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228]
[the next day
Lyman was surprised to have
Meade say to him. “I think I must order you home to get me some cigars, mine are nearly out!”
But, as the former remarked, “It's hard to surprise a man out of going home, after a five months campaign.”
General Williams gravely prepared a fifteen-day leave, and the aides tendered their congratulations.
Lyman was bound for
Richmond on secret service!
So the
Staff persuaded the inquisitive
Biddle, who talked about it all over camp, and got very mad when undeceived.
He recovered, however, when tendered a cocktail as a peace offering.
Lyman's visit to the
North proved longer than he expected.
For, shortly after his arrival in
Beverly, where
Mrs. Lyman was passing the summer, he had an attack of malaria which kept him in bed for some time.
According to the doctors, “The northern air, with the late cool change, had brought to the surface the malaria in the system.”
Consequently, he was not able to rejoin the army until the end of September.
Meanwhile, the gloom was lifting, that had settled on the
North after the failure to take
Petersburg.
For
Sherman's capture of
Atlanta, and
Sheridan's victories over
Early in the
Shenandoah, had somewhat changed the situation, although the Army of the Potomac still lay before
Petersburg, where it hovered for many weary months.]
