The Rum, Thanks To Similar Moderation, Holds Out, And Will Last Some Time Yet.

"New York is be-flagged and be-bannered to a wonderful extent.

Every street is disfigured by huge streamers, some right across the street, others out of windows and from the tops of houses - while each occupant tries to vie with his neighbour in this sort of loyalty, till there seems almost to be hypocrisy in it. 'Stars and Stripes' everywhere, and on all occasions, opportune and inopportune. The main public place in New York is half filled by ugly wooden sheds, used as military store rooms and barracks, and, every now and then, with a frequency which is startling, are the head-quarters of all sorts of Volunteer regiments - American, Irish, German, Dutch, French, and Scotch. These rooms are adorned with flags, and transparencies showing the costume of the corps, or the portrait of the colonel, or general, shown generally on a big prancing horse, and sporting a savage-looking beard. All along the roads and routes - everywhere almost - are tents and wooden sheds, the encampments of companies and regiments; and every now and then bands and recruiting parties parade the street, and draw crowds of people after them. The mothers of America have taken up the question, too, and there are societies to make lint and bandages for the wounded, and to stitch together clothing for the new companies. Little Zouaves are plentiful - red vest, blue sash, and red fez and breeches.

"The day we arrived, the New York Firemen Zouaves (7th New York) returned from the defeat at Bull's Run - 380 out of 1,000, who left two months ago under a young fellow named Ellsworth, as colonel. Ellsworth was shot by a public-house keeper, whose secession flag he hauled down - and the regiment was much cut up at Bull's Run. It has been very uproarious, and some of its men 'retreated' on the way from Bull's Run to New York, on the principle that, once ordered to retreat, they had better 'retreat right away home.' There can be no doubt, however, that the bulk of these men fought well - but were, like most of the regiments, badly officered - zealous men, but lawyers, store-keepers, and political partisans, who could do nothing in handling bodies of men.

"But to go back: about 60 miles from Boston, and just as I got into the bed-berth in the car, several companies of one of the Vermont regiments joined the train, having been discharged, on the expiration of their three months' term, the day before. These men had to be dropped in companies at various stations all along the road; and every hour or so I was wakened up by bell ringing, gun firing, and cheering, as each section got back home to their friends. In the morning I got amongst those who were left, and heard their adventures. They had been in nothing but skirmishing, however, and only had had three men wounded. They seemed a nice body of young fellows, many very young.

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