I never knew it fail to make Some green one go it blind; And when the first slip-up is made, It's all your own, you'll find. My breath comes hard--I'm euchred, boy-- First Families must die; I leave you in your innocence, And here's a last good-bye. Shortly after the event I have recorded, I was examining the back of a house near the battle-field, to see if it corresponded with the front, when another Fire Zouave came along, and says he: "It's my opine that you're sticking rather too thick to the rear of that house to be much punkins in a muss. Why don't you go to the front like a man?" "My boy," says I, "this is the house of a predominant rebel, and I'm detailed to watch the back door." With that the Zouave was taken with such a dreadful fit of coughing that he had to move on to get his breath, and I was left alone once more. These Fire Zouaves, my boy, have a perversity about them not to be repressed. They were neck-and-neck with the rest of us in our stampede back to this city; and yet, my boy, they refuse to consider the United States of America worsted. Here is the version of BULL RUN, BY A FIRE ZOUAVE. Oh, it's all very well for you fellers That don't know a fire from the sun, To curl your moustaches, and tell us Just how the thing _oughter_ be done; But when twenty wake up ninety thousand, There's nothin' can follow but rout; We didn't give in till we had to; And what are yer coughin' about? The crowd that was with them ere rebels Had ten to our every man; But a fireman's a fireman, me covey, And he'll put out a fire if he can: So we run the masheen at a gallop, As easy as open and shut, And as fast as one feller went under, Another kept takin' der butt. You oughter seen Farnham, that mornin'! In spite of the shot and the shell His orders kept ringing around us As clear as the City Hall bell. He said all he could to encourage And lighten the hearts of the men, Until he was bleeding and wounded, And nary dried up on it then. While two rifle regiments fought us, And batteries tumbled us down, Them cursed Black-Horse fellers charged us, Like all the Dead Rabbits in town. And that's just the way with them rebels, It's ten upon one, or no fair; But we emptied a few of their saddles-- You may bet all your soap on that air! "Double up!" says our colonel, quite coolly, When he saw them come riding like mad, And we did double up in a hurry, And let them have all that we had. They came at us counting a hundred, And scarcely two dozen went back; So you see, if they bluffed us on aces, We made a big thing with the Jack.