The first question asked was, had I any letters. I knew that if I said No, our persons would be immediately searched, and my falsehood detected; I therefore drew out from the bottom of the basket the package I had placed there, and which, it will be remembered, was of minor importance, and handed it, with a bow, to the Colonel.

"What!" exclaimed he, in an angry tone-" what is this? 'Kindness of Lieutenant II. What does this mean? Is this all you have?"

"Look for yourself," I replied, turning the basket upsidedown, and emptying its contents upon the floor.

"As to this scribbling on the letter," I continued, “it means nothing; it was a thoughtless act of mine. I assure you Lieutenant II. knew nothing about the letter, or that it was in my possession.”

The Lieutenant turned very pale, for it suddenly occurred to him that he had in his pocket a little package which I had asked him to carry for me.

He immediately drew it out and threw it upon the table, when, to his consternation, and to the surprise of the Colonel, it was found to be inscribed with the very identical words— "Kindness of Lieutenant II."-which had already excited the suspicion of the Federal commander.

This made matters worse; and when the package, upon being opened, disclosed a copy of that decidedly rebel newspaper, The Maryland News-sheet, the Colonel entertained no further doubt of Lieutenant HI.'s complicity and guilt.

It was in vain I asserted his innocence, and repeated again. and again that it was impossible he could know that a folded packet contained an obnoxious journal, and that it was highly improbable, to say the least of it, he could be an accomplice in my possession of the letter.

"What is that you have in your hand?" was the only reply to my remonstrances and expostulations on behalf of the unfortunate officer I had so unintentionally betrayed.

"What this little scrap of paper? You can have it, if you wish it is nothing. Here it is;" and I approached nearer to him, with the seeming intention of placing it in hi hand; but I had taken the resolution of following the example set by Harvey Birch, in Cooper's well-known novel of "The Spy," in the event of my being positively commanded to "stand and deliver."

Fortunately, however, for me, the Colonel's wrath was diverted from the guilty to the guiltless; he was so incensed with Lieutenant II., that he forgot the very existence of Belle Boyd, and the precious note was left in my possession.

We were then and there dismissed, Colonel Beale contenting himself with giving a hurried order to the effect that I was to be closely watched. He then proceeded to the investigation of Lieutenant II.'s casc. Bare suspicion was the worst that could be urged against him, yet, upon this doubtful evidence, or rather in the absence of any thing like evidence, a court-martial, composed of officers of the Federal army, dismissed him from the service.

Some time after the adventure I have just related, the secret of our arrest transpired.

A servant had observed the gentleman to whom I have alluded give me the letter in my friend's house au Winchester. He gave information, and the result was, a telegram was sent to Major Tyndale, who was already incensed against me for having slipped through the pickets and got to Winchester without his pass. He communicated at once with Colonel Beale, and our arrest followed as I have described.

Ilad it not been for the curious manner in which Lieuten

ant H. was involved in the affair, and in which that unoffending officer was so unjustly treated, very much to my regret, I should not have escaped so easily.

SOUTHERN HEROISM.

THE editor of "The Land We Love," relates the following instances of Southern heroism.

At Malvern Hill, a certain division drove the gunners away from a series of guns, but was too weak to hold its ground. The division commander, believing that a single additional regiment would enable him to hold the guns, rode to where he saw a body of men, not under his command, lying down awaiting orders, and briefly explained to them the state of things, and called for volunteers. A young man, with a chin as smooth as a girl's, stepped out and said: “I am here with a portion of the twentieth North Carolina regiment. We all volunteer! We are ready to go any where, and to perform any duty." That young man was Colonel Henry K. Burgwyn.

At the first battle of Fredericksburg,, Ransom's North Carolina brigade was ordered to reënforce Cobb at the celebrated stone wall, which Burnside, like Fremont and Shields, tried to capture, with the same success. As soon as the brigade appeared, more than a division of the enemy opened a errific fire upon it, and the batteries on the other side rained their shot and shell with the most deadly precision. The men were pushed with all rapidity to the precipice back of the wall, and then, without a moment's hesitation, they sprang down it to find shelter behind the wall. But a dig

nified mountaineer of the twenty-fifth North Carolina regiment (Rutledge's), refused to run at all, and walked forward with the most leisurely indifference. His hat blew off; he went back and picked it up! His knapsack, probably hit by a ball, fell off; he stooped down, readjusted it, and went on! He was now the solitary target for more than a thousand rifles; but this did not quicken his pace. When he reached the precipice, he determined not to risk the leap, preferring to slide down gently. He did slide down, but it was as a dead man he reached the bottom. He was buried that night, and there was not an inch of his body that was not pierced by a ball.

To prevent reënforcements from reaching the stone wall, which Burnside had selected as the point of attack, the hill above it was swept by thousands of rifles and numerous batteries of artillery. Kershaw's South Carolina brigade was ordered to reënforce the troops at the wall, and had to cross over this terrific hill. An officer went forward to select tho safest route for them. He rode to the summit and took a deliberate survey. The firing of the enemy ceased; ho raised his cap in acknowledgment, and rode off without having a shot fired at him. That officer was General J. B. Kershaw himself.

A CONTRABAND'S DESCRIPTION OF BEAUREGARD.

AFTER Beauregard's retreat from Corinth, McClellan was much exercised in mind lest he should come to the relief of Lee. McClellan, as a military man, knew this was the move that ought to be made, and he believed it had been made. How

ever, to make sure on this point, he determined to examine, in person, an intelligent contraband just brought into his lines direct from Richmond.

General McClellan.-" Is Beauregard in Richmond ?"
Intelligent Contraband.-" Oh, yes, masser."

General M.-"How many soldiers did he have with him?' Contraband." Hundred tousand! tree tousand! fifty tousand! Cars heaped up with sogers ebery day, two, treo

weeks !"

General M.-"Are you sure that Beauregard is there himself?"

Contraband."Oh, yes! Him make a speech at de capitol. Hear Marse Letcher call him General Boregar!"

The news was sufficiently confirmatory of McClellan's worst fears, and the intelligent contraband saw plainly that he had "made a sensation," the thing of all others the most flattering to the negro. At length some one thought of testing still further the intelligent contraband's accuracy, and the examination was renewed.

General M.-" Did you see General Beauregard yourself?" Contraband." Oh yes, masser, me see him for sartin!" General M.-" What sort of looking man is he?" Contraband. "Him great big fat man-tomack tick out so!" (putting his hands two feet in front of his stomach.)

This was too much for the gravity of McClellan, who laughed heartily with his fears all relieved.

Beauregard's leanness was too well known for the credi bility of the contraband's story. It appeared, afterward, that the poor fellow had mistaken the portly Price (who happened to be in Richmond about that time) for the celebrated engineer. The fifty tousand, tree tousand, hundred tousand were the troops of Holmes and Huger, from North Carolina and Norfolk.