“I have confidence,” said General Morell; “but, of course, any plan might fail.  The only thing in life that is certain is death.  I should say that we have nine chances out of ten.”

“Then do it your own way,” said the small officer, rising; the others rose also.  “I must tell you good night, gentlemen.”

The three now left the tent, while I remained.

I had not been unobservant.  No names had been spoken, nor any title given to the officers, and I suspected that very high titles had been suppressed.  Exactly who these officers were, I could not know, but that they were in great authority was not to be doubted; I made a wild guess that one was General Porter and the smaller man some trusted staff-officer from army headquarters[4].

[4] Doubtless this officer was General McClellan himself.  Mr. Berwick describes very well McClellan’s person, which—­from the poor cuts in the newspapers—­had made an impression, yet a vague impression.  It is not a matter for wonder that Mr. Berwick had never before been in the presence of the great general. [ED.]

General Morell returned alone.  He motioned me to a seat at the table, then sat opposite me.  For a time he seemed preoccupied.  At length he looked me full in the face, and said gravely, “Berwick, it is absolutely necessary for us here on this flank to get accurate information of the enemy’s strength, and as soon as possible.”

“The whole line of the enemy?” I asked.

“No; the strength of his left—­the position and forces of his left wing.”

“A difficult undertaking, General,” said I.

“Yes, but not too difficult, I think; and whether difficult or not, it must be done.  Here is our map.  It shows us nothing but the country, with the positions of a few batteries and pickets that can be plainly seen from our lines.  We do not know how well fortified, or how many, are the troops opposed to us.  We have information, but we fear that it is not reliable; in fact, it is contradictory in some of the most essential points.  We do not know the length of the enemy’s line; we suppose it rests on the James River above Richmond as well as below Richmond.  That makes too long a line to be very strong in all its parts.  Their left may be a mere skirmish-line; their extreme right may be only cavalry.  Some parts of their line must be very thin, and it is suspected that their left is the thinnest part.”

To this I said nothing, and the general continued:  “The force under Anderson from Fredericksburg has reenforced the army now under Lee, and we are not sure what position it holds.  The force under Jackson causes great apprehension.  From several quarters we get rumours of an intention or supposed intention of Lee to march Jackson against our right.  If there is such a purpose, we ought, by all means, to anticipate the movement.  If we are ever to attack, it ought not to be after Jackson reenforces Lee.”