CLOSING INCIDENTS--PROFESSOR LOWE'S BALLOON--FITZ JOHN PORTER'S ADVENTURE--HIS UPWARD FLIGHT--RECONNOITERING FROM A DANGEROUS POSITION--COOL COURAGE--ENTHUSIASTIC GREETING--AN EARNEST INQUIRER--A BAPTISM IN THE ARMY--PREACHING BY MOONLIGHT--A MAGNIFICENT SCENE--A WEDDING IN CAMP--GAY TIMES--A CONTRAST--HOSPITAL IN WINCHESTER--SPIRIT OF REVENGE--SABLE HEROINE--A WHITE DARKEY--COLORED SOLDIERS--CONCLUSION. [Illustration: HOSPITAL TREE AT FAIR OAKS.--Page 191.] NURSE AND SPY. CHAPTER I. COMMENCEMENT OF THE WAR--MY HOME AND MY DUTY--I ENLIST IN THE CAUSE--EXCITEMENT AT THE WEST--TROOPS ON THE MARCH--MOBS AT BALTIMORE--TEMPORARY HOSPITALS--UNAVOIDABLE EVILS--BEGGING FOR COMFORTS--SUPPLIES FOR THE SICK--CAMP HOSPITALS--THUNDERS STORMS IN CAMP--A DYING OFFICER--SOLDIERS IN THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS--PREPARATIONS FOR THE ADVANCE. Early in the spring of 1861, I was returning from the far West, and as I sat waiting for the train which was to bear me to my adopted home in New England, and was meditating upon the events which had transpired during the past few months, the record of which was destined to blacken the fair pages of American history, I was aroused from my reverie by a voice in the street crying "New York Herald--Fall of Fort Sumter--President's Proclamation--Call for seventy-five thousand men!" This announcement startled me, while my imagination portrayed the coming struggle in all its fearful magnitude. War, civil war, with all its horrors seemed inevitable, and even then was ready to burst like a volcano upon the most happy and prosperous nation the sun ever shone upon. The contemplation of this sad picture filled my eyes with tears and my heart with sorrow. It is true, I was not an American--I was not obliged to remain here during this terrible strife--I could return to my native land where my parents would welcome me to the home of my childhood, and my brothers and sisters would rejoice at my coming. But these were not the thoughts which occupied my mind. It was not my intention, or desire, to seek my own personal ease and comfort while so much sorrow and distress filled the land. But the great question to be decided, was, what can I do? What part am I to act in this great drama? I was not able to decide for myself--so I carried this question to the Throne of Grace, and found a satisfactory answer there.