, and found that everybody was observing him and pointing him out as the "d-d Yankee" who had hauled down the flag. He sauntered through the city, made small pur

chases of tobacco, &c., in the deserted stores, and went to a secession meeting at night. One of the speakers alluded very feelingly to the imperishable glory which covered the Stars and Stripes, and related with thrilling pathos how his father, a veteran of eighty years, still clung to them. At this point Fuller's patriotic feeling overcame his prudence; he clapped his hands loudly in applause, when the whole meeting, electrified by the speaker, applauded to the echo. But the excitability of "the Yankee" caused the crowd to glower at him so ferociously that he concluded "to beat a retreat rather than be borne down in front or outflanked."

The detention of Charles caused great apprehensions for his safety. Arranging with the officers of the Pawnee for the cooperation of its guns and marines in event of his (W. J.'s) detention, he pushed down to Alexandria from the Long Bridge, Wednesday morning. After much negotiation, and the menacing position assumed by the sloop-of-war, Charles was released on Thursday and given over to Commander Rowan, of the Pawnee. Arrangements had been thoroughly made to assault and burn the city, had the Fullers been detained. Several companies of the Massachusetts Fifth took a solemn vow that they would take the city, "orders or no orders," and Ellsworth's "boys" were "in the ring." But the orders would have been given. On the night of Thursday, Mr. Fuller, sure of cooperation by water, again tried to take the flag; but it was guarded by two soldiers, sleeping in the attic, and watched incessantly by sentinels outside. So he contented himself with taking the flag which hung up in the hall. This he wound round his person, and succeeded in bringing away with him.

The elder brother had arranged a "seizure" of his ownthus to anticipate Charles and snatch the trophy from him, or at least to insure its certain capture as well as the capture of Alexandria itself! The story runs: W. J. Fuller, in command of a detachment of twelve sailors from Captain Wardwell's company, under Lieutenants Stoddard and Williams, determined to go round the Pawnee, and then pull straight to shore, answering any hail with-"boat from the Pawnee."

He knew the fears of the city, troops and all, that her guns could level the place in thirty minutes. He intended to take half his men, seize the sentries, march openly to the hotel, demand the flag, his brother, and the unconditional surrender of the troops and the city. But this pretty scheme was vetoed by the Commander. It was, of course, not in the Commanderin-Chief's programme of operations; but was, nevertheless, a characteristic Yankce invention.

In conceiving this assault, Mr. Fuller was but embodying the ideas which he enunciated at the great demonstration in New York city, May 20th-on which occasion he was one of the chosen speakers. He said, among other stirring things:

"Let the Government forever discard its 'do little and drift along' policy, and give the people action, action-prompt, vigorous, energetic, crushing, bloody and decisive. Let it quit searching musty law tomes for precedents. Make precedents. The idea of the Government being harnessed down by the iron bands of formula and delay when dealing with revolutionists, traitors and rebels, is criminal and absurd. Inter arma leges silent. When General Jackson threatened to hang Calhoun, he was told by his Attorney-General that there was no law for it. His reply was, 'If you can't find law for me, I will appoint an Attorney-General who can.' If the Government will adopt a vigorous policy, the law for everything it does will be found. in the hearts of the people. The eyes of the people are upon the Government. They cannot wait its tardy action. They will reward energy, and will hold it to a strict accountability for imbecility."

X

A NORTHERN BREEZE FROM THE SOUTH.

THE Great Rebellion called forth many splendid efforts of oratory. It is probable that no people on the face of the globe are more constantly associated with the sublime clements of country, which are supposed to influence the minds of men to sublime expression, than Americans; yet, it has frequently been remarked by ourselves, as well as by foreigners, that no country produces so few truly eloquent orators. The experience of the past few months proves that the talent for eloquent expression is wide-spread, and that only the occasion is wanting to call it forth. The Congress of 1860-61 gave birth to many supurb declamations :-indeed, the entire session was one succession of speeches and argumentative efforts, which alone, would immortalize the occasion. We may point to them, in confidence, as a living evidence of the extraordinary mental resources of the American people, as the war which followed was an evidence of their tremendous physical

resources.

Our volume of "Incidents and Anecdotes" scarcely permits the reproduction of these oratorical efforts; yet, some of them were made under such peculiar circumstances as to become incidents of the struggle. Such were the impassioned speeches made in the Virginia Convention and General Assembly by the Union men; in Tennessee, by the fearless men of the hills; in Kentucky, by the worthy sons of "Old Kentuck" sires. Few of these, however, were reported, much to the loss of our patriotic literature; only sketches were placed on record, to outline what was, at the moment, a splendid creation.