25
of South Brother. Cross had been praising 
his regiment, after the usual fashion, saying 
it was composed of model men, none of whom 
ever got drunk; when one in the boat called 
his attention to two lying helplessly inebriated on 
the shore of Riker�s Island! And half an hour 
later, when I had completed my survey of the 
camp, and was standing on the ricketty piazza 
of the farm-house, there came a Captain to 
Cross, with an eager, open-mouthed suggestion 
about searching the tents when the men were on 
parade, next morning, in order to discover �who 
hooked that blanket!� There was also a pri-
soner, in a shabby tent, denominated the guard-
house, close by; and he kept putting his head 
out, nodding, beckoning and grimacing in a 
familiar manner to his acquaintances in the 
ranks. I never saw a more slovenly camp; 
though the men were sturdy fellows enough.
Returning to New York, I met Shepherd in Blee-
cker Street and he, professing to be hard-up
and in want of a drink, accompanied me into
the Store, where we had ale.     He narrated how
he, O�Brien and Brown (�Artemus Ward�) had
been on a �big drink� yesterday, how on leaving
him at his boarding-house, they had fallen to
dancing on the sidewalk, inviting passers-by to