The old fellow opened his eyes wider and wider as the list of imaginary armies was run over. Then, gazing up intently in the officer’s face: “Got all dem men?” he asked in a subdued voice. “Yes, and more.” The negro threw out his arms and ejaculated: “Oh! dear Mesopotamia! Whatever will become of massa, I wonder?” The negroes wanted to be free, but they did not want to work. Many of them who had run away from their masters were employed by the Federals in unloading stores. They worked from daylight until dark, singing over it, talking, shouting, arguing, making such a shindy. A Virginian negro never did a quarter of a day’s work on his master’s plantations, and they soon found out the difference when they became free niggers and earned wages. They did not much relish their rise. A party of niggers would come up to the Colonel’s tent. “Well, boys, what made you leave your master? Wasn’t he kind to you?” “Oh yes, massa berry kind--berry kind indeed.” “Well, didn’t he give you enough to eat?” “Oh yes, plenty of dat, plenty of dat--’nuff to eat.” “Well, boys, what made you leave him?” “Why, de trufe am dat he made us work ’mong sugar-canes,” said one. “And we heerd ’bout de Norf am such a nice place, so we tort dat we would go to um,” said another. “Nice place? Why, how do you mean a nice place?” “Well, sah, we was told dat nobody did no work up dar.” Even the white peasants in Virginia seemed to be lazy and indolent. They lived in little cabins, and only the very young or old were left, as every able-bodied man was in the army. They were dressed in homespun and spoke with a drawl. They did not wish to be richer, content with one acre and a single cow--Tories of a most old-fashioned kind; and the women, like the Boers, were far more dangerous rebels than the men, and tried to entrap unwary Federals when they got them drinking in their houses.