CHAPTER VII.
THE "MERRIMAC" AND THE "MONITOR." It was some weeks before Vincent was able to walk unaided.

His convalescence was somewhat slow, for the shock to the system had been a severe one.

The long railway journey had been injurious to him, for the bandage had become somewhat loose and the broken pieces of bone had grated upon each other, and were much longer in knitting together than they would have been had he been treated on the spot.
As soon as he could walk he became anxious to rejoin his troop, but the doctor said that many weeks must elapse before he would be able to undergo the hardships of a campaign.

He was reconciled to some extent to the delay by letters from his friends with the troop and by the perusal of the papers.

There was nothing whatever doing in Virginia.