LIFE IN A DUNGEON.
Parson Aughey as Chaplain--Description of the Prisoners--Colonel
Walter, the Judge Advocate--Charges and Specifications against Parson
Aughey--A Citizen of the Confederate States--Execution of two
Tennesseeans--Enlistment of Union Prisoners--Colonel Walter's second
visit--Day of Execution specified--Farewell Letter to my Wife--Parson
Aughey's Obituary penned by himself--Address to his Soul--The Soul's
Reply--Farewell Letter to his Parents--The Union Prisoners' Petition
to Hon. W. H. Seward--The two Prisoners and the Oath of
Allegiance--Irish Stories.
I was remanded to jail on Sabbath, the 6th of July, 1862. On the day of my
escape I had been elected chaplain. Captain Bruce asked permission for me
to hold divine service, to which no special objection was made. I
conducted the services as I would have done were I in my own pulpit. The
best order was maintained by the prisoners, and a deep seriousness
prevailed. The songs of Zion resounded through the prison-house, and a
great concourse of soldiers assembled outside the guards in front of the
door, causing considerable interruption by their noise and insulting
language. Several officers, also, saw fit to come in and interrupt the
services by conversing in a loud tone, and asking me how I liked my
jewelry, referring to my fetters. The prisoners protested against their
rude and ungentlemanly conduct, but with little effect. They sent a
remonstrance to the commander of the post, but he treated it with silent
contempt.
As the prisoners insisted upon it, I persisted in preaching,
notwithstanding the persecutions endured, as long as I remained with them.
We were a motley assemblage. Some were dressed in cloth of finest texture;
others were clad in filthy rags. There were present the learned and the
illiterate, the rowdy and the minister of the gospel, the holy and the
profane, the saint and the sinner. All the Southern States, and every
prominent religious denomination were represented. The youth in his
nonage, and the gray-haired and very aged man were there. The superior and
the subordinate were with us. The descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth,
were here on the same common level, for in our prison were Afric's
dark-browed sons, the descendants of Pocahontas, and the pure Circassian.
Death is said to be THE great leveller; the dungeon at Tupelo was _a_
great leveller. A fellow-feeling made us wondrous kind; none shared his
morsel alone, and a deep and abiding sympathy for each other's woes
pervaded every bosom. When our fellow-prisoners were called to die, and
were led through us with pallid brows, and agony depicted on their
countenances, our expressions of sorrow and commiseration were not loud
(through fear) but deep.
On Monday morning an officer entered; my name was called, and I arose from
the floor on which I had been reclining. I recognised him as my old
friend, Colonel H. W. Walter, of Holly Springs, Mississippi. After the
ordinary salutations, he informed me that he was Judge Advocate, and that
my trial would take place in a few days, and inquired whether I wished to
summon any witnesses. I gave him the names and residences of several
witnesses, but he refused to send for them, upon the plea that they were
too near the Federal lines, and their cavalry might be in danger of
capture were they to proceed thither. I told him that the cavalry which
went in pursuit of me had visited that locality. He then wished to know
what I desired to prove by those witnesses. I replied that I wished to
prove that the specifications in the charge of being a spy were false.
"Your own admissions are sufficient to cause you to lose your life," said
the Colonel, "and I will not send for those witnesses."
I replied: "I know that I must die, and you need not go through the
formality of a trial. If condemned as a spy, I must be hanged. I only
wished the witnesses to prove that Woodruff is a man of no moral worth,
that his testimony is false; that Barnes is a mail-robber, and that his
testimony, therefore, should be rejected. Proving these facts, the other
charges which I admit, will cause me to be shot. I hope I am prepared to
die, but do not wish to die a dog's death. Promise me that I shall be
shot, and not hanged, and I will cavil no more."
"Parson Aughey, your chances for living are very slender. The proof
against you on both charges will be established; the testimony as to your
guilt is positive, and spies are always hanged."
He then stated the charges and specifications against me as follows:
First charge--_Treason_.
Specification 1st. That said Aughey stated to a member of Hill's cavalry,
that if McClellan were defeated, the North could raise a much larger army
in a very short time; that the North would eventually conquer the South,
and that he was a Union man--this for the purpose of giving aid and
comfort to the enemy.
Specification 2d. That when said Aughey was requested to take the oath of
allegiance to the Confederate States, he refused, giving as a reason, that
England, France, and himself, had not yet recognised the Southern
Confederacy, stating, also, that he had voluntarily taken the oath of
allegiance to the United States Government, which he regarded as
binding--this in North Mississippi.
Specification 3d. That said Aughey was acting as a Federal agent in the
purchase of cotton, and had received from the United States Government a
large amount of gold, to pay for the cotton purchased.
Second charge--_Acting as a spy_.
Specification 1st. That said Aughey, while a citizen of the Confederate
States, repeatedly came into our lines for the purpose of obtaining
information for the benefit of the enemy, and that he passed through the
lines of the enemy at pleasure, holding an unlimited pass from General
Nelson, granting that privilege--this in the vicinity of Corinth,
Mississippi.
Witnesses, ---- Wallace, Dan Barnes, Ferdinand Woodruff, ---- Williams,
David Huff.
I demanded a copy of the charges, which Colonel Walter promised to
furnish.
About three o'clock in the afternoon, I went to a couple of prisoners who
were heavily ironed; they were handcuffed, had a chain on their legs
similar to mine, and were chained together to a post, or to some fixture
at the side of the jail. I inquired for what offence they were
incarcerated.
The prisoner whom I addressed was a tall gentleman, with a very
intellectual countenance, and of prepossessing manners. He was somewhat
pale, and wore a sad countenance. He replied:
"We are charged with desertion."
"Did you desert?"
"I enlisted in the Confederate service for twelve months. At the
expiration of my term of service, I asked permission to return home,
stating that my family were suffering for the necessaries of life; that
they lived in Tennessee, which is occupied by Federal troops. Confederate
bonds are there not worth the paper on which they are printed; provisions
are scarce, and my family have not the means of purchasing. I wish to
relieve their wants, and as my term of service has expired, I wish a
discharge. This they refused, stating that the Confederate Congress had
passed a law requiring all troops who had enlisted for any term, however
short, to be held to service during the war, and all who left before that
time would be considered guilty of desertion, and if arrested, would be
shot. I attempted to return to my family, regarding the law a tyrannical
enactment. I was arrested and committed to this prison."
"What will be your fate?"
"I know not, but fear the worst."
I learned that the other prisoner had about the same statement to make,
and was also in dread of capital punishment. I left them and walked to the
opposite side of the prison, when I observed a file of soldiers drawn up
in front of the building. Two officers entered, and walking up to the two
prisoners whom I had just left, unfastened their chains, and ordered them
to follow. One of the prisoners asked whether he should bring his blanket.
"No," replied the officer, in a jocular tone; "you have no more need for a
blanket in this world."
On reaching the door, the soldiers separated, received the prisoners in
their midst, closed up, and marching them across the railroad, shot them.
As the officers passed Captain Bruce, he asked where the prisoners were
going. They replied, "Going to be shot!" and showed him the warrant for
their execution, having written across it, in red letters, "_Condemned to
death!_"
Thus was perpetrated an act of cruel tyranny, which cries loudly to Heaven
for vengeance. Two families, helpless and destitute, were thus each
deprived of its head, on whom they were dependent for support, and
abandoned to the cold charity of a selfish world. The wages they earned by
a year's faithful service in behalf of the wicked, cruel, and vindictive
Confederate States, was an ignominious death and a dishonoured grave. Will
not God visit for this? The widow and the fatherless cry to Heaven for
vengeance, and their cries have entered into the ears of the Lord of
Sabaoth.
On Tuesday morning, six young men, who had been arrested for their Union
sentiments, resolved to escape. Their plan was to enlist in the
Confederate service, then to desert on the first opportunity, and make
their way to the Federal lines. They consulted me as to the propriety of
taking the oath of allegiance under these circumstances. Such a step would
give them another chance for life; but were they to profess adherence to
their Union principles, they had no hope of living many days. If permitted
to enlist, they thought there was little doubt of their escape in a few
days; and should a battle take place, no Federal soldiers would be injured
by them, and an opportunity to desert might occur during the engagement. I
drew up a paper for them, requesting permission to enlist in a company
which they specified. Their petition was granted by the authorities, and
they were removed from prison to the camp. I feel confident that ere this,
they are safe in the Federal lines, for they knew the whole country, so as
to be able to travel by night or by day, with little danger of detection.
They had all been arrested at their homes by the Rebel cavalry. They were
bitter in sentiment against the military usurpation, self-styled the
Confederate States of America.
This (Tuesday) evening, Colonel Walter called again, to give me a copy of
the charges against me. He informed me that my trial had been deferred
till Monday, the 15th inst. He also informed me in advance, that I must
die, and that, doubtless, on the day after the trial. I asked and obtained
permission to send for the Rev. Dr. Lyon, of Columbus, Mississippi, to be
present at my execution. Dr. Lyon and I were co-presbyters, both being
members of the Tombeckbee Presbytery. Colonel Walter was a renegade
Yankee. Coming from Michigan to Mississippi, he married the daughter of a
wealthy slave-holder. Obtaining through her the control of a large number
of slaves, he became a very ultra advocate of the peculiar institution,
and a rabid secessionist.
Soon after Colonel Walter left, Colonel Ware came in, and asked me if I
had been President of a Female College in Rienzi. I replied in the
affirmative. 'Tis strange, said he, that one who has been so favoured, and
one who has accumulated property in the South, should prove a traitor to
the land of his adoption, and side with his enemies. I replied that I had
given a fair equivalent for every dollar I had obtained from the citizens
of the South; that for eleven years I had laboured faithfully as a teacher
and minister of the gospel to promote the educational and spiritual
interests of the Southern people; and that now I was receiving my reward
in being chained, starved, and insulted; and that they intended soon to
pay the last instalment by putting me to death ignominiously on the
scaffold; I also denied being an enemy to the South. I regarded those who
imperilled all her best interests, and plunged her into a protracted and
desolating war, as the real enemies of the South. If my advice had been
followed, the South and the whole country would now be enjoying its wonted
peace and prosperity. He only replied with cursing and vituperation.
Believing my end to be near, I sat down upon the floor of my dungeon, and
penned the following letter to my wife.
TUPELO MILITARY DUNGEON, July 10th, 1862.
MY DEAR MARY--The Confederate authorities announce to me that I have
only a few more days to live. When you receive this letter, the hand
that penned it will be cold in death. My soul will have passed the
solemn test before the bar of God; I have a good hope through grace
that I will be then rejoicing amid the sacramental host of God's
elect, singing the new song of redeeming love in the presence of Him
who is the Chief among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely.
Mary, meet me in heaven, where sorrow, and crying, and sin are not
known, and where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at
rest. I will request your brother Ramsey, and cousin, Captain
Tankersley, to convey my body to you. Bury me in the graveyard at
Bethany. Plant an evergreen--a cedar--at my head, and one at my feet,
and there let me repose in peace, till the Archangel's trump shall
sound, calling the dead to the judgment of the great day, and
vouchsafing to saints the long wished-for "redemption of the body."
As to my property, it has all been confiscated; and after years of
incessant toil, I leave you penniless and dependent; but trust in God.
To his protecting care I commit you and our dear little Kate, who has
promised that he will be the widow's husband, and the father of the
fatherless. Rest assured, the Lord will provide. Only trust in him,
and love him with your whole heart, and soul, and mind, and strength.
"I know that it shall be well with those that love God." Be not
faithless, but believing, and though clouds and thick darkness
surround you at present, a more auspicious day will dawn, and God will
bring you safely to your journey's end, and our reunion in heaven will
be sweet.
Our dear little daughter, Kate, bring up in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord. Teach her to walk in wisdom's ways, for her ways are ways
of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. Her mind may be compared
to wax, in its susceptibility for receiving impressions, and to
marble, for its power of retaining those impressions. O that she may
be satisfied early with the mercy of God, that she may rejoice and be
glad all her days! Teach her to remember her Creator in the days of
her youth, before the evil days come, in which she shall say, I have
no pleasure in thee. Make the Bible her constant study, and let its
words be as household words to her. Inspire her mind with a reverence
for _the Book_ which is able to make wise unto salvation. See to it
that the words of Christ dwell richly in her soul, that she may be
filled with wisdom, and knowledge, and spiritual understanding. Pray
for the Holy Spirit to bless your labours and instructions, without
which all your efforts would be in vain, and pray that the Third
Person of the adorable Trinity may take up his abode in her heart, and
dwell with her for ever.
As my duties in regard to instructing our child, will devolve solely
on you, take for your guidance, in this respect, Deut. vi. 5-9. Let
your example be such as you would wish her to follow. Children are
much more inclined to follow example than precept. Exercise care in
this respect, for, "as is the mother, so is her daughter."
I regret my family will, from the force of circumstances, be compelled
to remain in a land where my death will be considered disgraceful, but
it cannot be avoided. The time may come when, even in Mississippi, I
may be regarded as a patriot martyr. My conscience is void of offence,
as regards the guilt attached to the charges made against me. I am
charged with treason against the Confederate States. The charge and
the specifications are true, except that I was not a Federal agent in
the purchase of cotton. That was a private arrangement altogether. I
am also charged with acting as a spy. The specifications under this
charge are false. I think that this accusation was made to prevent
retaliation by the Federal generals; and in the Rebel army they are
not at a loss to prove any charge, however false. Ferdinand Woodruff
is their tool to prove me a spy, and he will do it, though he knows
his testimony to be as false as that of the suborned witnesses who
bore testimony against the Saviour.
How long shall the wicked triumph? How long will God forbear to
execute that vengeance which is his, and which he will repay sooner or
later! I feel confident that the right cause will prevail, and though
I will not live to see it, for my days are numbered, yet I firmly
believe that the rebel power will be destroyed utterly.
"Truth, crushed to earth, will rise again;
The eternal years of God are hers;
But error, wounded, writhes in pain,
And dies amid her worshippers."
I write this letter amid the din and confusion incident to a large
number of men crowded into a narrow compass, and free from all
restraint. This letter will be transmitted to you by friends. The
names of those friends you will know hereafter. They will present your
case to General Rosecrans or Nelson, who may obtain a pension for you.
My services heretofore in the Union cause are known to them, and I
think they will see that you do not suffer; all my real estate will
be restored to you if the Union cause triumphs, and I think there is
no doubt as to its success. Give my love to all my friends. Remember
that I have prayed for you unceasingly during my imprisonment, and my
last utterances on earth will be prayers for your welfare.
Farewell. God bless you, and preserve you and our dear little Kate.
Your affectionate husband,
JOHN H. AUGHEY.
I next wrote my obituary, which I placed in the hands of a Union soldier
who expected soon to be exchanged. By him it was to be sent to the editors
of _The Presbyterian_, published in Philadelphia, with a request that it
should appear in their columns.
OBITUARY.
Died, in Tupelo, Ittawamba county, Mississippi, July --, 1862, the Rev.
John H. Aughey. The subject of the above notice was executed on the
gallows, by authority of the Confederate States, on the charges of treason
and acting as a spy.
John H. Aughey was born in New Hartford, Oneida county, New York, May 8th,
1828; removed with his parents to Steubenville, Ohio, in 1837; is an
alumnus of Franklin College, New Athens, Harrison county, Ohio; studied
theology in Memphis, Tennessee, under the Rev. John H. Gray, D. D.,
President of Memphis Synodical College--also under the care of the Rev. S.
I. Reid of Holly Springs, Mississippi; was licensed to preach the gospel
by the Presbytery of Chickasaw, October 4th, 1856; was ordained to the
full work of the gospel ministry by the Presbytery of Tombeckbee, at its
session in Winston county, Mississippi, in April, 1861. God blessed his
labours by giving him many seals to his ministry. After labouring eleven
years in the South as a teacher and minister of the gospel, having never
injured a citizen of the South either in person or property, he suffered a
felon's death for attachment to the Federal Union, because he would not
turn traitor to the government which had never in a single instance
oppressed, but had always afforded him protection. He rests in peace, and
in the hope of a blessed immortality.
"Leaves have their time to fall,
And flowers to wither in the north wind's breath,
And stars to set; but all--
Thou hast all seasons for thine own, O Death!"
ADDRESS TO MY SOUL.
O my soul! thou art about to appear in the presence of thy Creator, who is
infinite, eternal, unchangeable in his being, power, wisdom, holiness,
justice, goodness, and truth. He cannot look upon sin. He is a
sin-avenging God, and thou art stained with sin. Thy transgressions are as
numerous as the stars of heaven, and the sand that is upon the sea-shore.
Thou art totally debased by sin, and thy iniquities abound. Thou art
guilty of sins of omission and of commission. Justice would consign thee
to everlasting burnings, to dwell with devouring fire, even to everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power.
Guilty, helpless, wretched as thou art, what is thy plea why sentence of
eternal death should not be pronounced against thee?
THE SOUL'S REPLY.
I plead the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood cleanses from
_all_ sin, even from sins of the deepest dye. I plead the sufferings of
Him who bore my sins in his own body, on the tree, and wrought out a
perfect righteousness, which I may obtain by simple faith. No money, no
price is demanded. This I could not pay, for all my righteousness is as
filthy rags, and I must perish, were any part of the price demanded.
Nothing in my hand I bring. My salvation must be _all_ of grace, or to me
it would be hopeless. I trust that Christ will clothe me in the spotless
robes of his own righteousness, and present me faultless before his
Father. With this trust, I go to the judgment-seat, assured that the soul
which trusts in Christ shall never be put to shame. God is faithful who
has promised.
MILITARY DUNGEON, Tupelo,
Ittawamba Co., Miss., July 11th, 1862.
DEAR PARENTS--"Life is sweet, and it is a pleasant thing to behold the
sun." "All that a man hath, will he give for his life." "Having
promise of the life that now is." "The life is more than meat." "They
hunt for the _precious_ life." The above quotations from the Word of
Life, show the high estimate that is placed upon life. My life is not
"_precious_" in the eyes of the Secessionists, for their authorities
declare that "my chances for living long are extremely slender." "Yet
a few days, and me the all-beholding sun shall see no more in all his
course." Mourn not for me, my dear parents, as those who have no hope.
"For me to live, is Christ; but to die, is gain." I fear not those
who, when they have killed the body, have no more that they can do.
But I fear Him whose fear casteth out every other fear. When these
lines are read by you, their author will be an inhabitant of the
Celestial City, the New Jerusalem, and will be reposing in Abraham's
bosom, in the midst of the Paradise of God. Next to God, my thanks are
due to you, for guiding my infant feet in the paths of wisdom and
virtue. In riper years, by precept, I have been warned and instructed.
By example I have been led, until my habits were fixed, and then,
accompanied by your parental blessing, I sought a distant home, to
engage in the arduous duties of life. Whatever success I have met
with, whatever influence for good I may have exerted, are all due to
your pious training. I owe you a debt of gratitude which I can never
repay. Though I cannot, God will grant you a reward lasting as
eternity. It will add to that exceeding and eternal weight of glory
which will be conferred on you in that day when the heavens shall be
dissolved, and the elements melt with fervent heat. I die for my
loyalty to the Federal Government. I know that you would not have me
turn traitor to save my life. Life is precious, but death, even death
on the scaffold, is preferable to dishonour. Remember me kindly to all
my friends. Tell sisters Sallie, Mary, and Emma, to meet me in heaven.
I know that _my_ Redeemer liveth. Dying is but going home. I have
taught many how to live, and now I am called to teach them how to die.
May God grant that as my day is, so may my strength be, and that, in
my last moments, I may not bring dishonour upon my Master's cause,
but may glorify him in the fires!
My dear parents, farewell till we meet beyond the river.
Your affectionate son,
JOHN H. AUGHEY.
TO DAVID AND ELIZABETH AUGHEY,
Amsterdam, Jefferson Co., Ohio.
The following letter was written to the Hon. William H. Seward in behalf
of the Union men in prison and within the rebel lines.
CENTRAL MILITARY PRISON, Tupelo,
Ittawamba Co., Mississippi, July 11th, 1862.
Hon. William H. Seward:
DEAR SIR--A large number of citizens of Mississippi, holding Union
sentiments, and who recognise no such military usurpation as the
so-called Confederate States of America, are confined in a filthy
prison, swarming with vermin, and are famishing from hunger--a
sufficient quantity of food not being furnished us. We are separated
from our families, and suffered to hold no communication with them.
We are compelled, under a strong guard, to perform the most menial
services, and are insulted on every occasion by the officers and
guards of the prison. The nights are very cool; we are furnished with
no bedding, and are compelled to lie down on the floor of our dungeon,
where sleep seldom visits us, until exhausted nature can hold out no
longer; then our slumbers are broken, restless, and of short duration.
Our property is confiscated, and our families left destitute of the
necessaries of life; all that they have, yea, all their living, being
seized upon by the Confederates, and converted to their own use. Heavy
fetters are placed upon our limbs, and daily some of us are led to the
scaffold, or to death by shooting. Many of us are forced into the
army, instant death being the penalty in case of refusal; thus
constraining us to bear arms against our country, to become the
executioners of our friends and brethren, or to fall ourselves by
their hands.
These evils are intolerable, and we ask protection, through you, from
the United States Government. The Federal Government may not be able
to release us, but we ask the protection which the Federal prisoner
receives. Were his life taken, swift retribution would be visited upon
the rebels by a just retaliation--a rebel prisoner would suffer death
for every Federal prisoner whom they destroyed. Let this rule hold
good in the case of Union men who are citizens of the South. The loyal
Mississippian deserves protection as much as the loyal native of
Massachusetts. We ask, also, that our confiscated property be restored
to us, or, in case of our death, to our families. If it be destroyed,
let reparation be demanded from the rebels, or the property of known
and avowed secessionists sequestered to that use.
Before this letter reaches its destination, the majority of us will
have ceased to be. The writer has been informed by the officers that
"his chances for living long are very slender;" that he has confessed
enough to cause him to lose his life, and the Judge Advocate has
specified Tuesday, the 15th inst., as the day of his execution. We
have, therefore, little hope that we, individually, can receive any
benefit from this petition, though you regard it favourably, and
consent to its suggestions; but our families, who have been so cruelly
robbed of all their substance, may, in after time, receive
remuneration for their great losses. And if citizens of avowed
secession proclivities, who are within the Federal lines, are arrested
and held as hostages for the safety of Union men who are and may be
hereafter incarcerated in the prison in Tupelo and elsewhere, the
rebels will not dare put another Union man to death.
Hoping that you will deem it proper to take the matters presented in
our petition under advisement, we remain, with high considerations of
respect and esteem, your oppressed and imprisoned fellow-citizens,
JOHN H. AUGHEY,
BENJAMIN CLARKE,
JOHN ROBINSON,
and thirty-seven others.
Two young men informed me to-day that they had been forced into the rebel
service. They had been taken prisoners at Corinth by General Pope, and had
taken the oath of allegiance to the Federal Government, to which their
hearts had always been loyal. Recently they had been arrested, and on
refusing to rejoin their regiment, were immured in this dungeon. From the
threats of the officers, they expected to be shot at any moment. They had
used every means to banish the thoughts of death--had forced themselves to
engage in pleasantry and mirth to drive away the sadness and gloom which
oppressed them when alone, and recalled the pleasures of their happy
homes--homes which they would never see again. I counselled them to
prepare to meet their God in peace; to wisely improve the short time
granted them to make their calling and election sure. They replied that
they hoped all would be well. They had long since confessed Christ before
men, and hoped for salvation through his merits. Still, they could not
help feeling sad in the near prospect of death. They left me to mingle
with a group of prisoners, who were endeavouring to dissipate the tedium,
and vary the monotonous routine of prison life, by "telling stories."
Captain Bruce led off by telling the following Irish story:
"Once upon a time, an Irishman, who rejoiced in the possession of a fine
mare and a colt, wished to cross the Mississippi river at Baton Rouge with
them. By some mishap, they were all precipitated from the ferry-boat into
the water. The Irishman, being unable to swim, grasped the colt's tail,
hoping thus to be carried to the shore. Some of the passengers called out
to him: 'Halloo, Pat, why don't you take hold of the mare's tail; she is
much stronger, and much more able to carry you safely to the shore.' 'O,
be jabers!' says Pat, 'this is no time for swapping horses.'" This tale
was received with applause.
Baltimore Bill, a real Plug-ugly, told his story next, as follows: "Two
Irishmen, immediately after their arrival in America, found a gun. After
long inspection, they concluded it was some kind of musical instrument,
and wishing to hear the music, it was agreed that Jimmie should blow at
the muzzle, while Pat worked with the 'fixins' at the breech. At it they
went. Soon the gun went off, and Jimmie fell down, shot dead. 'Och!' says
Pat, 'are you charmed at the first note?'" This story was received with
loud bursts of laughter. An officer then entered, and ordered us to be
quiet, forbidding us to narrate any more tales.