.1 < 1 LAIR iEBElJI ILLUSTRATED THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA LIBRARY 1 ^ THE WILMER COLLECTION OF CIVIL WAR NOVELS PRESENTED BY RICHARD H. WILMER, JR. / ' r./C/ '/ n "-/f >? V FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR, ^a:^( THE SOUTH CAROLINA INSTITUTE OR SECESSION HALL. — Frontispiece. riTZ-IlUGH ST. CLAIR, THE SOUTH CAROLINA REBEL BOY; OR, IT IS i\0 CRIME TO BE BORN A GENTLEMAN. BY MRS. SALLIE F. CHAPIN. The right of strict social discrimination of all things and persons, according to tlieir merits, native or acvjuired, i-s one of the most jirecioiis Kepnblican i)rivi. leges T insist on my Democratic liberty of choice, and go for tlie man with the gallery of Family Portraits against the one with the twenty- five cent daguerreotype, unless I find out the last is the better of the two." Oliver Wendell Holmes. PHILADELPHIA: CLAXTON, PvEMSEX & HAFFELFINGER. CHARLESTON, S. C. : JOHN M. GREER & SOX. 187 2. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by CLAXTON, REMSEN & HAFFELFIXGER, in tbe Office of the Librarian of Congress at "Washington. STEREOTYPED BT J. FAOAX & SOX, PHILADELPHU. TO THE m\Mm\ of llie .>iifhern (fonfcdcrariT, Whose Fathers were Brave, and True enough to figlit for the Prin- ciples they believed to be right; I dedicate my Little Book. These Brave Fathers fell (many of them) upon Blood-Staincd Battle Fields, and in Fame's broad Pantheon, have failed to gain that Immortality, which short-sighted man bestows; yet we, who loved them, and the Glorious Cause, in which they perished, intend to protest, and we do still-protest, and shall never cease protesting, against the judgment that would consign their pre- cious memories to oblivion. Heroes of a " Lost Cause " true they are : but that cause was ours, and we can never forget, that their livlfig bodies, and beating hearts, were our bulwarks on many a hard-fought Battle Field ; and they have gone to their graves in bloody shrouds, for our sakes. But they died, as Brave Men love to die, in Dkfence of TUE Right; their deeds are " Wortliie on Fame's eternall bead-roll to be fyled," and every line written in this book, calls upon you (their chil- dren) to emulate their valor ; and sacredly to cherish their memo- ries while life lasts; and above all, to do nothing to disgrace the names, which they made illustrious, and in dying bequeathed to you, as a priceless legacy, to be handed down — without blemish — to the latest generation. • There was not a single deed, in the unequal struggle, in which they were engaged, of which you ought not to be proud, for although the flag of the Southern Confederacy, was furled in defeat, no stain of dishonor, sullies the virgin purity of its f<»lds ; and one day, the world will acknowledge that it was laid away to mould, only because We were Outnumbered! Not Outbraved I SALLIE F. CHAPJN. Charleston, S. C. 602764 GONTENTS CHAPTER I. Boys, and what they are (jood for 13 CHAPTER II. The Hive of Busy Bees 19 CHAPTER III. The Second Monthly Report of the Society 25 CHAPTER IV. Glendaire, General St. Clair's Island Home 80 CHAPTER V. The Attack of the Federal Fleet 45 CHAPTER VI. A Chat about Children 49 CHAPTER VI I. General St. Clair's Explanation as to the Causes of the War 54 ix X CONTENTS. CHAPTER YIII. The Departuke 78 CHAPTER IX. The Battle of Manassas 85 CHAPTER X. The Death of Old Mr. St. Clair 9-1 CHAPTER XL Speculators 98 CHAPTER Xn. The Burning of Colu:mbia 102 CHAPTER XHI. The Burial of Baby May 113 CHAPTER XIV. Defeat 119 CHAPTER XV. The Move to Charleston 132 CHAPTER XVI. The Trip North 143 CHAPTER XVII. Hunting a Situation 153 CHAPTER XVIIL Resisting Temptation 172 CONTENTS. XI CHAPTER XIX. The Hotel Dinner 195 CHAPTER XX. Mr. WiNTiiROP's History of Himself 209 CHAPTER XXI. TuE Meeting between Fitz and his Mother 223 CHAPTER XXII. Life at Newport 231 FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR. CHAPTER I. BOYS, AND WirAT THEY ARE GOOD FOR. DON'T you wish you were a girl ? " asked little curly- headed Lillie of a sullen -looking boy, whose angry countenance plainly indicated entire dissatis- faction, either with his sex or something else. "Do I wish I was a girl?" repeated Willie, in the most contemptuous tone. " Of course I do not, and I can't imagine what could have put such a stupid notion into your head, Lillie. If it will be any satisfaction for you to know, let me inform you that if the clioice were given me either to be a girl, or a horse, I should not hesitate a second, but would trot into the stabk' riglit away. I have such a contempt lor feminine gender children that I wish there was not one in the world." " You don't say so, Mr. Gallantr)- ; ^vhy, you would make a good Moslem. But it is not often, Mr. Turk, 2 13 11 FITZ-IIUGH ST. CLAIR. that people come so near having their wishes gratified; for, if you are not a horse, you are a fair specimen of his long-eared cousin. I suppose, to carry out the idea, you wish your gentle mamma was a great, burly, big- whiskered six-footer like your papa, and your little sisters had all been born brothers, as amiable and interesting as yourself," said Kate Lee, the most sprightly and beautiful girl in town, who had offended "Willie, and for whom his spiteful remarks were in- tended. " No, Miss Smartness, I wish no such thing ; for my mother and sisters are not all the time cutting their wit at people as you are. Another thing, I was not speaking to you, but to Lillie, and it is very meddle- some in you to take up my remarks. I would mind my own business if I were you, and not interfere Avith other people." " There, I would not copy you. Will, for I think you would be meddling on a grand scale to exterminate the whole race of women (except the feminines of your own family), as you pretend you would like to do. Why, my dear child, you have not thought of the result of such a wiping out. Surely, Campbell's world without a s(u)n would be a paradise compared to the world you would make without a daughter. Xo, better let things be as they are, Willie, for if there were no girls in this world I am afraid you would follow the example of that illustrious cry-baby we read about in our history this morning, and go to whining ^for another world' — one with g-u-r-r-1-s in it." FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAI R. 15 "You are very much mistaken, Miss Conceit, if vou entertain any such idea." "Excuse me, my name is Lee — Miss Kate IjCo, at your service, and neither Miss Smartness nor INIiss Conceit." "Yes, and Miss Kate Lee it would always remain if it depended on me — " " Which it don't," said the torment ; " my last re- jection of your suit was final. But, come, don't be so spiteful, we girls have beaten you in a fair fight. Boys are helpless, inefficient creatures, although you think it such an honor to have been born a masculine gender child. You don't s(e)w as girls do, consequently you cannot reap as they have done. But you can't help it; it all comes of your being boys, and it is simply pre-pos-ter-oas for boys to pretend to keep pace with girls in energy, or indeed anything else, so stop your unmanly whining, and do as the newspapers are continually preaching up to the grown folks to do — ' accept the situation ; ' it is a good plan when there 's nothing else to accept, and you are obliged to accept it, whether you will or not." • "Katie darling," said little Lillie, "don't you, in fact, like boys? I do think they are real nice, only they don't know how to do anvthino;." "Don't they, pet?" said Kate, laughing heartily at the unconscious endorsement the little innocent was giving to the charges she had just made. " Their being so useless is the very reason Katie don't like them ; you stumbled right on the truth, you wise little Lillie, you." 16 FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR. " What in the world have the boys been doing, Miss Kate, to have rendered themselves so obnoxious to you?'' asked a graceful, handsome boy, who had entered the academy while the contest of words between Kate and Willie was going on. "What have they been doing? Fitz, you surely did n't mean to ask that question, did you ? Boys doing ! Why, did you ever know them guilty of doing anything useful ? " "Most assuredly I have. Why should they not? they are capable of doing anything in the world they please." " I grant that ; but when, my dear friend, docs it ever ^please' a boy to do anything, except monopolize the spare moments of his poor, tired mother, in darn- ing, patching, making and cleaning clothes for the great, lazy fellow to loaf around in; yet, if we girls only ask one of the young gentlemen of elegant leisure to ^ do an errand for us,' or in any way relieve us of one of the thousand duties we are called upon daily to perform, they immediately fall back upon their reserved rights, and, with great dignity, coolly inform us they ^ are not girls,' as if it would be any disgrace to them if they were." " Indeed, Katie, I disagree with you entirely," said Rena St. Clair, the sister of Fitz, " and you would not speak as you do if you had such a dear, good brother as I have. Why, there is not a day passes that mamma does not say she ^ could not get along at all without our dear Fitz,' and he is a boy. He gets up at dawn, and — " FlTZ-IIUCill ST. CLAIR. 17 "Stop! stop! stop! you dear, partial, little sister, you," said Fitz, coming up behind her, and putting l)Oth hands over her mouth, '* have you no mercy ? Don't you know Fitz is your brother, and your testi- mony cannot be unbiassed ; besides. Miss Kate is talking of 'boys,^ not brothers, for she is fortunate enough not to be annoyed with a brother." " I never saw but one that I Avould not consider an annoyance," replied Kate. " We all know who that is," said Willie, glancing knowingly at Fitz ; " but we are not so sure, Katie, that 'a brother' is the kinship you would like to have established between you ; that would preclude a ^nearer one still and a dearer,' you know," and he laughed triumphantly, as he saw he was not misunderstood, and had succeeded (for the first time in his life) in placing at a disadvantage the incorrigible tease. " I will not condescend to answer your impertinent insinuation," she replied, with crimson cheek and flashing eye; " for I do not think I am at all singular in appreciating merit, particularly when as in this case it is rendered so conspicuous by contrast with inefficiency and impudence," and, so saying, she left the room. " Willie, you surely forgot you were speaking to a young lady," said Fitz. " Xo, I did not, Fitz; but I am sorry I victimized you, old fellow. Why, I have made you blush like a girl. The fact is, Kate provokes me until I scarcely know wliat T am saying or doing, half the tin)e I :ii)i 18 FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR. with her, and that abominable report she read to-day- would have exasperated an angel. I could not resist the temptation to pay her off, even at your expense ; so, excuse me, for I would not have hit you if you had not been standing right between me and the game I was trying to bring down." CHAPTER II. THE HIVE OF BUSY BEES. THE precocious young people, to whom Ave were introduced in the preceding chapter, were in attendance at a juvenile " Soldiers' Relief Society," which was holding its weekly meeting in the Female Academy. It was at the commencement of the war, when the entire State, from mountain to seaboard, was intensely excited. Young and old, great and small, rich and poor, white and black, bond and free, the scalawag of to-day and the true man, all talked " secession" then, and were eager to shed their own, or somebody else's blood. The brave men who were in the army, risking their lives in defence of a cause we believed so just and holy, had the sympathy of all, and societies for their relief were organized in every city, town, and village. '* Pcoi)le gave who never gave before, And tliose who always gave, now gave the more." Our little folk called their society ^' The Hive of 19 \ 20 FITZ-IIUGH ST. CLAIR. Busy Bees," and one part of their Constitution read thus : " No person over sixteen years of age will, under any circumstances, be permitted to join this Society." The very first act under this rule was the election of Miss Birch, their teacher, a maiden of sixty, first as a member, and subsequently as their President. This procedure removed every lingering doubt as to the genuineness of their Constitution, for George Wilson, who loved to use big words, said it was the very " fact smiley " of the Constitution of the United States ; to which Miss Birch, with an arch look, replied, "and quite as elastic. However, constitutions, to suit every- body, ought to be made to mean different things to diflPerent people, and everybody ought to be allowed to construe them to suit their peculiar circumstances. So I guess, children, the difference between sixteen and sixty is not too great to be reconciled. If the dis- crepancy had occurred in the Constitution of the United States, it would not have been deemed worthy of a consideration, so we will follow that example, and if we get in a tight place we will do as Congress does, and as you boys do to your kites, tack on a bob, and call it an amendment ; for bobs and amendments an- swer the same purpose — they make whatever they are tacked on to go up as high as a kite." Little Lillie had been quietly listening to the above conversation, and seemed to be revolving a problem in her mind which she was not able satisfactorily to de- monstrate. At last she spoke out, and said, "Miss Birch, how old is you ? " FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR. 21 " Why, Lillie, I am sixteen," replied Miss Birch ; "did you think I was not old enough to join your Society, little pet? I was sixteen so long ago I have almost forgotten it." " Yes, and you have been sixteen a good many times » since, I 'spect, haven't you, Miss Birch?" said the little philosopher, wagging her head. " Yes, darling, ev^ery sixteen years since." " And I am not six yet. When I am sixteen, will I have to begin over and be one ? Mamma don't do that way. ISlie gets one year older every year, she says, and papa, too ; and great-grandma is ever so old ; I 'spect she is 'most a thousand." " Dear, dear me ! what an old lady she must be, to be sure; older than Methuselah, who was only nine hundred and sixty-nine," said Miss Birch. " Yes, her name is in the same Bible with Methu- salum's, because papa went to the Bible the other day, and he said great-grandma's age was in the Bible." At this the children laughed heartily, and Miss Birch called the Society to order. Willie Wagner proposed that " the dues of the So- ciety should be paid in Confederate money," and the President requested all in favor of the motion to raise their right hands. Up went every hand, and it seemed as if the whole Hive were about to take flio:ht. Such as were not quite certain which was their right hand raised each alternately, for fear of losing their vote. By the payment of one dollar they became members of the Society. Tommy Tucker had two one-dollar bills 22 FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR. on the Bank of Charleston. He offered one in pay- ment of his dues, but it was refused. With quivering lip, and tears running down his cheeks, he said, ^* I will give you both of my two dollars, if you will only let me join.^^ But the Society was incorrigible. Nothing but Con- federate money would be tolerated by the little patriots. It was a terrible disappointment to poor Tom, but there was no help for it. He was among children, and there is no " runnins^ with the hare and holdino- with the hound " among them. If he had only been among grown people, some one would certainly have offered to shave his bill for him, or lend him the amount at five per cent, a month. As it was he had to run home and exchange his bills. The Society had been organized just two months when our story commenced, and it was Kate Lee's ^' monthly report " as Secretary and Treasurer that had so offended Willie Chisolm. The fact is, the boys, up to date, had done nothing in the world but pay their admission fees, while the girls had handed into the treasury twenty dollars, which, by their industry, they had earned. The report read tiius : ^' The Treasurer has in hand twenty dollars, avails of work manufac- tured and sold by the young ladies. The young gen- tlemen have honored the Society with their presence, and if tliey will reduce the honor to its cent, per cent, valuation in dollars and cents (which is the currency of this association), we will be happy to place it to their FITZ-IIUGH ST. CLAIR. 23 credit on the books of the Society." The girls h:ul not concealed from the boys the fact that they considered them "the drones" in the Hive, and never left an op- portunity unimproved to impress them with a sense of their worthlessness ; but this report was the culmi- nation of their disgrace. They were mortified to death, and sat twirling their hats, groping in their pockets, and looking, for all the world, like the " Fonr-and-twenty fiddlers, all in a row," To say ''they were satisfied" with simply holding their membership would be doing them injustice; they were anxious to do something, but what, they did not know. - It was the first meeting Fitz-Hugh St. Clair had attended, and the boys hailed his presence with delight, and urged him to join them. " What ! place my name upon such a roll of in- famy ? " he asked, laughingly ; " the inducement is certainly great." " Yes," they all said, " but with you to plan for us, Fitz, what can we not do ? Only consent to lead us, and we will follow you, as Stonewall Jackson said he would Lee — 'with eyes shut.' So come, old fellow, raise the battle-flag and lead us to victory." " What flag are you under now ? " asked Kate. " The white flag, and we plead for quarter," replied Fitz. "Granted, provided that if our positions, by the fortunes of war, should become reversed, you will not 24 FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR. raise the black flag. You know my opinion of boys ; they become arrogant upon a very small capital." " We will try, Miss Kate, and be at least as mag- nanimous as you have been.'^ " Magnanimous ! P-h-e-w ! " w*histled Will, *' you had better say rantankerous ; but, old lady, our day is coming, and I Avarn you, beware of the ' ides of March.'" " I sha'n't forget there is a Eichmond in the field, "Will. But Ave shall see what we shall see, and until then I am yours most respectfully," and, courtesy ing very low, she left the boys to plan their campaign. CHAPTER III. THE SECOND MON'THLY EEPORT OF THE SOCIETY. FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR was a manly, noble boy, and a universal favorite. The girls admired his beauty, the boys his bravery, mothers trusted their sons with him, and held him up as an example for imitation ; and all agreed he was the best boy in town. No one ever saw him with a cigar in his mouth, or heard him use profane language. In conversing, he looked you in the face, as though he would say, " I have nothing to conceal ; look riglit through my eyes into my breast, and see for yourself.'' He had been reared in great affluence, but by pious and intelligent parents, who had taught him to " Consider the day lost, whose low, descending sun Saw by his hand no deed of duty done." When the boys met to consult as to the ways and means of extricating themselves from the dilemma into which their laziness had brought them, Fitz rated them soundly for their listlessness and want of energy, 25 / 26 FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR. and only consented to become a member of the Society on condition that they ^vent immediately to ^vork, with might and main, and left no effort unemployed to place themselyes in a proper position before the young ladies. They were willing to do, or i3romise, anything in the world, and entering into all of his plans they caught his inspiration, and were only surprised that some of his suggestions " had not presented themselves," they seemed so simple. The girls looked forward to the next report-day with considerable anxiety, and, it must be acknowl- edged, not without a few misgivings, as to their being able to bear off the honors as they had previously done. That the boys were hard at work, somewhere, and at something, was certain, for they were no longer met loafing at the street-corners; but no efforts of the girls could find out their whereabouts or employment. At last the important day arrived ; curiosity Avas on tiptoe. There was a quiet twinkle in the eyes of the boys, and a look which seemed to say, " We are not afraid of you to-day, girls.^^ " How much have you boys earned ? " was asked a dozen times by the inquisitive girls, but the answer given was invariably, ^'Fitz is our treasurer, you must ask him ; '^ and he, most provokingly, staid away until the meeting had commenced. ^^I would like to have your report, Fitz," said Kate, in a tone decidedly more subdued than was usual with her. FITZ-IIUGII ST. CLAIR. 27 " Sure enough, this is report -day,'' said lie, in the coolest manner imaginable, just as tliouLih he had not made it an era, from which they would in future date. " Let me see," said he, " if I have not left my account at home," and he felt first in one pocket, and then in the other, while the boys, with eyes as big as saucers, looked the admiration they felt for one so infinitely superior to them as to be entirely self-sustained, while they could scarcely keep their seats. " Here it is," said he, at last, taking it from the pocket he had first explored, and, with a quiet smile, handing it to Kate, who read : " The boys desire to hand in to the treasurer the sum of §60.30," (a large amount, if it had not been Confederate money). " By the request of the young ladies they have 'reduced to its cent, per cent, value' their services for the past two months, and find the amount as reported." It was a study to see the amused look with which Fitz regarded Kate, as she read the report. AVhen she concluded, he said, " Will the secretary be kind enough to inform the boys how much they now lack of reaching the amount brought in by the young ladies." "Nothing at all, Mr. Innocence," she replied, in a quick, nervous manner. " Your triumph is complete. You have $16.00 more in the treasury than we have. I congratulate you upon your success." " You are not very enthusiastic in your congratu- lations, Katie, and you seem as anxious to change 28 FITZ-IIUGII ST. CLAIR. Master St. Clair's name as you pretended I was to change yours. I told you, you were mistaken in saying you wanted Fitz for a brother/' said Will, the incor- rigible. "At all events, I was not mistaken in calling you ' insolent,' Willie. I don't see what you are putting on such airs for. You are presuming on another's capital, for you boys were all lying like capsized turtles on your backs, until Fitz came to the rescue, and, by his tact and energy, put you all on your feet." " Yes ; but once we did get on our feet, we went it, you are obliged to admit, Katie, and it was history repeating itself — ^the Hare and the Tortoise' over again ; " and he jumped and capered, as if he had gone beside himself. " Is we under the black flag, Katie, because we got beat ? " asked Lillie. " Xo," said Willie, " you are under the yellow flag, because you are in a declining condition, and your secretary is jealous." " Don't mind him, Lillie," said Fitz, " it is not so. We are all under one ^ glorious flag ' — the Confed- erate flag, and must each do the very best we can to aid the cause it represents. We cannot fight ; but we can earn money to buy good weapons for those who are fighting, so that they may not fight at too great a disadvantage." "Yes, children," said Miss Birch, "you can each one, no matter how small, do something. Do you rec- ollect the verses you learned last Sunday, Lillie ? Can you repeat them ? They are quite to the point. '^ FITZ-IIUOII ST. CLAIR. 29 "I will try," said Lillie; and, standing up, she re- cited, without a single mistake, the following beautiful lines, which we hope every child who reads this book will memorize : THE TERRIBLE IFS. If tlie little cowslip should hang its golden cup, And say I am such a tiny flower I'd better not grow up, How many a weary traveller would miss its fragrant smell, How many a little child would grieve to miss it from the dell. And if the little breezes, upon a summer day. Should think themselves too small to cool the ti-aveller on his way, "Who would not miss the softest and gentlest ones that blow. And think they made a great mistake, if they were acting so ? So, many deeds of kindness the smallest child may do, Although it has so little strength, and little wisdom, too; If it Ls but in earnest, and works with all its power. The smallest child will bless the world it lives in every hour. CHAPTER lY. GLEXDAIRE, GENERAL ST. CLAIR's ISLAND HOME. THE St. Clair family were refugees from the coast of South Carolina, uear "Where bold Port Royal spreads its mimic sea — Far in the north, the lengthening bay and sky, Blent into one, its shining waters lie ; And southward, breaking on the shelving shore, Meet the sea-wave, and swell its endless roar. On either hand gay groups of i.slands show Their charms reflected in the streams below. Ko summer land, no lovelier isles than these, Ko happier homes the weary traveller sees. The stately mansion occupied by General St. Clair's family, at the breaking out of the war, was built upon the ruins of an ancestral home, which had withstood the desolations of the Revolutionary struggle. Every foot of the soil was sacred to him. It was more than a property — it was a record — and bound to his soul by all the traditions of the past. A broad colonnade extended around three sides of the dwelling, and marble steps led from it to the terrace, which extended GLENDAIRE. — rnj>- ..n FITZ-IIUGII ST. CLAIR. 31 to the very edge of the water. A wide liall, with its tesseHated floor, divided the lower storv, and on either side were suits of apartments, elegantly furnished. In the left wing was a picture-gallery, containing some of the finest pictures on the continent, the collection of over a century, and from both the New and Old worlds. But to all who have visited Glendaire, the liljrary will be the spot to which memory will most lovingly take them, for it was indeed a charming retreat; every taste was gratified, and it was perfect in all its appoint- ments. The richly carved book-cases were filled with the rarest books, while scattered around upon consoles and tables were exquisitely bound magazines, English, French, and Italian. A grand piano and an organ filled the alcoves ; the ceilings were lofty, and the walls, with their classical frescoes, were a delicate blue, empanelled in French gray, with gilt beading; the drapery of the windows was in harmony with a carpet of the softest texture, and the most luxurious chairs, divans, and lounges, were ensconced in every nook. Busts of Ital- ian marble looked down from their lofty heights, sur- rounding cabinet and book-case, and the fines'! bronzes adorned the mantel. In the bow-windows were well-stocked arpiaria, and just outside, hung fancy cages containing mocking-birds, whose wild and in- spiring songs were a whole orchestra in themselves. The south portion of this large and elegant apartment liad been divided off by French plate-glass doors, and turned into a conservatory; the rarest exotics grew 32 FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR. here, and almost burdened the air with their delicious odor. Both General and Mrs. St. Clair were accomplished musicians, and I now recall with delight the many twilight hours spent in that grand old library, sitting in a sleepy hollow chair, breathing the perfumed air, and listening to them as they played and sang together. Sad memory now takes me back to the last evening thus spent. Mrs. St. Clair played upon the organ the soprano air from the Messiah — "I know that my Redeemer liveth," and they sang it together. I had never before heard it so rendered, and I never shall again. Mrs. St. Clair had been educated abroad, principally in Florence, where her mother's relatives resided. Her style in music was the tender, impassioned Italian. She never sacrificed expression to execution, and her trills and cadences were like the Avarblings of a bird. The grounds surrounding the family mansion were in harmony with it. There were groves of orange and lemon, in which the mock-bird (Phoebus of the Woods) trilled her thousand notes the summer lono^. Mao^- nolias, with their glossy dark leaves lined with brown, and trees of japonicas, over fifteen feet in height, grew, with heliotropes, citrenas, geraniums, and myrtle, in the open air. Patriarchal live-oaks, — the Druids of our Southern woods, — whose gigantic limbs were adorned with a graceful drapery of moss, gave a look of dignity and antiquity, which the gay Pagoda boat- houses could not dispel. The children called their THE NEGRO QUARTERS AT GLEXDAIRE. — Paje 33- FITZ-IIUGH ST. CLAIR. 33 rustic seats, built in tlic spreading; bouglis of the trees, "eyries;'* — tliere they fed their tame squirrels, while pet fawns tinkled their silver bells, as they sported on the lawn below. About half u mile from the dwelling was a village, containing over one hundred dazzlingly white cottages, each surrounded by a paling fence, enclosing an acre of ground. These cottages were occupied by the slaves belonging to the estate. To each family was allotted a cottage, and they grew their own vegetables, raised their own poultry and pigs, and many of them culti- vated a few fiowers, of which the colored race are quite fond. In every enclosure, you would find suspended from tall cypress poles a number of calabashes, which furni;,hed homes to thousands of swallows, whose mu- sical twittering was not only pleasant, but useful, for they kept away the hawk from the growing poultry. '^Calni in liis peaceful liome, the slave prepares His garden spot, and plies his rustic cares. The comb and honey that his bees afford, The eggs in ample gourd compactly stored, His pigs and poultry, with a huckster's art, He sells, or barters at the village mart, Or at the master's mansion never fails An ampler i>rice to find, and readier sales." So sang Grayson, who described " Carolina Planta- tion Life" as only one of her own sons could, and contrasted the life of the working-class at the South with the miners of England, who herd together in hovels unfit for swine. " Fifty men sleeping in sixteen 34 FITZ-HUGII ST. CLAIR. beds on the damp eartli," and in Devonshire "whole flimilies of six and eight sleeping in one bed ;" and a traveller writes that " in White Chai)el an empty eask placed along the street would in a few hours fnid a tenant, while many poor creatures whom I saw were eating with avidity tlic offal from the gutters/' and yet, children, this very same English nation, ignoring its own starving millions, shrieked out in agony over the dreadful sufferings of your fathers' servants, in their clean white cabins, and, in many of the books which they wrote for you to read, they pictured the horrors of slavery, until those of you who were too young to remember the old plantation life are almost brought to believe your parents the savage monsters they painted. Even in our own country this is too much the case, and we can scarcely take up a child's book to read for instruction or pleasure, but that the facts regarding the South are so distorted, we lay it down with disgust; and that brings us to a point in our story where — (although a digression) — I will give my reasons for writing this little book. Sailing up the Hudson a few summers ago, with a party from the South, I was at- tracted by a little fellow who was reading, with the most intense interest, a book his grandparents had purchased in New York, and given him to read, with- out first reading it themselves. The little boy was only ten years old, a gentlemanly little. fellow, and quite fond of reading. We passed point after point of interest on the river ; sometimes he was left entirely alone, while the passengers all went on the other side, FITZ-IIUGH ST. CLAIR. 35 to look at some place we were passing. Boys have always had an attraction for me ; I love to study them, and this child was so unlike the wild, romping boys who were on board that day, and were urging him every five minutes to join them, that I took my seat and determined to make his a('({uaintance. While I sat turning it over in my own mind, whether " I had any right, just for my own pleasure, to interrupt his read- ing," I saw him knit his brow, clinch liis fist, and set his teeth firmly on his lip. I moved over, and took my scat by him. " What are you reading, my son ?'' I asked. " I am reading a story about the war, and just think," he said, looking up to me, with his brown eyes flashing, " our Confederate soldiers cut down all the trees 'round a pen, and made the Yankee soldiers go in it ; then they tied them to a tree, and fastened their eyes open, so the sun could blaze right into them. I never thought they would have done such a thing, did you ? It must have been after my papa was killed, for he would never let us be cruel even to an animal. I am ashamed of them, for this book is full of the awfullest things about Southern people. Why, you don't know how they used to do the poor slaves; they would hitch them into ploughs, and make them plough up the ground, instead of using mules," said he, in the most excited manner. "Why, what made them do that? " I asked, " when they could buy twenty mules for the same money that they would have to pay for one good negro, strong enough to draw a plough throu:es to be sent to the army. An old man, with a small bundle in his hand, entered as we did. He '^ had bruno; a package to send to his boy in Lee's army," he said. " 'Twas only a little tobaccy and a pipe ; he never smoked when he wur home, but me and the old woman thought it would kinder help make him forgit how cold and hungry he is, lying in tliem trenches ; he is only seventeen, and the last one left, — the other two wur both killed;" and wiping the big tears away with his rough coat-sleeve, he left the room. A young girl, whose blue vail covered w^hat we knew was a sweet, bright face, handed in a dainty little package, — ^^a book for Lieutenant Cadwallader, Company B, 3d Regiment South Carolina Volunteers." We strongly suspected that " book " contained but one page, — that was illustrated, however, — and the lovely eyes photographed upon it, will say more than volumes could to the dashing young lieutenant, whom we prayed might be spared to bless this gentle, blushing child-woman with his love and protecting care. Here conies old Maum Dinah, curtsying, as she hands in her bundle. **' For my chile, missis ; some of his mammer's ginger-cake, doughnuts, and molasses candy. And do, my dear missis, tell him" — (poor, 80 FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR. simple-hearted mamma ! she thonirlit we were going in the boxes, I suppose,) — "tell him his old mammer never forgits him, and can't sleep o' nights for thiidv- ing that, while she is in her warm bed, he is sleeping on the cold ground in Firginy. Tell him I prays for him, day and night; and he must pray for hisself, put his trus' in the Lord, and lub his Jesus." And here the old woman quite broke down, and burying her face in her checked apron, cried aloud. " Alas ! old Manmer 's of the past : On her dear face we have looked our last, — Ko more o'er our sick-beds we'll see Her dark form bending tenderly ; Xo more with ' Baby ' in her arms, Singing, to quiet its alarms, Will dear old Maumer come again. To soothe and charm aAvay our pain. Ah, little did tliey understand "NVho rent these ties with cruel hand." In the fall of the year, General St. Clair came home on furlough, and spent ten days with his family. It was a time of great rejoicing, for they had been look- ing forward to it for months, and saving up every dainty. Fitz had secured every ounce of butter tiiat he could hear about ; Rena had knit the softest socks ; Harry had a whole bag of chestnuts, and a bushel of big red apples; and dear old grandpa had moulded some mvrtle-wax candles, which " looked like sperma- ceti, and burned like daylight," Clara said. And now papa had actually come ; and when they dropped the shades in the evening, and gathered around the fire, FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR. 81 they presented tlie most eliariiiing picture of happy hoiiie-lile that eould be imagined. The first evening, Harry had a thousand questions to ask about camp-life, figliting, etc. ; but Mrs. St. Chiir's pale, sad face, (when war was the topic,) soon made her husband adroitly change the subject, never to renew it again. The day before General St. Clair left, while in a store, laying in family supplies, Mr. Gassy came up, rubbing his hands, and apparently quite overjoyed at the meeting. After the greetings were over, he said : " I hear. General, you are going to the front in the morning. Is it so?" "I am going to join my brigade, sir,^^ quietly re- plied the General. ^^How I envy you. General, — I feel like a caged lion or a chained war-steed — restive, and eaofer for the fray. I am actually longing for the smell of gun- powder, sir.^' " You have had ample opportunity to have satisfied that longing. Gassy. The war has been going on over a year, and if you really do intend doing anything for 3'our country, it is time vou made a bes^innino:." " Made a beginning. General ? Why, what in the world do you mean? Did you not know I was drafted?" " Yes, I heard so ; but you did not go." "No; but I sent a substitute, which is equivalent to going myself. I sent my first wife's son, by a former marriage, right to the front — the front, I say, 82 FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR. sir, the place where the balls fall thickest; and where I am panting to go, if it was convenient. So now, my dear General, I hope you will not accuse me of a want of patriotism again ; for I tell you, sir, I am spoiling with it." " I am glad to be informed of the fact, Gassy ; for it is hard to realize that a great burly man like your- self, as patriotic too, as you profess to be, can be sat- isfied out of the army, at this time of our country's need.'' " Do you call me a hearty man. General ? Ask my mother; she will tell you what a time I had teething — " ^' But you surely have got through teething, long ago,'' said the General, laughing. ^' You interrupted me, sir. I was going on to say that from a teething baby I have enjoyed bad health ; but my whole soul is in the cause, and I am willing to die for it, if needs be, — and, if the government would onlv take my advice, they would soon finish up the littie job." " Why, what would you advise so efficacious ? " " In the first place, I would say. Do not let the sol- diers come home on furlough — " " And, pray, why w^ould you advise that ? " " Why, it does no good. They see their families in want, and it makes them dissatisfied — " '^ Families in want ! and what are you scoundrels at home good for, that you cannot keep the soldiers' fam- ilies from starving ? You keep your carcasses out of danger ! If I were President, I would send you spec- FITZ-IIUGH ST. CLAIR. 83 ulators to the front for a while, or billet a dozen of the lliniilies of those who are there, upon you; for it is such as you, that will hrin<^ about the ruin of our cause, if ruin conies. You are Neros! fiddling, while Rome is burninij:.''' "Xot much fiddling; money depreciates so, I have to change my investments every week. I am buying real estate now ; do you know of any upon the market ? " "'So, sir; I should be ashamed to inquire," said the General, with a look of contempt upon his face. " You are hard on us home-guards ; but we will take it from you, if you will only, when you go back, raise the black flag, and cany the war into the North. Lee is an old poke, and Stonewall Jackson believes Svhat is to be will be;' and so don't put himself to any trouble to hurry it up ; and Davis ain't a mite better ; he would rather lose the cause than go con- trary to West Point tactics. So red-tape will strangle us after all, if you soldiers don't hurry up things." " Do you not think, Gassy, that in depriving the country of such superior military knowledge you are doing wrong ? You ought to be Secretary of War, sir." " Business, General, business ; there is no harder task-master, and if you fellows get killed off, we will have your families to provide for, I suppose." ''God forbid," said the General, fervently, ''the bare possibility of such a fate for my loved ones would make me desert the cause, as dear as it is to my soul. Don't hint such a terrible fiite, Gassy." " You are not very complimentary; but never mind, 84 FITZ-IIUGII ST. CLAIR. all right as it is, you only hurry back, and don't come home again until Washington is in ashes, the coal mines of Pennsylvania fired, and Lincoln, the old scoundrel, hung by the neck until he is dead, dead, dead, and the devil take his soul." " God forbid, or any otlier soul for whom the Saviour died," replied the General, gravely. ^' Why don't you pitch in, Gassy," said a by-stander, '' and show the General how it ought to be done." '' I only wish I could ; there would be no more prisoners taken to eat up our provisions, I tell you. But farewell. General ; tell your wife if she needs advice to send for me," said Gassy, as he walked away. "Honor to him who truly feels, whate'er that feeling be, Whose acts are like his words, and both stamped with sincerity. Defeat to him who strives to gain a nation's full accord, False to his friends, false to his fate, false to his creed and Lord." CHAPTER IX. THE BATTLE OF MANASSAS. ALL through the dark and gloomy winter after the General's visit home, and return to the army, amid desolations and sufferings, such as it seemed incredible could exist in America, our people struggled. Uncomplainingly they endured every privation, hoping for the day that would bring peace and independence to our distracted land. Sometimes we were exultant with hope, then again upon the very verge of despair ; prayer-meetings were held daily, and from every family altar went up the cry for " peace." ^ye knew we were fighting the whole world, and at fearful odds, too, but right and justice were on our side, and we believed God would, in his own good time, interpose in our behalf. Heartless extortioners, shirking military duty, urged Lee " on to Washington,'' harangued the soldiers as to the necessity of "dying in the last ditch," while they took from their families a whole month's wages for a bushel of corn. The prices asked for provisions almost amounted to a prohibition, and Mrs. St. Clair's 8 85 86 FITZ- HUGH ST. CLAIR. health was failing for want of nourishing food. Tliey seldom tasted meat; corn-hominy and sorghum-syrup, with rye as a substitute for tea and coffee, was their chief subsistence. As in the time of William and Mary, money had merely a nominal value — we could not purchase provisions with it. A peck of corn, or a piece of bacon, must be paid for with leather or yarn ; and even after the food was obtained and cooked, it was scarcely palatable, for salt was not to be had at any price. Old smoke-houses were torn down, and the dirt floors boiled for the salt they contained. The sediment of an old mackerel-barrel was regarded as a " treasure- trove," to such straits were we reduced. Is it at all surprising, that we could not give the Federal prison- ers dessert every day? or is it not rather a miracle that a starving people managed to feed their enemies at all ? The Southern ladies, who, in almost all the North- ern story-books, are represented as "thriftless, lazy do-nothings," proved the unjustness of these charges by manufacturing, with their own hands, almost every- thing used in their households — even to the shoes they wore, and the lasts upon Avhich they were made ! Upon hand-looms they wove the cloth for the family, and no prettier hats have ever been imported than those plaited by our ladies from our own Palmetto. One of our young generals led to the altar a fair bride whose entire trousseau was of home manufacture; for, although the trained dress was silk of the finest texture, the FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR. 87 bride raised the worms, and spun and wove the silk herself. History must ^i\y of the women ol' the ISouth, that "They nobly bore their part, Birt the proudest triumph that they won, Was the victory of the heart." Months had passed since the General had been home. Fitz looked sad and anxious; his grandfather was growing feeble, and his mother's subdued, beautiful, patient face was never now lighted by a smile. Little baby May, who, like the snowdrop, to which the children compared her, had come into the world amid the darkness and gloom of the times, and al- ways gave a smile for the bitter tears with which her pale, sad mother bedewed her cheeks, was now two months old, and had never seen papa, although little Clara insisted " the angel who brought her down from heaven must have stopped by papa's camp and showed him the baby, for how else in the world would he have known they had a baby, and sent it 'papa's welcome and a blessing,' before they had time to send him word, ' God had sent them a little sister ' ? " Harry agreed with her fully, and loved his baby sister better, because she had seen papa last. General St. Clair wrote : " An engagement is daily expected. That over, if spared, I shall come home." Fitz counted to, and from the arrival of the cars, and if they were delayed until midnight, he never left the office without his mail. It was the 3d of September ; the second- battle of 88 FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR. Manassas had been fouglit ; and tlie cars, now overdue, would bring tidings of the result. The depot was crowded with anxious fathers and mothers, wivTS and sisters, who stood prayerful and agonized, as if await- ing an execution. Silence hung, like a fixed spell, on every tongue ; for from every homestead had gone a loved one, and the cars, they knew, were coming freiofhted with sorrow for some of them. " Hark ! the loner whistle." " That means victorv," said some, scarcely above their breath ; for they knew that, "On the wings of Victorv Death's shafts were ever sped." " A glorious victory ! " said the conductor, as the cars came into the depot; but he spoke in tones that might have announced a defeat, they were so solemn. Fitz stood speechless, for he could sing pa\ins for no victory until assured his father — whose precious life had been risked where " Bellowing batteries thnndered, And snlph'rons smoke rose high" — had come safely through the deadly conflict. When the train reached the depot, the conductor handed the list of killed and wounded to the Rev. Dr. Smith, with the request that he would " read it aloud, so as to relieve the anxiety of the waiting multitude as speedily as possible.'' Dr. Smith took it, and read : ^' The long-expected battle has been fought, and won, — but at a terrible FITZ-IIUGII ST. CLAIR. 89 cost to South Carolina, who mourns among the fallen some of her braVest otiic'crs. The gallant General St. Clair — " and ho stopped, trembling with emotion, and looked pityingly at Fitz, who stood transfixed, wildly staring at him, with clasped hands and haggard countenance — "Not killed, sir? Oh, my God! not killed?" he exclaimed, imploringly. " fell, making a desperate charge, at the head of his division, in the thickest of the fight," continued the Doctor. Poor Fitz ! The conductor, who knew the agony in store for the son, whose beautiful devotion he had so much admired, had Avalked round, and stood pre- pared to minister to him when the blow fell. With tears coursing down his own cheeks, he led the tearless, liaggard, shivering boy to a seat. Deep grief is always passionless, and not one sigh, groan, or tear, told the s})ectators that his heart was breaking. Rev. Mr. Elliott, his mother's pastor, came and sat by him, and, taking the cold hand in his own, ten- derly talked of the dead ; of his beautiful life ; his glorious death ; the immortality of fame he had won ; but he spoke in deaf ears. If he was heard, there was no intimation given of it, for Fitz's only consciousness was, that he of whom they were speaking was dead ! Killed ! Gone forev^er. When Mr. Elliott proposed that they should go to his mother, he got up submis- sively and accompanied him as though he was asleep. When they came in sight of the house, he looked up 8* 90 FITZ-HUGII ST. CLAIR. pitifully into Mr. Elliott's face and said, " I am too ill. I cannot meet my mother now. Tlie tidings you are taking will kill her; be merciful/' and leaving Mr. Elliott to go into the house alone, he walked into the woods near by and threw himself upon his face on the ground, trying to submit with every heart-string burst- ing. He had said truly, " he was ill ; " heart and head alike ached. He longed for death, and prayed that it might come to liis release. He was so crushed and helpless that, when he tried to pray, no words would come, only " Lord Jesus, have mercy." At last a numbness and insensibility mercifully crept over him. He thought he w^as dying, which, to him, now meant only going to his father. Closing his eyes, his tortured nerves languished, and he was alike insensible to sorrow or joy until late in the evening. With con- sciousness returned the dreary sense of his terrible sorrow and loneliness. How lonely he felt. ^' Was everybody gone, mother?" Ah, where was his mother? He had, in his own great grief, forgotten hers. He must go to her at once. W^hen he entered her chamber, he looked like a flower over which a fierce storm had passed. Every one in the room wept as they saw tlie marks of his suf- fering. Walking u]) to the bed, he knelt, and taking the cold, white hand in liis own, he said, '^Only live, mother, for our sakes. W^e will try and help you bear it." All through that dreadful night, although his mother did not recognize him, no entreaties could get him from her side. FITZ-IIUGII ST. CLAIR. 91 "We watched her breathing through the night, Her breathing soft and low, As in her breast the wave of life Kept heaving to and fro. So silently we seemed to speak. So slowly moved about, As tliough we had lent her half our powers To eke her being out." Entirely delirious, her ravings were of "home, her own beautiful island home," with her husband ever at her side; then again, wildly, she would be inter- posing to keep from him some threatened danger ; and once, perfectly exhausted, she sank back upon her pil- low, clasped her hands, and with tears streaming from her eyes, prayed. "Speak low to me, my Saviour — low and sweet. From out the liallelujahs, sweet and low. Lest I should fear and fall, and miss Thee so, Who art not missed by any that entreat." In the morning the doctor proposed bringing her baby to her, in the hope that the sight of it would rouse her to consciousness. Some one, to still the child's cries, during the niglit had administered pare- goric carelessly, and there was a stain upon her little apron, which, as soon as ^Irs. St. Clair saw, she pointed at in horror, exclaiming, " Blood ! blood ! O God ! her father's blood ! " and fell into a swoon so deep and protracted, we thought she had left us forever. During her intervals of sanity, she would say, " I 92 FITZ- HUGH ST. CLAIR. must not die with mother's w.ork to do, doctor ; my children have no one in the world but me; you must not let me die ; I cannot leave them in this harsh, cold world. Oh, it would be sweet to die ; but I promised my husband to live for his children ; " and this was the feeling that triumphed even over death, and made that poor, stricken mother turn and take up life's heavy burden, when she so longed "To rest her aching heart beneath the Foil, And slumber hi her dreamless bed, free from all toil." A "mother's love;" Avhat is there like it in all this wide world ? It can keep even death at bay, and say to sorrow, poverty, and want, "for my children's sake" I will not shrink from you, but will meet you, though I have to do it alone. And how alone, that tiuiid, shrinking mother felt none but her God knew. She had been so sustained and sheltered by the strong right arm of him upon whom she had leaned, but who now lay "beneath the sod On pillow dark and gory, As brave a man as ever trod A battle-field of glory." And she was alone, terribly alone, in this unpitving world. In General St. Clair, his father lost his only child, the prop and stay of his old age. In poverty, and weakness extreme, he was left, and it was a touching sight to see the tall, elegant old gentleman, with bowed FITZ-IIUGH ST. CLAIR. 93 head, and hands behind him, slowly walking tlie piazza, while his long, silvery hair, combed back from his hisrh, intellectual forehead, curled to his shoulders. " There is something moves one strangely In old ruins gray with years, Yet there's something far more tender In an old face wet witli tears." He was chastened, but resigned. No murmur ever escaped him, and if he was sometimes heard to ask, ^'How long, O God, how long?" he oftener said, "He doeth all things well." " I expected to lean on his strong arm, but God has ordained it otherwise, and I must totter to the grave alone ; yet, thank God, He has promised never to forsake me ; His rod and His staif they comfort me. I will join my brave sons where no enemy can part us. Until then I will trust my Heavenly Father, for, after all, maybe 'the kind dark angel, has only Drawn them within the secret shadow of his cloud, To hide them from the fearful fate now hurrying up.'" CHAPTER X. THE DEATH OF OLD MR. ST. CLAIR. FITZ did not return to college after the death of his father, for he had the whole care of providing for the family, and comfortless himself, had to become the comforter of all the rest. He sought, and obtained, a situation in a store, where he received "a small salary and was boarded." When he went to the table of his employer, who was the richest man in the town, and kept the best table, the thought of the little home group sitting down to corn-bread and sorghum, prevented his eating a mouthful. How could he eat the meat that would give his poor, feeble uiother strength to nourish her little teething babe? and the dear old grandfather now met him day by day with a failing step, which told that he needed strengthening food. Xo, he could not eat the food they were perishing for, so he begged to " have his meals sent to the store," and as he was a great favorite, the request was complied with. Every particle of meat, and everything else at all 94 FITZ-HUGII ST. CLAIR. 95 dainty, was laid aside and carried liome. He ate scarcely enougli to keep him alive, and that only of the plainest fare. " Mrs. Duncan must be a very generous provider, Fitz, or else you bring home all she sends," said his mother to him, one day, as he walked in, and laid his basket upon the table, saying, as usual, " Here is part of my dinner, mamma." " Do I look as if I were starving ? " he asked. Mrs. St. Clair looked at him, and saw what she had not before observed, that his cheeks were sunken and hollow, and she had in the look unmistakable evidence that Fitz was indeed starving himself, to feed his flimily. That decided her course. A friend in Co- lumbia had been urging her ^' to rent her home, move down, and take a situation in the Treasury Depart- ment." She was delighted at the prospect of being able to relieve Fitz of part of the burden of their sup- port ; but he had objected to any such arrangement, insisting that he was able to take care of them. Mrs. St. Clair became convinced that it was her duty to go to Columbia, and began to make preparations to leave immediately. Fitz went down to reconnoitre, and the reconnoissance was so satisfactory that he came back de- h'ghted, having obtained a good situation for himself, and the assurance that the employment offered his mother, was not fatiguing, and quite remunerative. Upon his return, his mother informed him that while he was away *^Mr. Gassy had called and advised her to ' sell her house, and invest tlie money in bonds' ! " 96 . FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR. '^ What is in the wind now, I wonder?" said Fitz. "If that sharper is investing in real estate, you may be sure it will be safe to keep it. The hawk ! I wish he would keep away from our dove-cote, for it would be just 'like him to take advantage of us. Don't tol- erate him, mamma." " He did not come to buy, my son, only to advise, and he did so in the kindest and most interested man- ner. Do you know your prejudice against Mr, Gassy is terribly bitter, and really unaccountable to me. But here he comes." " Only dropped in, in a neighborly way : had n't heard of Fitz's arrival : thought maybe Mrs. St. Clair might be needing some advice, which his great financial ability made him eminently capable of giving. As Fitz was at home, wouldn't stay." Of course he would not, for he knew Fitz under- stood him thoroughly, and he shrank from his clear, truthful eye like a whipped spaniel, although it was only a boy's eye that looked him through. Mrs. St. Clair rented her house most advantageously to a farmer, who agreed to pay the rent in provisions, which at that time money could not buy, and began packing for the move. It was Sabbath, and the last one they would spend in that town. The children attended preaching with their grandfather, and the dear old man had enjoyed the services. In the evening he conducted family worship, read with great solemnity the ninetieth psalm, and joined in singing that beautiful hymn, FITZ-IIUGII ST. CLAIR. 97 "Oil, Thou who liearest the mourner's prayer, How dark this world would be, IJ^ when deceived and injured here. We could not fly to Thee." After the hymn he prayed earnestly and fervently for peace, and that the cry of the widows and orphans, all over the land, might reach high heaven, and thfe dreadful bloodshed be stopped. He kissed them all good-night, appearing quite as well as usual, and retired. In the morning, when they met at breakfast, grandpa did not come. Fitz went to inquire if he was sick, and found him dead ! xllone in the night, apparently without a struggle, he had met and conquered the King of Terrors, and now lay sweetly asleep in Jesus. " Two hands upon the breast — Labor was done ; Two pale feet, crossed in rest — The race was won ; Two eyes in Death's sleep shut, And all tears cease ; Two lips, where grief is mute — Anger at peace." He had gone to join those whom he had loved and mourned, in the ^^ land of peace '^ for which he sighed ; and when " We looked upon his cold, dead face, We felt 'twas wrong to weep; For we had known his suffering, And knew how sweet his sleep." 9 G CHAPTER XI. SPECULATORS. FITZ preceded the family to Columbia a few weeks, in order to prepare for their reception. To his great sorrow, when his mother came, she in- formed him that '^she had sold their house to Mr. Gassy.'^ " O mother, dear mother, how could you fall into the trap of that wily speculator ? Surely I deserved your confidence ; you have made a terrible mistake, and we will have to suifer for it. I really thought you gave me credit for common sense.'' ^'My son, you are hasty in your judgment; listen to the facts, and do not let prejudice make you un- reasonable. Mr. Gassy had money sent him from Richmond to invest, and really meant to do us all a service by purchasing our house; he argued, as we were going from the up-country, probably never to return, the property would be let go to decay, for no one ever takes care of a hired house, so my best plan would be to sell in S and jiurchase in Columbia.'^ FITZ-HUGII ST. CLAIR. 99 " From whom, pray ? I hope you will insist on his coming down and buying property for you, the scoundrel." " I am sorry, my dear boy, to see you so angry and unreasonable; has Confederate money depreciated so as to be utterly worthless ? " ^' It has, mother, and that disinterested philanthropist knew it. But here is a verse in this very paper about his tribe ; read it, I have not the patience to do it for you." Mrs. St. Clair read : " The speculator, what cares he for the tears that fall, Or the hearts that he shivers and breaks; His ear is deaf to the orphan's call, While there's a dime or a cent to make." '^ That 's a picture of your patriotic, disinterested Gassy," said Fitz, starting to leave the room, with a fiice flushed with anger that he could not control. ^^Stop, Fitz," said his mother, in a calm, but de- cided tone; ^'do not let your temper make you disre- spectful to your mother, my son. When you are 2)repared to hear me, I will go into details, and I am sure I can satisfy you that the transaction is for the best." Fitz was silent, for he knew the man with whom it was made, better than his mother did ; he remembered his father's conversation with him the day he urged the General " to the front," and in his very heart he despised and loathed him. " I told him," Mrs. St. Clair went on to say, " that you were opposed to the sale. He said to a stranger 100 FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR, you might be, but he wanted us to understand tliat it was not a mere business transaction, but a compact between friends, to be rectified if it did not turn out advantageous to us, for lie was consulting our interest solely and entirely." "Did he put that fine speech in writing?" said Fitz, not in the least mollified by it. " No, Fitz ; but a gentleman would regard sacredly a promise ; would he not ? " "Certainly, a gentleman would; but that canting hypocrite is not a gentleman. Mother, I wonder at a lady of your sense being deceived by him; he has swindled us out of our home, and did it knowingly and designedly, and is now chuckling over the sharp trick. You will find out I am right." " But what do you make of this paper, which !Mr. Gassy fortified himself with when he came the last time? Here is an appeal from the authorities at Richmond, calling upon all patriots and lovers of their country to ^invest in bonds.' Would they advise this, my son, if they knew that to invest thus would be ruin ? " " I am very sour, mother, and I tell you the truth. I would rather form my opinion from what these advisers are doing themselves, than by what they are advising others to do. Some of them have their agents in every city, town, and village in the South, buying up the estates they are advising the widows and orphans to sell, and after the war, when the soldiers' families will be in poor-houses and asy- FITZ-HUGII ST. CLAIR 101 lums, they will be revelling in tlieir ill-o^otten o^ains. But let us drop this subject, or I shall forget myself again. I thank God there is a tribunal where the Judge of the widow Avill reverse the decisions of earth. You will get justice then, for the sentence on ^ those who devour widows' houses ' has already been passed. Tliank God for a judgment -day and a righteous Judge." CHAPTER XII. THE BURNING OF COLUMBIA. "jV/TRS. ST. CLAIR had just settled in Columbia -^^ when Sherman bes^an his raid throuirh Georo:ia. Rumors that his army were coming to Columbia were current; but week after week passed, and he did not come. Mrs. St. Clair did not believe he w^ould. She was a Virginian, the daughter of an officer in the United States army, who died just before the war. She loved the old flag, under which her father had so often and so bravely fought; and always heard with sorrow, reflections upon the officers with whom she had been so intimately associated. The bare suggestion that the United States army, officered by graduates of West Point, — her father's Alma Mater, — would attack a town from which all the men were absent, and filled with defenceless women and children, would be immediately repelled by her with impatient rebuke. "There were gentlemen in the army up to the war," she would argue. " The Southerners only left — w^hat has become of the others?'' 102 FITZ-HUGII ST. CLAIR. 103 "General McClelkm, your friend, has no command now," said her opponent. " But I liave other friends in the United States army, as brave and as chivalric as I know General McClelkm to be." "VVell, I hope you may not meet them soon," laughingly responded Madam Secesh, " for, I tell you plainly, I would as soon meet banditti." After the lady left, Mrs. St. Clair said : " You see, Fitz, how unfair and rash prejudice can make people: as though my dear, gallant father had belonged to a band of bandits ! If the mayor does his duty, and the town of Columbia is surrendered to the officer in com- mand of the United States forces, I shall feel as safe as if we were under the command of the gallant Beaure- gard himself, who was educated where chivalry is taught ; and so were the United States navy and army officers. The fact is, I would lose faith in the justice of our cause, almost as soon as I would in the honor and chivalry of a West Point graduate." '^ I hope you may have no reason to change your opinion," said Fitz, "and I only wish I shared it, mamma." Sherman's well-equipped army of seventy-five thou- sand, was to be opposed by four thousand half-starved Confederates, with wardrobes almost in as sad a plight as Falstaff' s regiment. Our officers knew that the defencelessness of the city would not protect it, but, on the contrary, give greater license to our invaders. Consequently, they tried to 104 FITZ-HUGH ST. CLAIR. gain for the poor women as long a time as possible to escape with their little ones out of the doomed city. The brave Wheeler, with only s\:^ hundred men, defended successfully the line of works on the north side of Congaree Creek, and kept the enemy from crossing until four o'clock. On the IGth of February, the shelling of the city commenced. No warning had been given, or any de- mand made for its surrender. ^' What do you think of our honorable foe, now ? " asked Mrs. Secesh of Mrs. St. Clair. " I do not understand it ; there must be some misun- derstanding, so I will hope for the best,'^ she replied. The bursting of shells in houses filled with little children, caused a terrible panic. Thousands of women, decrepid old men, and helpless children, with bundles of clothing or baskets of food, were flying wildly in every direction, not knowing where to go for safety or shel- ter. The enemy were at the gates ; the sound of can- non was heard ; shells were exploding in every street, and tumult and excitement reigned. It was pande- monium — to be changed in a few hours to hell. Little May had been quite ill, and the doctor guarded them against change or excitement for her. " She must be kept perfectly quiet," was his charge, on leaving. So they resolved to remain, and brave danger for her sake. She was a darling little pet, and as timid as a bird. Whenever a shell exploded, she would shut tight her soft blue eyes, and say, " Bad ! May tell papa." FITZ-HUGII ST. CLAIR. 105 Mrs. St. Clair lon