“Old Ham chimed in: 'Yas, Marfa, dat am de fac\ You see, when I goes wid Marsa Gen'l, he gets shotted nearly ebery time. I not understand dis, but he not git any time hurt when I's away. How is dat, Marfa? Guess it best for me not be wid him. I tell you I guess I see it all now; de Laud want me to stay here wid dese womens and dese chil'ns, and Marsa Gen'l he not t'ink ob dat, so de Laud jes' let him git hurted, so he hab to come and stay wid de folks and hab me heah? Is dat it, Marfa?' “'Yes, dat am de case; and I 'spec you is glad, kase you is a powerful coward, Ham; you knows you is.' “'Marfa, you neber see me fightin' dem Sesh. Else you not say dem hard words 'bout Ham. No, indeed, you not know 'bout me.' “'I 'specs dat's so, Ham. How many of de Sesh does you 'specs you is killed?' “'Don' know, don' know. I neber counted em; war too busy, Marfa.' “This was getting Ham into a close place, and he retired. “In a few days Henry returned and reported that the arrest of Alston had alarmed the conspirators in Canada very greatly. Carey and Page were still in Richmond. Wilkes had returned to Canada and had been at Montreal with Thomlinson, but Henry could get nothing out of him, as Thomlinson thought it best not to have any one know what was to be attempted unless they could aid in carrying it out; but he said the country would be startled very soon. Henry surmised what he meant, and as soon as he could get away from Wintergreen he left for home. “I sent him to the President with this information, also a letter calling the President's attention to his great danger, and the danger in which the country would be in the event that anything should occur that would put the Vice-President in power. This was the last communication I ever had with the best of all Presidents.” CHAPTER XX. COLLAPSE OF THE GREAT REBELLION.--LAWS' ARMY SURRENDERS.-- THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. “After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well: Treason has done his worst; nor steel nor poison, Malice domestic, foreign envy, nothing Can touch him farther.” --Shakespeare. “When I left off speaking of Gen. Silent and his command in the East, and continued my story about the West and Center, you will remember that he had passed through eight days of bloody contest with Laws. We must now return to him and understand the condition of things on his line while these events were transpiring in the North, in Canada, and in Sherwood's department, of which I have given you a history.