"The General was about leaving the Sibley, when he turned suddenly;
"'Do you drink, sir?'
"'Once and a while, sir,' replied the Detail, saluting.
"'Have you had any lately?'
"'No, sir.'
"'By G—d, sir, I'll give you some, sir;' and he strides into his marquee and returns with a tin cup full of liquor, which he placed upon the barrel, and told the man to help himself. After the General had gone, the Detail did help himself, until his musket lay on one side of the Sibley and himself on the other."
"The General knows how to sympathize with a big dry," said one, as the crowd laughed over the story.
Pen cannot do justice to the stories abounding in wit and humor wherewith soldiers relieve the tedium of the camp. To an old campaigner, their appearance in print must seem like a faded photograph, in the sight of one who has seen the living original. Characters sparkling with humor, such as was never attributed to any storied Joe Miller, abound in every camp. The brave Wolfe, previously to the victory which cost him his life, is reported to have sung, while floating down the St. Lawrence:
"Why, soldiers, why,
Should we be melancholy,
Whose business 'tis to die?"