"Of the past? Yes, of the past, as well as the present, and of the future! But tell me what _you_ see here, that you should love this country so much. It is not from associations?" "No, only its beauty!" "Its beauty? I cannot see it! Where is it?" "Shall I describe what I see?" "Yes, sir; I am interested to know what _you_ can call beautiful." "I will. I am standing here, upon a lofty mountain turret. Below is the Osage. Gaze upon it. Is it not majestical? Yonder it rolls, along the mountain's base, now leaping, rushing onward, like a giant army charging a deadly foe, lashing its banks as if it longed to break from its restraint, and charge the world. And there it strikes the mountain's side, and for a moment falters. It will turn aside defeated! Will it? No! It is no coward, and the mountain yields--the mountain falls--the Osage breaks the barrier, and rushes on. And now, all conscious of its victory, it pauses for awhile, or gliding gently onward murmurs its own song of glory. And listen to the strain. How it rises on the air, and is borne from crag to crag, along the lofty summits to tell that grand array of its own defeat. Look at that mountain column formed in battle line. It appears impregnable. But its ranks are broken, and its power defied. That gap is where the charge was made--that gap tells the story--its line was broken, and defeat followed. The river was victorious!" "Good!" echoed Johnson. "What more do you see?" "Mountains and hills where we can defy the world. And yonder is my own camp." "Yes, your camp, containing seventy thousand true and tried soldiers. Those who have shared your victories with you. Seventy thousand soldiers! ha! ha! ha!" "Johnson, I do not like your sarcasm. Better the enemy should over-estimate our numbers. It will intimidate them." "Intimidate! Whom?" "Why, not only the soldiers of the army, but their generals!" "Asboth?" "Yes!" "Sturgis?" "Yes!" "Hunter?" "Yes!" "Sigel and Fremont?" "Yes; even Sigel and Fremont can be intimidated." "Perhaps--by an earthquake, but not by you, General Price. Asboth is a soldier, and does not know the meaning of the word fear. Sturgis--you have met him once--do you wish to meet him again? Hunter--there is lightning in his eyes; if he does not fight, it will be for want of a foe. Sigel--do you remember Wilson's Creek?" "But of Fremont--what of him?" "He will meet you here, if you dare remain; and his soldiers will come with him." "Well, it may be so. Their army is now at Warsaw. They must be detained for some days yet. They are constructing a bridge at that point across the Osage, and you will have sufficient time to visit their camps, and return before they advance. If it should be advisable to move, you can apprize us in time." "When shall I start?" "Now." "Well, your instructions."