New Orleans had been captured; the blockade of the other ports was now so strict that it was difficult in the extreme for a vessel to make her way in or out; and the Northerners had placed flotillas of gunboats on the rivers, and by the aid of these were gradually making their way into the heart of several of the States.
"Are you thinking of going out to the Orangery again soon, mother ?" Vincent asked on the evening before setting out on the march north.
"I think not, Vincent.

There is so much to do in the hospitals here that I cannot leave.

I should be ashamed to be living in luxury at the Orangery with the girls while other women are giving up their whole time nursing the wounded.

Besides, although I do not anticipate that after the way they have been hurled back the Northerners will try again for some time, now they are in possession of Harrison's Landing they can at any moment advance.

Besides, it is not pleasant being obliged to turn out of one's house and leave everything to their mercy.