Then they sprang into the saddle again and rode on as before through a country that seemed to be abandoned.
There was a certain thrill and exhilaration in their daring ride.

The smoke and odors of the battle about Donelson were blown away.

The dead and the wounded, the grewsome price even of victory, no longer lay before their eyes, and the cold air rushing past freshened their blood and gave it a new sparkle.

Every one in the little column knew that danger was plentiful about them, but there was pleasure in action in the open.
Their general direction was Nashville, and now they came into a country, richer, better cultivated, and peopled more thickly.

Toward night they saw on a gentle hill in a great lawn and surrounded by fine trees a large red brick house, with green shutters and portico supported by white pillars.