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264 Custom House I heard some one bragging how they were going to thrash Johnny Bull, and I could not resist the temptation of turning to Mr. Coppell, who must also have heard the remark, and saying, "That fellow must be crazy. He and his friends had better wipe out secession first, before they talk about whipping Johnny Bull." I said this loud enough for everbody to hear me, and it made the speaker and others around us furious, and elicited several retorts, at which we only laughed. This was a foolish proceeding on my part, but I could not help taking a bit of womanly revenge on my enemies for what they had done to me.

Having obtained my freedom again, I prepared to forsake New Orleans, and applied for a pass. This, however, was refused me; and I saw that if I intended to get out of Butler's power so as to be able to resume operations either as a spy or as a Confederate officer, it would be necessary for me to run the blockade. Situated as I was, and under suspicion of being a spy, this, I was well aware, would be a particularly risky thing to attempt; but there was no alternative left me except to either attempt it, or else remain in the city in idleness, and in constant danger of having some of my many previous transactions, in the way of carrying information to the Confederates, found out. I felt very certain that if Butler did succeed in discovering who I was, and in fastening upon me, beyond a doubt, any charge of a similar nature to the one I had just eluded, I would not get off so easily as I had done in my first controversy with him, and I therefore concluded that I ran a greater risk in remaining in New Orleans than I did in attempting to leave it surreptitiously.

Having made up my mind to leave, and to leave as expeditiously as I conveniently could, I proceeded to make the necessary arrangements, taking care to attract as little attention as possible. The provisioning of New Orleans was a serious problem with the military rulers of the city ; and in order to keep the markets supplied, even in a moderate degree, with the necessities of life, they were compelled to permit some intercourse with the surrounding country, and boats for the conveyance of food even ran between New Or leans and Mobile, under certain stringent regulations, which, however, were unable to prevent them from being used by the agents of the Confederate States in a manner that Butler did not approve. Communication, therefore, between the city and country was always possible, although to attempt