Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.

[With few exceptions, the Pieces in this volume originated in an impulseimparted by the fall of Richmond. They were composed without referenceto collective arrangement, but being brought together in review,naturally fall into the order assumed.

The events and incidents of the conflict—making up a whole, in variedamplitude, corresponding with the geographical area covered by thewar—from these but a few themes have been taken, such as for any causechanced to imprint themselves upon the mind.

The aspects which the strife as a memory assumes are as manifold as arethe moods of involuntary meditation—moods variable, and at times widelyat variance. Yielding instinctively, one after another, to feelings notinspired from any one source exclusively, and unmindful, withoutpurposing to be, of consistency, I seem, in most of these verses, tohave but placed a harp in a window, and noted the contrasted airs whichwayward wilds have played upon the strings.]