YALE UNIVERSITY 1

RETREAT FOR THE UNIONISTS.

EYE-WITNESS;

OB,

lU ^ams in tht m& §0xt% MU»

DEPICTING THE

TRIALS AND SUFFERINGS OF THE UNIONISTS

DURING THE EEBELLION.

BT

A. O. -W ,flj££:„l.C.\_.

"Mul Is not bom alone to act, or bo
liie flole osserter of man's Ilber^;
But God so sharea tbe gifts of head and heart.
And crowns bleat woman with a hero's port.

BOSTON:
B. B. EUSSELL AND COMPANY.
S. S. BOTDEN, CHICAGO, ILL.
1865

Entered according to Act of Cotlgreris, in the year 186B, by
B. B. KUSSELL & COMPANY,
In the Clerk'a Office of the Dietrict Court for the Diatrict of MaaBachasetta>

Stereotyped and Printed by
J. E. FARWELL AND COUFAlTTi
&7 Congress Street.

DEDICATION.

TO THE FEIENDS OF LIBEKTT WHEKEVEK FOUND.
To Generals Grant, Sherman, and Buenside, and
OTHER Officers of the Army and Navy ; also the Sol
diers, WHO HAVE SO NOBLY FOUGHT OUR BaTTLES : —
My admiration of the devotion you have shown to the cause
of preserving the integrity of the Union, the unspeakable joy
of receiving from your hands Liberty's Flag, and from your
lips her -vrords, "Be free;" and, above all, my confidence in
your ability to rekindle, through the length and breadth of my
adopted State, the signal fires of " 76," are my inducements to
dedicate this work to you.
The part I bore in the trials and sufferings which form the
subject of the following narrative, is my voucher for its authen
ticity.

PREFACE.

The prevailing opinion at the North is, that there is but
little Union feeling at the South, and that of rather an equivocal
character. Should these pages be the means of convincing
any of our Northern friends that there is a strong, imperishable
feeling existing for the Union and " Old Flag," it will com
pensate in a measure for the trouble in bringing these pages
before the public.
This work was mostly written at the South, more than two
years ago, while these scenes were being enacted. The inci
dents here related are true. The characters are drawn from
Ufe. The writer was conversant with most all, while others,
were related by the actors themselves. Liberty has been taken
to weave them so together, as to form a pleasing narrative, and
by this means they will reach, and be read, by a greater number,
than could be found to read each isolated fact ; and this knowl
edge of the Unionist sufferings would be more generally
known, and my promise to those heroic souls in part cancelled.
The question has often been asked, both in public and pri
vate, what are the feelings of the Southern women in regard
to this war, striking as it does at their homes and domestic
relations, uprooting at once their long-cherished and inherent
distinction, of mistress and slave. To this part of the com
munity, these pages are chiefly confined. You are taken to
their firesides and homes, during one of the greatest struggles
ever witnessed by mankind. In this respect, it will be found

6 PREFACE.
this work differs almost entirely from all others written on
Southern life. The world has never witnessed greater devo
tion, nobler instincts , and heroic deeds, than has been devel
oped by these uncompromising Unionists. Those brave, self-
reliant souls, who have shown such patient endurance, seK-
denial, and unflinching courage, are worthy of a " niche in the
gallery of Fame." In time, it will be admitted that the real
heroes and heroines of this war are these Unionist, men and
women. How successful this attempt to portray the position and feel
ings, trials and sufferings, of our friends South, during this la
mentable strife, the public will now best judge.

CONTENTS.

Chapter Page
I.— The Soldiers' Belief Society ... 9
n.-=-Two Unionists caught .... 17
in. — The Power of Gold on the Hunter. . 24
IV. — A Southern Home .... 30
V. — The Victory at Big Bethel; its Eesults . 35
VI.— A Friend in Need .... 38^
Vn. — Miss Helen relates her Adventures . . 48
VHL— A Unionist on Trial .... 70
IX. — The Swamps a Ketreat for Loyalists . 78
X. — Presentation of a Flag .... 83
XL — A Mistake in a Profession . . .87
Xn. — Family History . ." . . . 93
Xin. — Mother and Daughter, Mistress and Slave 99
XIV. — Escape of Mrs. Weasel; finds a Friend 105
XV.— Dr. HaU, and his Patient. . . il4
XVI. — A Storm, and its Effects . . .121
XVn.— The Patient and Boy saved . . . 127
XVm. — Introducing new Characters . . . 131
XIX.— Preparing for the Ball . . . . 140
XX — Ignorance and Hatred . . . .151
XXL — The Kevel — how it ended . . . 155

8 CONTENTS.
Chapter ^^ee
XXn.  The Effect of the Fight at Manassas . 161
XXni.— Visitors to the Mineral Springs . .165
XXIV. — The Death and Burial of an OflSicer . 169
XXV. — News from Washington . . . .175
XXVI.— Butler Panic  186
XXVH.- Maggie and Ealph  189
. XXVIIL— Eichard Whedden's Escape . . .196
XXIX.— Heroism  199
XXX. — Unexpected Friend .... 213
XXXL — Scenes in Newbern — the Winter of 1862, 227
XXXIL — The Eaih-oad Bridge on fire . . 287
XXXin. — Maggie in Prison — finds a sick Soldier . 241
XXXIV. — 13th March, Stoi-ming the Forts; 'l4th,
Fall of Newbern  247
XXXV.— The Flight from Newbern to Kinston . 252
XXXVI. — Annie McGowan's Letter — A Friend is
found  257
XXXVn. — Conclusion  272

EYE-WITNESS:
OR,
LIFE-SCENES IN THE OLD NORTH STATE.

CHAPTER I.
THE soldiers' RELIEF SOCIETY.
That gun !
The city heard — and was soon a " city of stirs."*
But not with the privateer and his white-winged
victims, whose arrival that salute heralded, nor with
the exultant crowd which thronged the streets and
larding-, to see the Yankee vessels and their crews,
have we to do at present.
Into a pleasant breakfast-room let me introduce
you, reader, and to its occupants, three, — a gentle
man and two ladies. The gentleman is speaking : —
" Then the ' Pigeon ' is in? Miss Helen, I must
see your brother. Have Nise at the door in five
minutes," he said, turning to a servant; "you will
go with me."
" Stay, no haste, Mr. Blout. Will has been so
long without sleep, a forty-pounder would not awake
* Wilmington N. C.

10 eye-witxess.
him. He wjll be at papa's office at twelve o'clock ;
finish your breakfast, then take my carriage to
town." " And you will spend the morning with Maggie?
I accept your offer, and will bring your brother out
with me to dine."
We will follow the ladies to the window, where
they had moved, that their conversation might not
be overheard.
For some moments Helen Biei'ce, the early caller,
sat absently drawing her gloves through her delicate
fingers. Then, raising her head with startling ab
ruptness she exclaimed : —
" Why does not Harry Blout fit out a privateer?
he certainly has ample means for doing so. It is
unaccountable to me," she added, "how any one
can enter the army when such another field for
serving the South is open to them. This privateer
ing would suit me splendidly ! to secure two such
prizes as the ' Pigeon ' has just brought in ; to meet
an armed turtle; put on steam, up and away, and,
just when the danger of capture is most imminent,
slip over the bar, and up the river home ! Ther^ is
no State in the Confederacy like our own for such
sport, for none has such a coast, — sand-bar on
sand-bar ! "
" Harry looks upon privateering as nothing less-
than piracy upon the high seas," said her companion ;
" I have heard him say, repeatedly, the luckless fel
lows, caught in the act, would meet the pirate's
doom, and deservedly."
" And I see by your looks, Maggie, you are of
the same opinion. However, I have no disposition
to enter into a discussion of the legality or illegality

EYE-AVITNESS. 11
of the thing ; that is nothing here or there now, so
long as It is sanctioned by our President. To change
the topic, one object of my visit here this morning, is
to secure your services on the morrow, for a begging
excursion." " Do not urge me, Nellie," Maggie replied, with a
deprecatory shake of her head; "surely there are
others, differently situated from myself, to share your
burdens and divide your cares."
" So there are ; but none who can aid me so effi
ciently as you."
' ' My purse is at your disposal," was the evasive
reply. " Your time would serve me best."
' ' That you have ; look at this pile of military
cloth." " There are willing hands enough for such work ;
mere machine drudgery. My sorest need Is for your
personal Influence upon the obdurate hearts my elo
quence does not affect. Now hear of a recent affair
which occurred with one of our merchants, Mr.
Weasel, then you can better appreciate some of the
trials and annoyances which attend the Visiting Com
mittee. One after another of our ladles called upon
him, soliciting aid ; Minnie Bent made the first ad
vances, but fled, like a frightened canary, from his
most emphatic ' nothing to give.' Others tried, but
with no better success ; finally, our President, Mrs^
Vinton, declared her Intention to visit the miser;
and did so. Imagine our surprise, when, not an hour
after her departure, her carriage returned, piled high
with bolts of domestic flannel, yarn, and Innumer
able other things, of which, for a long time, we had
been In desperate want. From Mr. Weasel's store

12 EYE-AVITNESS.
they came, for there was his card attached to the
bundles ! ' Spirited away they must have been,' we
cried, ' for nothing could leave that store without
cash down ! ' and we knew when Mrs. Vinton left
us she had not a dollar in her purse. To all of our
entreaties to make known her weapon of attack, she
smilingly shook her head saying : —
' ' ' Time' is money ; let Saturday night find this
goodly heap made up into garments and packed for
Richmond.' At night, when the room was deserted
by all but ourselves, she related to me the Incidents
of the morning's call. But you are laughing,
why?" " Nothing much."
" Mr. Blout cannot hear us?"
"His breakfast' and paper seem to. engross his
attention." At the name of Mr. Weasel, a close observer
could not have failed to notice that the loiterer at
the breakfast-table was unusually cautious in setting
down his cup, and that his paper remained unread in
his hand. Indifferent as the young man was to
female chit-chat, Helen, had she noticed It, could
not have complained, for that morning at least, of
his taking only a negative interest in her conversa
tion. His look of Interest and inquiry, however,
escaped her, and she chatted on incautiously loud.
When Mrs. Vinton's name was mentioned In con
nection with Mr. Weasel's, an irresistible impulse
brought Maggie's head without the folds of the lace
drapery which graced the window. Her eye caught
Har;.-y's ; the significant glance escaped detection,
but the unfinished smile brought the question.
Satisfied that Maggie alone heard, Helen resumed :

EYE-WITNESS. 13
" I must give you Mrs. Vinton's adventure in her
own words : ' I stepped into the store and found
Mr. Weasel complacently awaiting customers. I
retfirned his gracious salutation, complimented him
upon having so full a stock of goods at such a time,
and selected some hundred yards of domestic, — but
here are the packages, so I need not particularize.
His alacrity in bringing down and putting up his
goods, -and in sending out for what he had not,
was really quite refreshing. The secret Is, his many
refusals to help fit out our soldiers have aroused
the suspicion that, at heart, he is a traitor. Conse
quently no one goes into his store except those whom
necessity drives there.
" ' You are purchasing supplies for the soldiers, I
perceive, madam,' he remarked, glancing at the huge
bundles as he tied on the last string and affixed his
card ; ' where will you have them sent ? '
" To No. 9, two doors this side of the barracks."
" You are a great friend of the soldier."
" Not more than yourself, sir, I hope."
' ' Not more than I should be, did I see the neces
sity for arming men."
" Where was there ever a greater?"
"War, Mrs. Vinton, is with us, as yet, but an
abstract question."
' ' I cannot agree with you. The recent fight at
Big Bethel shows me this war of independence is
fairly inaugurated, — a war, which may prove unpre
cedented in its expenditure of treasure and kindred
blood, but one, which shaU see the South free or
blotted out of existence."
"The fight at Big Bethel, madam, was a mere
skirmish. A few more such, and some conciliatory

14 EYE-WITNESS.
measures will be adopted, and then an end put to this
strife, ruinous alike to North and 'South."
"This is a time for action, not argument, Mr.
Weasel. Willing hands must work If we would fol
low up our successes." Then, seeing that I was
deliberately drawing on my gloves, he said : —
" Excuse me. At any other time we should be
happy to have your name on our books, but now " —
" No apology, sir. I have no desire to' have it
there." " You see," said he, pointing to a white card above
his head, on which two very black words were painted,
" ' My terms are cash.' Something very scarce, very
precious, just now."
" But not so precious as the blood, that has been
already and is to be spilled before we can call our
selves free from Northern rule. Northern cupidity,
Northern fanaticism. When this struggle Is over,
when you have found your security In the brave
soldiers, who do battle for you, for all ; If this cash-
account is not wiped out by blood, generously spilt,
by suffering patiently borne ; then, sir, I will sell my
own flesh and blood to Northern vandals and cancel
your claim with their villainous gold."
" All very well, madam ; all very well ! but I have
no use for anybody's flesh and blood. I demand my
money ! "
Not noticing his Interruption, I continued —
"When the call came for three hundred thousand
men, our people uprose nobly. Who was ignoble,
cowardly enough to think of the fay he should get !
Ours is a common cause ; the old and Infirm stay at
home : they give freely, give all they possess ; the
young and brave fight, women and children work.

EYE-WITNESS. 15
Cash down i Money ! Serve your country, sir I
Imitate the example so nobly set by your country
men, and your one talent of money-making shall be
as blest to you as the five talents profitably laid out
by the wise servant In the parable," and I turned
to leave the store.
"Zounds! madam," I heard; " flesh and blood
can't stand this ! — it is theft, burglary of high order I
— restore my goods, or, madam, you shall feel the
full rigor of the law ! " As I reached the door, Mr.
Weasel was at my side ; Pete, however, at my order,
had driven on. I left him in his store door gazing
after the carriage, crying — "too late! too late!"
Now, Maggie, was n't that well done? " '^
" No, Nellie, your own true sense of justice tells
you Mr. Weasel was right, when he said ' such a
procedure was burglary of a high order.' Let those
give who do so willingly, not  "
"Nonsense! Maggie," Interrupted Helen, "you
remember the old adage, ' the end, if a laudable one,
justifies the means ;' and if to put the screws on
misers, to make them disgorge some of their ill-gotten
gains. Is not justifiable, it Is, at least, merciful; for
we spare these money-changers, these ' votaries of
Mammon,' the horrible fate of falling a sacrifice to
their own devotions, by lopping off shoots of interest,
as we would the boughs of a tree, breaking beneath
the weight of Its own fruit, — Is it not so ? But let
me finish my story : the week's close found our work
complete, and the box packed and marked — ' Sol
diers' Relief Society, Richmond.' It was left in the
work-room, the door was locked and every window
secured, — I am sure of that. Monday morning,
when Pete went to the building, the box was there,

16 EYE-WITNESS.
but not a shirt, comfort, sock, blanket, or bandage,
— no not one, to be seen ! Of course the negroes
are accused of the theft; but Mrs. Vinton and my
self have discussed the matter thoroughly, and, having
heard nothing from the belligerent gentleman of Store
No. 70, are convinced that to catch a weasel asleep is
no easy matter. We, however, shall match him yet ;
for let the public be fully assured that this Mr. Wea
sel is one of the proscribed set. Union men, and not
one box-ful but his entire stock is ours."

CHAPTER II.
TWO UNIONISTS CAUGHT.
An unusual noise from without, at this moment,
attracted the attention of Maggie and her guest, and
fully conscious that the tumult was approaching the
house, they arose and through the open window
stepped on to the verandah. As the curtain fell be
hind the retreating figure of her mistress, Lizzie from
her lookout groaned : "It makes my blood freeze to
har dem hounds ; somebody's blood runin' when dey
howl like dat ! " Then dropping her work and her
self upon her knees, she prayed that the poor, hunted
ne^ro mlffht find favor in the sight of the Lord,
who made him, and be spared the torture of his white
mairter. " Confound that   of an abolitionist, —
see how he bleeds ! Swing him from yonder limb,
or he'll die before we twist the necklace ! He '11 fight
for Old Abe, and nobody else — will he ? Swing
him, and let him try his strength with them buzzaids
yonder ! Hear 'em cracking their beaks ! — hold on
a bit, old fellows, the meat will soon swing ! " Such
shouts rent the air as, mounted and afoot, an eager
crowd pressed round their victim — a man not more
than twenty-five, and a boy scarce eighteen ; whose
2*

18 EYE-WITNESS.
clothes. If such rags might so be called, were mired
and fearfully rent, displaying the gaping wounds
where the bloodhounds had taken hold.
Deadly pale, but undaunted, the man walked in the
midst of his merciless tormentors, seemingly uncon
scious of his own sufferings, though the warm blood
trickled from his legs and shoulder, where the burnt
flesh showed only too jjlainly, the nearness of the
weapon, the sure lodgment of a ball, which had
buried itself in his broad chest.
No persecuted runaway negro was he, kind reader,
but worse, far worse, — a hunted, hounded, and de
nounced ' ' traitor " ! — the victim of an enraged and
maddened people. His crime, the oath to stand by
the good old flag, and Abe Lincoln, forever !
Again and again the prisoner turns a fond and
encouraging look towards the sinking boy at his side,-
who, faint with loss of blood, staggers on, now
pitched forward by a kick from behind, then sinking
from sheer exhaustion amid the feet of the crowd ;
while large drops of sweat, mingling with the tears,
his agony wrung from him, poured down his face and
bloodstained body. Human nature could bear no
more. The fierce grapple of the hounds, the kicks
and oaths of the exultant captors, were now alite un
heard, unfelt.
As the stalwart hunter's arm was upraised, bearing
aloft the lash, now of a deep red dye, which told of
the strength of its crueh owner, a cry went out from
the bloodless lips of the brother so heart-rending that
for a moment the slave-driver was cowered and his
arm fell to his side.
Fiercely his victim tugged at the iron bands, which
bound his hands before him. The flesh parted and

EYE-WITNESS. 19
the blood flowed at each endeavor, but the iron
would not give ; deeper and deeper it sunk into
his flesh ; it was not felt, but in his soul it rankled
and tore.
]Must the boy die thus ? if life was still there, must
the last lingering spark be crushed out beneath the
trampling hoofs of the horses, whose merciless riders
jeered and mocked at the misery they caused ? Could
these be men, with hearts of flesh, who could so
wantonly kill and so derisively laugh at that one, last
look for mercy ; mercy, not for himself, but for the
dying, innocent boy, who lay at their feet ?
Yes, they were men : made after God's image,
rich In acres of cotton lands, and turpentine lots ;
boastful of many heads of negroes ; pleasure-seekers ;
livers in the saddle ; not drunk, the day was not far
spent enough for that ; not wholly soulless nor heart
less, for there were those in that crowd, so eagerly
thirsting for blood, so jubilant over the death-agony
of their victims, who had voluntarily encountered
peril of fire and water to save human life.
To plunge Into the swollen creek amid the pitiless
storm, which had overtaken him, to rescue a drunken,
worthless fellow, whose stumbling steps had slipped
from 'the foot-logs ; to bear him on his back to a
distant cabin, to find it deserted, and then walk the
night out in a soaking rain to secure aid for the dying
wretch ; — to dash amid the burning ruins of a cabin
and bring to the widowed mother, her missing boy ;
to drive from sight the overseer for brutally beating
the " boys," because not up to the task assigned them,
— were deeds, done from the natural promptings of
these very hearts, which now madly yearned for the
lifeblood of a Yankee sympathizer, — the " traitor,"

20 EYE-WITNESS.
who would sell his countrymen into the most gaUIng
of all vassalage — that to Yankee lords !
Once more the fair listeners on the verandah shud
dered, as that wild, agonizing cry reached them, and
— pitying heaven.
A. powerful arm upraised the boy ; and an eye,
which flashed the challenge that struggled for utter
ance upon his lips, repelled the crowd.
Athletic in figure, his large, black eyes dilated and
flashing, his face a-glow with the honest anger which
burned within him at the cowardly, dastardly act,
just perpetrated, — a perfect type of manly and pow
erful beauty, Harry Blout stood, as unconscious of
the deference which, on being recognized, was obse
quiously tendered, as of the sun which beat scorch-
ingly upon his uncovered head. He bent down, and
lifting the bleeding body handed it carefully to a
servant, who had followed him to the road.
" There is life yet," he said, placing his hand upon
the boy's heart ; " take him. Pomp, to Aunt Lizzie.
Bring water," he added, " and a sponge ; hold, bring
brandy, your mistress will tell you where It is to be
found." The crowd, speechless, heard these orders given,
nor was a hand raised to prevent their execution ; for
know, reader, that these men in soldierly array were
a company of Blout's Rifles, proud and boastful of
the name they bore, splendidly equipped as was the
entire regiment of which this company was a part, by
the munificence of the one whose presence held them
spellbound. What wonder is it that they spurred their horses
from the road, and, seemingly engaged in managing
their suddenly restless steeds, endeavored' to escape

EYE-WITNESS. 21
the withering look which was turned upon them.
But the fierce, hang-dog eye of Grimes, the hunter,
brightened as he recognized the man at his side ; for
even this brute, rich in the possession of the fiercest
pack of bloodhounds to be found the country around,
who spent six days out of seven In the woods and
swamps, starving his " pets " to fatten them upon the
blood of the luckless runaways, whom they never fiiiled
to scent and fasten themselves upon, had heard of and
seen the city wonder, ' ' the Cuban cousin ; " upon
whom was showered exuberant praise, such as " rich
as Croesus ; " " generous as handsome," "such muni
ficence princely revenues alone could support ; " and
the like.
" Never did a better chance offer to make good
his losses," (in the morning's scuffle, two of his
hounds had been killed,) he said, in an aside to one
of the crowd, and the natural repulsiveness of his
brutal face was heightened by the smile which the
comforting words called up. At a stern gesture of
command, the handcuffs were struck from the lacer
ated wrists of the prisoner, his wounds cleansed, and
his weary frame Invigorated with stimulants. Then,
for the first time, turning to the hunter, Harry Blout
demanded the price set upon the boy's head.
"No price," growled the man, the scowl which
the question brought increasing as the unwelcome
truth was drawn from him.
" How came he In your power?"
' ' Caught him with that d  abolitionist yonder,"
pointing to the man whom Pomp, at the command
of his master, had mounted upon his favorite saddle-
nag. '.' Why let your dogs take his life ? " Harry asked

22 EYE-WITNESS.
sternly. At the savage answer, Harry turned away
and beckoned Captain Green, who, for a commis
sioned officer had, on this occasion, been refreshingly
modest, to approach.
' ' This is your first appearance with your com
pany," he said; "I congratulate you upon the
occasion which has so heroically displayed the cour
age of the men in your ch.irge. Take this man,"
he added, the sarcasm in his voice giving place to
command, " Into your care, and see to it that he Is
spared further abuse until, at least, he Is In the hands
of the city authorities."
Captain Green bowed and gave the order for his
company to form. With remarkable alacrity they
wheeled their horses into line, and, with the prisoner,
slowly paced down the road.
Swindled Into Secession by as diabolical a fraud
as could be perpetrated ; straining every nerve to fill
her quota of troops ; suffering her noble-hearted sons
to be denounced and imprisoned because suspicion
marked them as "traitors." Stricken, convulsed,
torn, pouring out her treasures of blood and gold into
a tyrant's lap, to be scorned and publicly maligned
by him, as weak, cowardly, a dr.ag upon the Young
Confederacy, North Carolina, — where these scenes
are laid, — lay wrecked and helpless, — the victim
of South Carolina's treachery and Virginia's bold,
unscrupulous, law-defying partisans. Who that Is
conversant with her mighty struggles to break from
her bleeding hands the manacles of iron despotism,
could doubt, had she been situated as Maryland,
Kentucky, and Missouri, that as many of Jier sons
would have emptied their veins for the preservation
of the Union, as those States can boast?

EYE-WITNESS. 23
Up to this time no executions had defamed the
once fair name of the " staid old State." That
lynch-law was to be the order of the day was ap
parent to all.

CHAPTER III.
THE POWER OF GOLD ON THE HUNTEE.
Simultaneously with the departure of Captain
Green and his company, Harry Blout turned to the
slave-hunter. He was stooping low In the road,
vainly endeavoring to staunch the blood which flowed
from the side of one of his "pets," whose lolling
tongue, dull eye, and gaping wounds, tell of a fierce
struggle within, — a struggle which will never be
Co ' oo
repeated. Even now he falls upon his side, and
with imploring eye begs for the caress his master
bestows with a lavish hand ; his eyes close, his jaw
drops ; nothing but the slowly wagging tail tells
of his gratitude. Big tears roll down the fierce-
visaged man's cheeks, for he knows his dog must
die, — yes, is dead already. With a wild stare and
a convulsive tremor of the bleeding body, a third
victim of the morning's hunt has been offered upon
the altar of human rage and demoniac fury.
Fire flashed from the hunter's eye as he turned
upon the one who stood by, an unmoved spectator of
the scene ; and curses thick and fast rushed to his
lips, but were checked as he noticed the cool, deter
mined face turned towards him. A low voice met
his ear bidding him name his price for the remaining

EYE-WITNESS. 25
hounds, — would he sell? There was but a momen
tary hesitation. The negro-hunter worshipped his
profession and his hounds, and he as devotedly wor
shipped the gains they brought, and to sell his dogs
was to throw himself quite out of employment.
Comforting himself, however, with the thought that
with the handsome sum, such as he should demand,
there were other fields wliere his talents might have
full scope, he signified his consent to dispose of his
pack. With the price named he growled, " not too
much ; give 'em blood — "
With a gesture of disgust, Harry silenced further
encomiums upon the " pets," and handed the man the
amount he asked ; then, with a signiticant glance,
bidding Pomp " take care of the dogs," he cleared
the low gate with a leap and entered the house.
For such as Grimes, war was a profitable thing.
Never was heard such a running away of negroes ;
and with the tales of bloody violence and vicious
theft which followed, came the unceasing cry for
" hunters and bloodhounds."
But a degree of danger attended these hunts, — for
not a limited number, but scores, hundreds of runa
ways infested the woods and swamps, which made
even the boldest of them tremble for their lives and
their dogs, when the scent was struck and the grapple
at hand with a dozen or more stalwart negroes, who
had scented the blow which was to waft them to
liberty. Hunters were not infrequently found dead beside
their dogs, and such negroes, as were brought in,
were but few in number, and. In most cases, crippled
fur life. The pay^ therefore, although fair, scarcely
compensated for the risk.
3

26 EYE-WITNESS.
So It followed that nine of ten of these followers
of the negro-hunt disposed of their packs to the more
venturesome, and stood in the ranks as substitutes, —
their services being purchased by such lukewarm
partisans as cried " war ! war ! " and then, with glass
and pipe, settled down to the comforting reflection
that war, on the whole, was a good thing ; for, if
productive of no other result, it swept the streets of
paupers, and city and country of a " rake-helly " set,
that lent themselves to be the instruments of any
villainy^ provided the pay were good.
In the prevision of the ardent antagonist, however,
there was no such Inglorious end to a strife of which
they were the abettors and supporters, but a free and
recognized South. One red field, one thunder-like
groan from a prostrate, suppliant foe, and a people
had attained their pre-ordained position, — that of
framing for themselves a new, bright destiny.
But to the few, uncorrupted, undaunted defenders
of Unity and Law, that " first gun at Sumter" was
no signal-gun, arousing a people, oppressed, to rise
and burst the shackles of despotic power. To them,
that gun was a death-knell, booming over the South,
bidding "Chivalry" rise and finish the work, de
feated ambition and unextinguishable rancor and
jealousy had begun, — the digging of their own
graves !
Having carefully chained his pack of hounds. Pomp
followed on his master's footsteps. He stopped not
at the house, but over the lawn, by thejstables, down
through the orchard, he trudged ; his eye flashing the
Intensity of his joy, which the proper time and place
heard to roll out, peal after peal, from the very depths
of his capacious chest.

EYE-WITNESS. 27
Seeking tht shelter of a wide-spreading gum-tree,
he stopped to rest, and, holding his hounds at arm's
length, thus soliloquized : —
"Oh! Massa Harry, dis yer earth has no other
like yer ; neber did dis yer old boy tink to be de
massa o' sich a pack o' devils own imps I ' Pears
like de good Lord knows I'se de man for dis 'ticular
case ; for wid his 'mission, ye old sinners, ebery one
o' ye shall be dead 'fore mornin' breaks."
The dogs yelled and tugged for freedom, as though
in the eye of their keeper they read the doom which
was to be theirs before the advent of a new day.
Up and on. Pomp toiled; his cabin is reached at
length. With a kick the door flew wide, and the
glad cry which followed effectually silenced his yelp
ing prize. So did it also " Robert O'Lincoln," who
from a neighboring tree looked with his mate the
surprise he did not utter, then alighted upon the
window-sill of that usually silent'abode and curiously
twisted his bright head to see his old friend, the ex
ultant possessor of such a dog-prize, so uproarious.
But, for a moment only did that dark form,
stretched upon the floor of his sanctum, give utter
ance to his exuberant joy, for work was to be done.
With the agility of youth he sprang to his feet, and
In a twinkling a staple was driven Into a log and the
dogs chained fast to It.
One long, lingering look he fixed upon the snarling,
fighting creatures before him, then turned and left
them. Duty calls Pomp to the " big house ; " ours Is not
so imperative ; so we will linger awhile In his cabin.
It had been buUt by his own hands, and, what was
Pomp's delight to tell, was furnished by his young

28 EYE-WITNESS.
mistress. The hard, pine floor, white as soap and
sand could make it, the three rough but strong chairs,
a mirror and a couch, bespeak nicety and ease ; and
ihe clay pipe and long reed stems, show no neglect.
The bed with Its white spread occupies one corner of
the room, and at the foot of It, into one of the logs
of the cabin. Pomp had driven the staple and con
fined the hounds. Fox and coon skins adorn the
walls, interspersed with a rare collection of birds.
These, we see so carefully stuffed and tastefully ar
ranged, were not brought down by his barrel ; boys
would kill, and Pomp would expostulate but all to
no purpose. Silently he would creep to the hedge,
where the ruthless hand had thrown a bird, and when
no care could restore life, he would stuff and cherish
its beauty, as if a pet of his own raising.
If we lift the huge skin, which hangs at the foot
of the bed, we are In possession of a secret, —
Pomp's Jong-cherished secret, which, for him, has
Paradise in it.
One look will suffice. Under its soft, secure
shelter is a high-colored picture, bought of a pedler,
prized beyond all earthly treasure, because descriptive
of the equality of all men and oi freedom's day.
Christmas after Christmas, the day of their redemp
tion, as Pomp and his race fondly and fully believed,
came and went ; but not that one which was to see
their chains undone. The great Emancipator still
tarried ! Neither faithless nor discouraged, but all
believing, they bent their backs for another year's
burden, and patiently suffered the chains which the
Lord could lift up and cast off when he should awake
to the miseries of his afflicted children. Pomp was
no "Uncle Tom," for teaching his brethren patience

EYE-WITNESS. 29
to await the Lord's coming ; but those who saw with
how much resignation he toiled on from day to day,
faithfully and thoroughly obedient in discharging his
manifold duties, could not but respect and honor him.
There was a time when he pined so for freedom, that
his little mistress, her father's pride, took pity on
him; and, with childhood's winsome ways, sought to
overcome her father's obdurate will. But this is all
that came of her earnest entreaty : —
" My darling daughter, grieve me not by asking
what would bring misery, the most abject, upon
Pomp. Dry your tears. Pomp's life Is a happy
one ; he has aU he needs ; lays up money yearly ; is.
cared for, well housed ; fed and clothed. No, no,
my child, papa knows what is for Pomp's good, and
will always shield him from want and harm."
" But, Papa, you will die one day," the child would
reply, " then Pomp shall be free, for I will make
him so."
"Not so fast, little heiress. Papa will have to
make a will, which shall restrict his wayward darling ; "
and he would add, pressing her to his heart, "all
generosity, all love. God grant my life may be
spared to shield you from the ills poor black Pomp
would so blindly rush Into."
s*

CHAPTER IV.
A SOUTHERN HOME.
Within the suburbs of the city of  , our story
leads us. Just far enough removed from the busy
hum and din of city life, stands a noble mansion,
decorated by the hand of taste In possession of an
ample fortune.
Broad and sweeping lawns ; gigantic trees inviting
repose beneath their vine-clad, out- reaching arms ;
garden plots, teeming with the luxuriant products of
that sunny clime, interspersed with exotics from other
countries ; a rich, dark belt of forest trees encircling
the grounds on the north and west, — lent an Irre
sistible charm to this beautiful home.
The house, built of brick, is of almost palatial
dimensions'. Light and graceful verandas adorn
the front and sides ; here the white scented jasmine
wanders In unrestrained luxuriance, clinging to and
completely covering the light columns, curtaining
windows, and over-topping the broad, flat roof,
wraps the high chimneys in a green and deliciously
fragrant mantle.
Nor had the taste of the owner confined itself
to outward adorning. The lofty rooms glow with
the creations of genius. Splendid portraits, pic
tures rich In historic lore, and charming landscapes
grace the walls ; while statutes, statuettes, busts, and

EYE-WITNESS. 31
gems of rare value are artistically arranged through
out the rooms and broad halls.
John Blout, the noble and fortunate possessor of
this delightful abode, enjoyed a high social and
political position.
A West Point graduate, his powerful intellect,
ready wit, and rare personal qualities gained for him,
not only the highest honors of his class, but the
unbounded and outspoken admiration of his associ
ates. North and in his own State.
To make his State illustrious, not by extending Its
limits and multiplying Its slaves, but by the diffusion
of knowledge, so that the natural resources of his
native soU might be developed ; and her sons (" how
like to the rudeness of their dear native mountains ")
might bring to light, polish, and exhibit "the rich ore
in their bosoms," — was the thought which warmed
his heart and stimulated, his mighty soul to almost
Herculean efforts. But when his cherished schemes
gave promise of speedy fruition and Incalculable good,
the thread of life parted 1
' The grief of the household was most profound ;
and the wail of the orphan was echoed by many a
sympathizing heart, which bowed and wept for a ben
efactor gone.
A favorite brother had long been a resident of
Havana. The only issue of his marriage with a
rich and noble Spanish lady was a son, who had just
reached manhood, when the devoted wife and most
exemplary mother was removed by a sudden death
from their loving embrace.
In foreign travel, father and son sought to divert
their minds from the excessive grief which bore so
crushlngly upon them.

32 EYE-WITNESS.
Three years spent on the Continent and in Asia,
found the wanderers homeward bound.
Amid the splendors of court-circles ; amid the
inexhaustible stores of priceless treasures which the
old world seductively displayed to the cultivated
mind and artistic taste of the travellers, both felt the
same irresistible yearning for their beautiful, but
shadowed home.
On arriving in their own sunny clime amid the
congratulations of friends, the news of the brother's
sudden death, and the sad entreaty of the orphan
that her uncle and cousin should share her desolate
home, came, and admitted of no delay.
They embarked the day but one following their
arrival home, for the " States."
Only two days out, the vessel which bore them
encountered a terrific gale. Though staunch and
strong, the waves engulfed her ; she went down, and
all on board perished, save one, who was picked up
by the ship Champion, on her way in port. Strapped
to the survivor was the dead body of the father, both
being lashed to a plank.
By the unwearied exertions of the officers of the
Champion, the young man's life was restored ; but so
grief smitten he sat by the box which contained his
father's remains, that the noble-hearted men around
him forbore to question, seemingly satisfied with
the brief Intelligence, that the Sea Gull, from Hav
ana, foundered at sea in the late gale. Crew and
passengers had probably gone down in her, as the
boats were stove at every attempt to launch.
Richly rewarding the humane captain and crew
for their noble exertions. In his behalf, Harry Blout,
once more on shore, sought his island home.

EYE-WITNESS. 33
and, with his own hands, laid the loved parent by
the hallowed remains of his mother.
Before the fate of the Sea Gull had been publicly
announced, Harry was again on board ship, hurrying
to offer to his stricken cousin the sympathy which
his own sad heart yearned for.
Long years before, he had visited his uncle's family
with his parents. Well he remembered his great
and good kinsman ; his warm-hearted, loving aunt ;
whose death followed their departure South ; and his
charming cousin, Maggie, the pride and pet of the
household ; a rare bud, giving promise of perfect
womanhood. And "woman's coronal of triple graces, beauty,
modesty, and truth " never graced a nobler brow, or
a more gentle and generous nature. Subsequent
events proved, that underneath that mild and cour
teous manner, was a strength of purpose and an
indomitable will, which the consciousness of right
could alone make her to exercise, and no persuasion,
however seductive, could move. Though the Idol
of a large circle of devoted friends, no sympathy
was so grateful, no care, no society so soothing, so
unobtrusive, and withal so congenial, as her cousin
Harry's. Proud she well might be of him. Handsome,
chivalrous, frank, and generous, his was a heart
animated by powerful human sympathies ; his a
courage defiant even of death.
Both cousins were rich, sole heir and heiress of
their parents' unbounded wealth.
To free her negroes, to put into their hands the
means of obtaining an honorable living, was Maggie's
long-cherished and ardent wish ; and, during the sad

34 EYE-WITNESS.
year which followed her bereavement, many plans
were projected for their enfranchisement. With her
cousin's invaluable aid, legal steps had been taken
for their freedom ; a tract of land negotiated for, and
men engaged to carry out her most humane project,
— when the principles of a Southern ' ' Revolution "
were whispered of, and soon were fully afloat.
It Is impossible to conceive of a more agitated and
violent state of society. Fathers, sons, brothers,
friends, fled homes — " The resort
Of love, of joy, of peace, and plenty, where,
Supporting and supported, polished friends,
And dear relations mingle into bliss — ."
and, shoulder to shoulder, stood In hostile ranks,
wildly and maniacally shouting, "War!" Many,
alas ! confident that some compromise would be
effected, held back, until neutrality could no longer
be tolerated. Then there was no choice, but to take
up arms in defence of the infant league, or languish
In a felon's cell.
A fearful ordeal for the loyal soul ! — but many a
one there was, who, scorning the traitor's livery, fell
a martyr to the holy cause of Liberty. The world
may never know these martyred heroes, but, on
high. In the " Eternal Book," their noble deeds are
recorded, wiitten by the " pen of truth."

CHAPTER V.
THE VICTORY AT BIG BETHEL  ITS RESULTS.
Shouts of victory rent the air, making the dark
night of despair and treachery tuneful, when tidings
were sent along the lines of the telegraphic wires,
of a complete and overwhelming victory !
The first onset of the foe at Big Bethel had
proved, what the popular cry had again and again
reiterated — "that all Yankees, debased by abject
and menial occupations, were cowards, constitu
tionally." " O ! Maggie," cried a merry Rebel bursting In
upon the cousin's revery, their hearts wrung by
the news the morning's paper announced, — " What
a splendid victory ! and so cheaply won ! the cow
ardly Yankees did not stand the first round of shot !
away they all ' flew like the down of a thistle,' when
General Hill gave the word, ' Up ! boys, and at
them!'" ' ' I have read the particulars of the fight in the
morning's Fast. We certainly got the better of
thern. There was one brave soul there, however,
we all can but admire."
" Yes, one, who took a fair look at Dixie boys.
Brother James was near him when he fell. I have
his letter with me. Shall I read you what he wrote
of him?"

36 EYE-WITNESS.
Maggie eagerly assented, and the young girl
opened her letter and read : —
" There was one Yankee officer, and but one,
Sallie, who stopped to fight us. Deserted by his
men, he stood bare-headed shouting to the cowards to
turn and charge. I Would as soon have shot myself
as that brave fellow, and, although within a few
yards of our guns, not a soul was there in our regi
ment that would raise an arm to bring him down ;
fired with admiration, as we all were, at such intrepid
courage. Creeping up from behind a cedar thicket,
one of our men would have held him prisoner, in
five minutes more, when a shot from a hut near
pierced his heart. A rush to the spot, and there
was that miserable John Cobb, boasting of having
brought one high buck down. If Col. Holt had not
been in the hut, it would have gone hard with the
scamp. Hoit said, pointing to the body, lifeless as
the log by which he fell, ' Look to it boys, that the
Yankee yonder does not beat you in the fight, which
was in him. Stand firm as he stood, face to a rain
of lead, and this hour's victory shall crown every
struggle with Northern Vandals ! ' "
"The Post says it was Col. Corcoran, of the
Seventh New York."
" Yes, Maggie. One paper says Col. Wlnthrop,*
and another asserts it was some one else ; all give
him praise for heroic efforts, worthy a better cause.
There Is not another so courageous a soul North,
I know ; had he been on our side, fighting for his
home and all he held dear, what a hero for us to
lament." The signal victory of June tenth gave a most
* It was Col. W.

EYE-WITNESS. 37
momentous Impetus to the cause, which the boldest
had at first tremblingly espoused. Fired by the
enthusiasm which victory can alone Incite, proudly
confident that one more such inglorious defeat would
settle the " fuss," and the let-alone principle be a
compulsory affair on the part of the North, innumer
able hosts rushed to the field. Every exertion was
made, every effort put forth to equip the inhabiters
of village, town, and city for the impending struggle
at Manassas — "the grand finale of this most un
natural contest." Days and nights were spent in
unremitting toil. Stores closed, — not for repairs or
lack of custom, but from the stubborn fact that there
was nothing to sell — were searched and researched
for some little article, which had escaped the eyes
of the party detailed for begging and Indiscriminate
store sweeping. Private dwellings were up-turned
and out-turned of every available comfort, so
clamorous was the cry — "more, more," from
camp, barrack, and field. Blankets were cheerfully
snatched from beds, soon to yield sheets and pillows
for the hospital sick ; the shirt, which was worn to
days was on the morrow cleansed and stripped for
bandages or scraped for lint ; while the music of the
knitting-needle was stunning to ears refined.
The giving was noble, the sacrifice nothing, for,
said these self-devoted patriots, "Before the cold
winds of winter shall rock the pines and whistle
through the cane-brake. Old Abe's ships will be
rotting in Northern harbors ; while free trade, the
great monopolizer and deadly foe to Northern com
merce, will fill, yes glut, the markets, which the
horrid, barbarous, exhausting blockade has brought
to a distressingly collapsed state."
i

CHAPTER VI.
A FRIEND IN NEED.
The morning of the hunt — the one made mention
of in the opening chapter of our narrative — a gentle
man sat on a broad veranda, seemingly engrossed by
his cigar and newspaper. His pet hounds tumbled
and tossed at his feet, intent upon the demolition of
the Panama hat, which their master had thrown
aside, that the wind might cool his brow, now con
tracted and severe as his eye scanned the telegraphic
news of the previous evening and the comments of
the press.
With a contemptuous sneer he tossed the Examiner
from him, and with agitated steps paced the veran
da. "Egregious fools!" he sharply uttered — "to
preach ' peaceable Secession,' and when that foul
bubble exploded, to hoodwink the masses with such
abominable trash as » cotton is king,' ' foreign inter
vention.' England and France will not, dare not to
Intermeddle. Commercial gain Is no fair match for
such principles as they boast. ' For humanity's
sake!' — yes, when the North and South are torn,
despoiled of all power, exhausted as they surely will
be if this war goes on, these transatlantic vampires
will show their humanity in the cry — < every man

EYE-WITNESS. 39
for himself,' as they pounce down upon us to batten
upon the spoils of a disrupted nation."
" The North can whip us if she bares her arm for
the blow, and nothing remains for the South but
annihilation, and extermination of every man, wo
man, and child. They have brought it upon them
selves ; let retributive justice be meted out to them,
full measure, pressed down, running over, — they
deserve it ! "
Resuming his cigar, Richard Whedden for a moment
eyed the nearly demolished hat, then picked it up,
flung It on his head and sauntered down a broad
walk, which through a noble growth of trees, led to
the road.
A noise from below growing louder, he stopped,
and leaning carelessly against a huge live oak, was,
to a chance observer, an indifferent spectator of the.
brutal treatment which, farther up the road, was so
humanely stayed.
Scarcely was the crowd by, when a long, shrill
whistle brought to the master's side a black-skinned,
chubby little fellow, who, hat In hand, with eyes and
face aglow with fun, stood demurely awaiting the
coming order: "My horse. Cars. Three minutes,
not a second over to bring him here," fell upon the
ears of the fast-retreating figure, who, leaping, tum
bling, and shouting " Dixie Land," sped on until
the " lot" was reached. Not " three minutes" but
twenty found Mr. Whedden seated on a noble bay,
slowly cantering up the road.
He drew rein at Maggie Blout's gate. " Is the
boy dead?" said a strong and manly voice at her
side, as Maggie, with her hands full, sprang from a
porch, up a low flight of stairs, which led to the

40 EYE-AVITNESS.
room where the wounded boy had been carried. Too
intent upon her mission of mercy to notice the strange
tone ; delighted to have some one near to relieve her
hands, that she might fill them anew, she exclaimed,
without turning her head, "Take these bottles, I
have forgotten the camphor. No, no. I will see
the boy, — here, take my keys and go to the buffet
and bring the camphor bottle. Quick ! now. The
poor boy's life depends on our despatch." In her
eagerness her keys became entangled and would not
yield to her nervous fingers. "Unbuckle my belt
and the keys will fall," she said impatiently. " Dear,
dear, you are so slow ! "
' "Pardon me, madam, I am not accustomed to
buckles," was the quiet reply. Eager as Maggie
was to reach the sick-room, there was something in
the voice of the speaker which made her turn to look.
With one glance over her shoulder, down fell the
bottles from her hands outstretched to save the fall
which her overwhelming confusion threatened. Too
late ! but strong arms caught and placed her upon
the narrow step now moistened with laudanum and
ether. This was no time for apologies — none were
expected. "I am seeking the sick boy," the stranger said,
" one of your servants told me I should find him at
the head of these stairs. Shall I take the remaining
bottles up with me, or seek the camphor? " he asked
with a scarcely perceptible smile.
' ' Take the bottles. If you please ; it Is the room at
the right," said Maggie, and with a light bound she
cleared the glass-strewn steps and entered the house.
The long hour wbich had elapsed since Maggie
left her side, was spent by Helen Blerce alone in the

EYE-WITNESS. 41
parlor. Deep emotion, which pride had repressed
while there were those near to witness it, now wholly
overcame her ; and, as with agitated steps she walked
the long room, large, scalding tears, such as never
before had stained her haughty but expressive face,
rolled down upon her bosom.
' ' Why don't Maggie come ? " at last escaped her ;
' ' I will tell her all." Then wrapped in her own troub
led thoughts, she murmured — " I cannot appear as
that man's accuser. How nobly he risked his life to
save mine ! how tenderly he bore me in his arras to
his mother's door ! how kind his voice and his eyes —
foolish, foolish girl ! " she cried, springing once more
to her feet, (for she had thrown herself upon a couch
to stifle her sobs In its cushions,) — "can this be
Helen Bierce, thus to yield to tears and womanish
pity ! To my country's need I have pledged my
energies, my life. God grant if It be mine to seal
a traitor's doom, that this heart, these ears of flesh
may be turned to stone ! "
Not long, and Helen stood once more on the ver
anda, no trace of her recent emotion visible except
In her heightened color and the unusual brilliancy of
her eyes.
Her attention was shortly attracted to her coach
man, who was untying a horse at the gate.
" Whose horse is that? Jim," she cried.
"Dun know, missis, neber see'd him afore," the
boy said, as at a motion of his mistress, he led the
curvetting steed to the spot where she stood.
"He Is Indeed a superb creature," said Helen,
attempting to pat his arching neck ; ' ' don't you
know to whom he belongs, Jim? why it Is not more
than a week ago, I heard you tell your master you
4*

42 EYE-^aTNESS.
knew everything, when urging him to take you to
Virginia with him."
" Thort I did, missis; but you've cotched me in
a tight place dis yer time. Beg pardon, missis. I
hab it. Massa Whedden rides him. Dun know
nother such beauty de country round."
" Who? Mr. Whedden down yonder? "
" Yees, missis."
"Not so, Jim; for Mr. Whedden never comes
here. Do you question the servants — "
"No need o' dat, missis," said Jim, interrrupting,
" its my 'pinion dat he owns dis yer horse hisself,
and nobody else."
"Jim, I tell you this horse does not belong to
Mr. Whedden. Here is an opportunity to make
good Dine's loss. Have him I must ; a thousand
dollars would be well Invested in such a prize. Take
this," she said, tossing her servant a bit of paper, a
substitute for money, "and do you, Jim, seek the
owner and make known to him my wish to purchase
his horse."
Again bending forward she attempted to stroke
the creature's glossy mane, but desisted at length
warned by the dangerous proximity of one of the
small feet, that his was a nature decidedly unap
proachable. On re-entering the parlor she met Maggie who,
relieved somewhat by tlie physician's words, "there
Is an even chance," had left the sick-room.
" Well, Maggie, you have come at last," she ex
claimed, drawing to her side, " how weary you look.
Why so overtax your strength when you have a
house full of servants ? " Then without waiting for
a reply she asked abruptly, turning her head that

EYE-WITNESS. 43
Maggie might not read the eagerness which her face
expressed : " Will the boy live? "
" AVe hope so. There Is an uttter prostration
from loss of blood. Dr. Bell says had the wounds
been neglected until medical aid was secured, he
could not have lived the day out. How thoughtful
In you to send me his mother's address." As Helen
made no reply, she resumed : " How my heart aches
for this afflicted mother ; her life seems bound up in
her sons. Harry spoke with her shortly after her
arrival, and she seemed much relieved when he prom
ised her to see Charley (as she calls the elder,)
before night. ' To know the brother was In his
o
mother's care,' she said, ' would nerve him for the
terrible ordeal before him.' "
"Maggie," said Helen, while a sudden whiteness
overspread her face, " I have a sad tale to tell you,
but not now, you must rest first."
" Nay, tell it to me now. This fatigue will soon
wear off — and your story may serve to banish the
fearful scene of this morning."
A deep, heart-felt sigh escaped Helen ; but recov
ering herself, in a light tone she said, — " If talking
will ease you, do tell me who that gentleman Is who
owns so matchless a horse, and what brought him
here to-day ? The horse is just such a one as brother
Will wants, and has been the State over to find.
Poor Dine, he says he shall never make her loss
good." " Dine dead ! Nellie, when did that happen?"
Waiving her question, as through the half-open
door she saw Harry Blout approachiiig, with forced
gayety Helen pressed her Inquiries concerning the
stranger : —

44 EYE-WITNESS.
" You saw him, Maggie? "
"Yes."
"Where?"" In Aunt Lizzie's room."
' ' Then he was the physician whom you called In ? "
"No, but he bound up the boy's lacerated limbs;
Indeed he took every thing into his own hands, Harry
and myself only acting under orders, so quietly and
promptly given one would Imagine he was, a regular
practitioner." " But you have not given me his name."
' ' The stranger was none other than^ichard Whed
den, our nearest neighbor."
"Impossible!" exclaimed Helen, In unaffected
amaze, — " Do you know that churl?"
" I have seen Mr. Whedden pass the house often,
but have never met him until to-day."
" And this, his first call here, was in an old nig
ger's room, binding up the wounds of a boy picked
from the street ! "
" Why not? " said Maggie, rebukingly, — " such
suffering as we have witnessed to-day would move
any heart not of Insensate rock."
" Yes, I suppose so," Helen made answer, some
what abstractedly. ' ' But you have met him before ? "
she added, turning to Harry, who had entered the
parlor, and seated himself near the cousins.
" Yes, Miss Helen, In Europe."
' ' Anywhere else ? "
"In Washington, last March."
" He, certainly did not go on to the Inauguration
of that Western Rail Splitter ? "
" He is not a man to be questioned as to his mo
tives. Miss Helen."

EYE-WITNESS. 45
"No, I suppose not. I was North when Mr.
Whedden made his appearance In this neighborhood ;
but even after my return, some months subsequent to
his advent here, his name and oddities were the theme
of many busy tongues. And do you know no more
of him, ]Mr. Blout, than the world about here
knows ? "
" ^ly acquaintance with Mr. Whedden is recent,
and withal, slight," — said Harry.
" You have been at his house?"
" Occasionally."
' ' Every thing in and about the house bespeaks re
fined taste and wealth, I am told."
"Yes." " Strange," said Helen, musingly, " but from thfe'
slight glance I had of his face, as he passed down the
lawn with you, some moments since, I was forcibly
reminded of our iUustrious General, Arthur Whed
den." As her remark elicited no comment, Helen
resumed — "And bearing the same name, I am
almost convinced, that what has been but vaguely
surmised may have the correctness of truth."
" What Is that?" asked Harry.
Maggie shook her head deprecatingly at the ques
tioner, and, before Helen could make answer, said : —
' ' You speak of a likeness between the two. Where
did you ever see General Whedden, Nellie?"
" Some years ago, while travelling North, an acci
dent threw Mr. and Mrs. Whedden into our party.
We learned they were from Charleston, and pleasure-
seekers like ourselves. Beauty, wealth, and talent of
a hio-h order, set off by most polished manners, lent
a charm to these strangers, which was quite irresisti
ble."

46 EYE-WITNESS.
' ' Charlestonians ! " said Harry, sententlously.
" Laughing at me, both of you, for rhapsodizing
these people," was the rejoinder. "I deserve It,
however," Helen added, " for no one in days past has
ridiculed the aristocratic pretensions of our semi-royal
neighbors more than myself. But I speak what I
know to be wholly true, when I say, that the merit
of these two Charlestonians cannot be overestimated.
True nobility of soul is recognizable — '¦ — "
' ' When covered by the purple robe becomingly
worn," interrupted Maggie, laughingly.
" And we may expect," chimed In Harry, " if, in
the course of events, Richard Whedden claims kin to
General Whedden, he will also be entitled to a share
of your admiration."
" When he has shown himself worthy of it, yes,"
said Helen, with some hauteur.
' ' And if one, blest with the power of divining the
occult, should point out a general's star in Richard
Whedden's destiny, eclipsing the one worn by  "
" Richard Whadden a general ! he, the embodied
essence of selfishness, never ! INIen of his class, men
who ignore all social and religious ties, I fully believe
are but the vagaries of nature, wholly heartless and
spiritless, possessing not one of the noble attributes
which grace the statesman or general."
" Thoroughly used up," said Harry, oracularly, as
he turned away, too generous to let Helen see the
merriment her words occasioned.
" Be not so uncharitable, Nellie," said her cousin,
gently. " The kindness shown to a stranger this
morning by Mr. Whedden, coupled with like acts
with which I am conversant, convince me that some
sunbeam yet may penetrate this armour of haughty

EYE-WITNESS. 47
reserve and chilling seclusiveness, and find a heart
exquisite at the core." The door, at this moment,
was thrown open, and i\Ir. Whedden was announced.
The gentlemen soon left ; urgent business calling
them to town. Hardly were they out of hearing of
Helen's voice, when she exclaimed —
" Maggie, he must be kin to Arthur Whedden ; if
they were brothers they could not look more like.
Come to the window," she cried, springing up.
" There they go down the road. See how he sits
his horse — horse and rider as one — a noble cen
taur 1 "
' ' What further rhapsodies will the name of Whed
den call forth?" asked Maggie, as she arose and
joined Helen at the open casement.

CHAPTER VII.
MISS HELEN RELATES HER ADVENTURES.
The calm hour of eventide found Maggie looking
out into the gathering darkness for the return of
Harry, that she might bear tidings of the prisoner to
the trembling watchers under her roof. At her side
Helen still lingered, striving to nerve herself to the
task of unburdening her heart, a heart whose better
Impulses were being uprooted fast by stern war's
hateful bane. Winding her arm caressingly about
Maggie, as they sat side by side, she said at length,
— ' ' Hear what I must tell you, and then strengthen
me for what I must do."
Little did Helen think, that the one, to whom she
turned for support, for courage to crush the woman,
so she might serve her cause, was of the tabooed set.
— Yankee sympathizers. Maggie's seeming indiffer
ence to the exigencies of the hour was attributed
to the great shock she had sustained in the death of
her father. Selfish, as many thought her, to allow
her bereavement to make her so unmindful of her
country's need, no thought, no suspicion of the truth
that slie was intensely Northern in her proclivities,
was entertained. And Maggie Blout was but one of
the many who said, " our forces," " our successes ; "
who looked grave, and smiled unwillingly, when
shouts for ' ' Dixie " rose ; and who refused to con
tradict powerful telegrams, which sounded, "Yankees

EYE-WITNESS. 49
whipped," " armies completely demoralized," " peace
suing," &c. &c. To make known their sentiments
was not only to restrict the little good a limited
sphere could effect, but doom themselves to imprison
ment, to atrocities, the human heart shudders to
chronicle. They knew the irresistible power of
right, and they felt that right must ultimately pre
vail. "What troubles you, Nellie? tell me," Maggie
said. " You know, of course," Helen replied, " that all
of our city ladies, except a few like youiself, who
from family troubles have not met with us, have
bound themselves by a vow as sacred as mortals can
utter, to aid the South in this unnatural strife. My
trial has come, and finds me weak, vacillating, and
wretched." " Your trial come, you have had it with
you since these troubles begun," said Maggie, as
Helen stopped and turned away her face in the vain
endeavor to recover composure.
" No matter what I have done, it Is what I have
to do, which makes me tremble. First, hear this,"
she added, taking a note from her pocket, " it was
sent here some hours since, then I can tell you all : —
My DEAR Daughter : That miserable Coxe has
been caught at last. Instead of visiting summary
punishment upon the traitor, he is to have a hearing
to-morrow. Dr. Hall is out of town, consequently
your testimony alone convicts him. Return to-night ;
you go to the court-house to-morrow. I thack
heaven my daughter is brave to do her duty.
Your loving father, F. BlERCE,
6

50 EYE-WITNESS.
" Nellie," burst from her cousin's lips at the con
clusion of the letter, ' ' it cannot be that you  "
she stopped, then added, " this is very sad, but tell
me aU."
" It is soon told. Not long since, on one of my
begging excursions, the horses took fright as Jim
was dismounting to open the carriage door. They
dashed down Danforth and Green streets on to Main,
and were within a few feet of the railroad track, as
the cars came in sight. A terrible doom awaited me,
but at this critical moment, a man on horseback leaped
at the horses' heads. With a blow Dine fell to the
ground. I sprung from the carriage ; I was calm,
much more so than I am now, but, in jumping, I
caught my dress, and was thrown with great violence
against some timber near the track. I was not
wholly stunned, for I remember being picked up and
borne by strong arms some distance. After hours of
unconsciousness, I awoke to find myself on a bed in a
strange house ; at my side sat a dear little girl, sob
bing bitterly. Voices from an adjoining room met
my ear. I listened, thinking I might get some clue
to the people who had so kindly befriended me ; and
I heard, ' Mother, do leave me. The sick lady
may revive and need your assistance.' "
" I must attend to you now, Charley ; I have done
all for the l^dy that my limited skill allows. The
doctor, I hope, -will soon be here. Dear ! this Is a
bad wound ; the flesh is laid open to the bone."
"Never mind, a few stitches will make that all
right ; I suffer most in my hand. Bathe It once
more, then leave me."
" The words were scarcely uttered when a heavy
fall and a stifled groan assured me I was not the

EYE-W^ITNESS. 51
greatest sufferer. What a dear, brave woman that
mother was ! She came softly to my bedside. ' I
am glad,' she said, ' that the lady is still unconscious '
Winnie, your brother has fainted. I cannot wait for
Dr. HaU, I must go for some other physician.
Don't be afraid, but be a faithful nurse, I shall soon
be home.'
" ' Won't the stranger cry when. she wakes up and
sees all this blood ? *
" ' No, no, kiss me good by, and remember to
keep very quiet.'
' ' How long those moments seemed ! I thought no
longer of my own pain, I thought only of the brave
soul near, faint from anguish. Not long, and a low
voice called from the room beyond the one where I
lay. Softly as a kitten Winnie stole away, and
again I was a listener.
" ' Has she spoken yet, Sis? ' I heard.
"'No, Charley, but oh! she is so white! maybe
she won't wake no more.'
" ' Is mother with her? '
" ' No, mamma has gone for a doctor.'
" ' Why, George went long ago.'
" 'Mamma went right offwhen you fell down. What
made you, Charley? you shook the house awful.'
" Why, little one, I did not go down purposely.
But, tell me, were you with mother when she dressed
her wounds?'
" ' Yes, mamma and me did them up.'
" ' What could such little fingers as yours do?'
" ' Oh ! I took off her shppers, and her stockings,
and her  '
" ' Never mind what she had on, Sis. TeU where
she was hurt.'

52 EYE-WITNESS.
'"On her head, and there Is a great hole In her
shoulder, and her bosom is all red. Won't she be
cross with mamma for cutting her clothes so ? '
" ' No, not when she knows it could not be helped.
Go in to her room now, and see if she stiU keeps so
very stiU ; and mind, if she is conscious, and wants
anything, come and let me know.'
" ' On tip-toe she stole in and up on to the
bed. When she saw my eyes open, she would have
jumped down, but I held her fast. She told me
her name was Winnie Coxe. ' Are you all well
now ? ' she asked, ' and can Charley do anything for
you ; he wants to  '
" ' First, tell me who Charley is? '
' ' ' Why , Charley is the one who stopped the horses ;
yes, and he brought you way here in his arms.
Don't you suppose they ached some? mamma says,
you are right smart fat.'
" ' He was very brave and good, Certainly. Did
the horses hurt him ? '
" ' Yes, he got hurt awful, but he did n 't make one
bit of fuss. He said he would n 't mind being most
killed for such a pretty lady.'
' ' A noise in the next room took the little nurse
away, to see what kitty had knocked down. She
came back directly, but spoke not a word, and only
shook her head when I asked her what mischief
pussy had done. Dr. Hall came in soon afterward.
He was, I thought, remarkably quiet. He exam
ined my cuts and bruises, and said in the morning I
could be carried home. Mrs. Coxe and a stranger,
whom I afterwards learned was Dr. Brown, came in
at this time, and seeing me in Dr. Hall's care,
passed into the next room. I begged Dr. Hall to

EYE-WITNESS. 53
follow, that I might know just how badly the young
man was hurt. He did so, and came back to me
saying : ' A kick from one of the horses had injured
one knee very seriously, and one hand and arm
were in a badly Inflamed state.' The doctor left,
after seeing me comfortably arranged for the night,
and promised to call at the house to quiet all appre
hension on my account. Papa, I knew, would
come directly to me and bring Kizzie, which would
relieve these kind strangers from nursing me longer.
I fell asleep, and on awaking was conscious that it
was night. A murmur of voices from the room
adjoining met my ear. I would not listen, but lay
studying why no one came to me from home. The
voices grew louder. I heard papa's name men
tioned, and that alone fixed my attention. This is
the conversation, which, with startling distinctness,
came to me : —
" ' What a confounded affair this, just as we are
off, Charley ! We shall put off our tramp to Lib
erty's land, however, until you can go with us.'
" 'You are mad to speak of delay. Bill. You
must start by fo-morrow's dawn, as agreed upon.'
" ' What, leave you here to don old Jeff's livery
or swing?'
" ' Yes. I must now take my chance alone ; but
If shut In here forever, no earthly power shall make
me lend a hand to the most diabolical conspiracy
which ever was hatched, or spill Yankee blood, —
so help me God.
" 'Yes, yes, Coxe, we know the temper of the
steel you are made of, and we .boys know, too, you
are the very one for the Rebels to clutch. Your
name was handled roughly enough to-day ; but we,
5*

54 EYE-WITNESS.
who were In the secret, laughed Inly, you may be
sure, for we knew that another sun would find us all
in the mountains. By St. Peter ! I would rather
have lost my chance of getting out of the State
altogether, than to see you thus crippled.'
" ' I would like to see the boys before they 're
off. Bin.'
' ' ' Never fear, not a soul of the gang but will lay
eyes on you before they set out.'
" ' What came off at the Court House to-day.
Smith, — any more secesh speeches ? '
" * Secesh speeches, — yes ! Bierce was holding
forth as I drew up. I tell you what. Dr. Brown,
the ' ' old line whigs " have n't a greater enemy In
the State than he.'
' ' ' Confound him ! If It was n't for Hattie's sake
I 'd rid the earth of such a monster. Coxe, If It
should get to his ears that you -are of the tabooed
set, Yankee sympathizers, there 's death ahead sure.
He 's a keen, killing shot, and handles a bowie knife
as a schoolmaster his pen.'
" ' That may be. Brown; but I have no fear of
meeting him.'
" ' Better not, Charley. Shun him as you would
" black Jack." He 's not a man to forget an injury ;
the sins of the fathers upon the children is the creed
he lives up to.'
" 'Enough of that, Smith. See how It worries
the man.'
" ' Well, Brown, Bierce will not find a disciple in
you ; that 's so. If you do swear you 're secesh out
and out.'
" ' Yes, boys, for my wife's sake and my child's I
swear I'm secesh, and curse Abe Lincoln till my

EYE-AVITNESS. 55
tongue is as black as the souls of these d-

Breckltes ! Had I no family I'd cut profession,
niggers, everything I own here, and strip for Lib
erty's run. My  ! what a glorious pull-up
there is In store for you ! '
" Steps upon the walk I now heard, and many
feet passed Into the house. Low voices uttered
regret at their friend's mishap, and many offers were
made to await his convalescence, that his might not
be a lone journey to Uncle Sam's pastures. All
were, however, firmly but kindly refused. Adieux
followed, and the crowd silently stole away, the
doctor alone remaining.
' ' ' Lincoln won't put weapons into those boys'
hands for nothing, Coxe. If they don't show what
fight there is in them, they 'U deserve the fate which
awaits them if caught. But tell me how they are to
get out of this d  Confederacy ? '
' ' ' They are to strike different roads to Salem ;
there they are to meet and ptish on together for the
mountains. Once In the defiles of the Blue Ridge,
with liberty to cheer them, and Kentucky is theirs ! '
" ' 'TIs a mean thing, old fellow, that you must
lie here bed-ridden and lose this glorious chance.
If I could put my valuables Into a sack for my back
I 'd set off to-night.'
" ' Your wife and chUd might object to that mode
of travel.'"'Hattle, never! She'd go through fire and
water to reach her former home ; and I would, for
her, to get her safely there.'
" ' Is she from the North ? '
" ' From Pennsylvania.'
' ' ' But you can get a pass for her and child from
Gov. Ellis.'

56 EYE-WITNESS.
" ' Ellis, why he 's a dead man, or what 's more
to the point, soon will be.'
" ' Clark succeeds him. What sort of a Gov
ernor will he make ? '
Clark ! he 's a senseless fellow.

ii i

" His wits were given him for a token,
But in tlie carriage cracked and broken."
By the way, Coxe, what smash-up was It which
brought you on to your back?'
" 'I paid no heed to the carriage, for the lady
demanded all my attention.'
' ' ' What was done with her ? '
" ' I brought her here. You remember Dr. Hall
gave me a call shortly after your arrival.'
" ' He came to see her, did he, and carried her to
her friends ? '
" ' If I remember rightly she was not to be moved
until morning.'
" ' Where in thunder is she, — not in this house?
Why, man, what's the matter? you are shaking
like an ague subject.'
"' There Is cause for some alarm. Brown. It
has just occurred to me that this evening's conversa
tion may have been overheard by this stranger.'
" ' There's mischief ahead, Coxe, as I am a living
man.' " ' She may be sleeping.'
' ' ' True ; I 'U soon convince myself of that fact,
however. If she shows the least consciousness, —
hang the match ! it won't light, — I 'U — '
" The remainder of the sentence, in my extreme
agitation, I lost. Conscious that I was unknown,
and that my life, perhaps, depended upon my re-

EYE-WITNESS. 57
maining so, to escape from the house was my only
alternative. But how to effect it ! each moment
was precious, for escape I must, before Dr. Brown
could bring his candle to my face. I was confident
he would recognize me ; for, from the moment of
his mentioning his wife's name, / knew him, — knew
him as a man apparently of strong secesh proclivi
ties. Now his life was in my hands ; the knowledge
of that alone I felt would make him desperate.
Steps were approaching ; my resolution was taken.
I sprung from the bed and behind the door through
which he was to pass. As he crossed Its sill and
advanced a step beyond it, I waved my handker
chief; the sickly, flickering flame went out. With
an oath he turned back for another match, and I
heard him curse the night air for serving him such a
trick. The door, which opened upon the veranda,
was ajar ; on a chair near it I remembered seeing
Mrs. Coxe, on entering, lay her shawl. It was but
the work of a moment to throw it over my head and
reach the street. Swiftly I ran until I gained the
railroad track, then stopped' to take breath. From
the house which I had left a light streamed out,
whose beams revealed a group looking out into the
night for a delirious sick woman, as no doubt they
thought me. The clatter of hoofs, coming thick and
fast, compelled me to leave my point of observation
and seek the friendly shelter of a culvert. Horresco
rcferens ! the rider drew rein as he reached the spot
where I crouched. Closer I gathered my scant gar
ments about me, and sunk deeper into the muddy
water. The horseman leaped to the ground. lie
must have seen me, I thought ; I placed my hand
over my mouth and laid my length In the dark

58 EYE-WITNESS.
stream. He sprung down the bank, — ' Fool that
I am,' I heard, ' I thought I saw something white.
Ah ! there 's the carriage yonder ; that will perhaps
give me some clue to the missing woman.' Up the
steep bank he climbed ; I was safe ! I raised myself
and crept half way up the embankment, and by the
faint starlight saw my pursuer examining the carri
age. Baffled there! I could have shouted; for. the
carriage was a new one, and I knew the light was
insufficient for him to recognize Dine. ' Thank
heaven for murky skied ! I shall escape you yet ! ' I
mentally exclaimed. But no, his attention Is again
attracted towards me. Could the winds have borne
my unspoken words to him, or did my eyes, which
glared upon him, draw him towards me by some
mesmeric power ! Hateful thought ! I closed them
and my mouth firmly, lest my fierce breathing should
betray me. Towai'ds me he came, slowly ; one foot
actually crushing the twigs which lay by my side !
One moment of intense emotion, and then I breathed
freely. Oh ! what a thanksgiving swelled my heart
when I saw the man mount, and heard the clatter of
his horse's hoofs down the road !
' ' When I again reached the track the city clocks
rung out one ; the day had already begun. As I neared
the city, desperation and the horror of defection
nerved me to almost superhuman exertions. Elm
and Green streets were finally reached and safely too ;
the night-watch were not over vigilant ; I saw, but
escaped them. On Danforth, one more square, and
I should reach home ! alas ! a boisterous crowd sud
denly burst upon me. Providentially St. Luke's
Church was at hand. I had time only to reach the
friendly shelter of an arch, when the men swept by,

EYE-WITNESS. 59
— officers and privates of our regiment on their way
from the hall. How my heart leaped when I heard
brother Will's voice ! (he was urging on a man, who
had lain down upon the church steps, declaring he
would sleep the night out there) — and it made me
strong to encounter further peril. The two finally
moved on, and I glided away. In a few moments I
stood upon our balcony. I knew where Will's night-
key hung ; It turned in the lock, the door opened and
I stole to my room. I lighted the gas ; then walked
to the miiTor. One glance sufficed : that Dr. Hall
must be sent for was as evident as the necessity of
my removing every sign of the direful disorder of my
appearance before ringing for aid. When the light
of the coming day first streaked the horizon my task
was complete. I rung for my maid ; the cook an
swered my summons. I told her I was sick ; that
Dr. Hall must be sent for ; and that Jim must come
directly to my room. To satisfy my own curiosity
as to the absence of so many of the family, she told
me on entering that papa had been called out of town
and had taken his wife and Kizzie with him. I must
expose myself to the like, and I was determined that
no one should know of that night's adventure but our
good friend and physician. Dr. Hall, for In his judg
ment and keen sagacity I have the most Implicit
confidence. Jim came to my room ; and of him I
learned, that, in attempting to follow the carriage,
he had fallen, and, although much hurt, had managed
to crawl home. In his uncommon fright, he said, he
was waiting for his master to come In to make known
the accident, when Dr. Hall drove up. He told him
I was safe, where the carriage was to be found, and
bade him go for me In the morning. Dine he had

60 EYE-WITNESS.
ordered shot ; she was so crippled by her fall. To
my inquiry, why he (Jim) had not sent for the car
riage, he said, ' he set the boys off for the live horse,
but he thought dead property might go until morn-
ino'.' I told him I would give him one hour to bring
home the carriage, and dispose of Dine; that if he
was not up to time I should report him to his master,
and he knew what would follow. He moved quickly
away, utterly regardless of the night's bruises, if one
he had ; and I heard him mutter, as he closed the
door, — ' don't 'gree wid young missis to git upsot ;
neber seed her look so like old missis afore.'
" How impatiently I waited for the doctor; I felt
I was sinking, and did so need my maid to nurse me.
It was the first time papa's wife had carried her
selfishness so -far as to monopolize one of my servants ;
and the want of Kizzie, at this time, made me feel
more thoroughly angry towards the woman, who
fills my mother's place, than any of her acts of petty
tyranny, daily practised upon one and all of our
household, had ever done.
" With my head upon the window-sill, I watched
for that well-known buggy ; I saw It drive up ; then
a strange giddiness seized me. Recovering myself,
I found Dr. HaU at my bedside. My first question
made him laugh outright. ' I did not strike you,
wilful girl,' he said. ' I came here at your bidding,
and receiving no answer to my knock at your door, I
opened it and found an empty bed. A shape, envel
oped in a window curtain, however, attracted my
attention ; I picked it up and find It has a tongue.'
He scolded me well for risking my life to secure home
nursing; but not until he hs^d bound up my arm
anew and had administered an anodyne would he sig-

EYE-WITNESS. 61
nify his consent to hear what I had to tell him. Of
my nocturnal adventure I told him all ; not one word
of the conversation which I had overheard escaped
me. Very grave, he sat, and I even heard him sigh
as I finished ray recital. How my heart blessed him,
whgn he said, ' Helen, leave all to me ; I wiU answer
all Inquiries, solve all mystery, and keep your secret.'
And, Maggie, at my earnest solicitation, he promised
to aid the young man, traitor though he is, to escape
from the State. When I remarked, that Dr. Brown
should be exposed, he said ; ' He was a former stu
dent of mine ; but leave this affair wholly in my
hands ; you certainly can trust me.' With the prom
ise to report to me what success he might meet with,
and that his delay should be as short as possible, he
left me. A severe run. of fever followed that night
of fright, exposure, and fatigue. When I awoke to
consciousness, I found Dr. Hall in attendance. Of
him I learned that, on leaving me, that memorable
morning, he had gone directly to Mrs. Coxe's house.
He found the family in great anxiety, concerning my
mysterious disappearance, but quieted all their ap
prehensions, without exciting a suspicion of the real
cause of my flight. Dr. Brown, he said, was not to be
found, and, giving up the search for him, he returned
to the house to find me darmingly 111. To papa, he
had explained the accident, and the cause which had
occasioned my flight from the house where I had been
removed after my fall. He avoided giving papa the
name of the people who had befriended me, but said.
In the delirium of fever I not only mentioned their
name, but aroused his suspicion as to their character.
He told me also, that papa- had made inquiries with
regard to them, and was now only waiting my con-
6

62 EYE-WITNESS.
valescence to ascertain of me if they were correct.
And he added: 'the young man, Helen, Is beyond
pursuit, — I have done your bidding ; now take my
counsel and have no words with your father on this
subject for several days to come.'
"What I told papa on the following day more
than satisfied him that Dr. Brown was a traitor, and
for him, we both agreed, there was no doom too Igno
minious. When he mentioned my preserver, I
pleaded headache ; that a few days would find me
sufficiently strong to tell him all that followed my fall.
Considerate, as he usually is, he seemed deeply to
regret the delay I urged, and said : ' You spoke the
name of Coxe. I know of but one family of that
name in town. It may be, yes it may be, that my
memory has played me false.'
" « What may be ? ' I asked.
" ' That this Yankee Brown's boon companion is
John Coxe's son.' To my Inquiry who John Coxe
was, he replied —
" ' A bitter, bitter enemy of mine, Helen ; a man
of some talent, but low-born, and possessing little
wealth ; a man the world would never have known
had he not allowed himself to become the willing
tool of the Whig party. Twice was he elected to
the Senate. Not a Democrat among us, however,
but was conversant with the frauds practised to
secure his election ; but, my daughter, men like
your father, gentlemen by ancestral rank, and pos
sessing all the advantages which wealth and intellect
command, step back from the strife and permit high
places to be polluted by such miscreants as the
Whig party gives birth to, rather than..^ suffer per
sonal contact, or the altercation which must follow,

EYE-WITNESS. 63
where aristocratic supremacy Is assailed by plebeian
animosity. That man's assumption, however, cost
him his life; he feU, pierced to the heart by the
assassin's knife, while canvassing the State for a
third election. A young man of that name, I hear,
has lately appeared at the bar. If he Is a son of
John Coxe — (I lost all knowledge of his family
some years ago) — and proves to be the one we
seek; I say. If he Is Coxe's son, and possesses
but a shadow of the dogged obstinacy which charac
terized the old man in the support of his party, —
(a party, thank God, we have throttled), — yes,
with one word, that In him Abe Lincoln has a
minion, and his doom Is sure ! '
' ' At night papa came again to my room. He
and his men had been to Dr. Brown's, but their
search there was fruitless. I needed not to ask of
the other, for his look confirmed my worst fears.
' Not caught,' he said to my mute appeal ; ' but
John Coxe's son, he is ! '
' ' ' How did you know where to seek him ? ' I
faltered. "'Jim directed us. I saw the mother; when
the mob surrounded her house she stepped out on
the veranda ; there, white, but self-possessed and
dignified, she stood, amid the execrations of my baf
fled men. To their demands she said : " God gave,
and to his care I have resigned my son." " Three
days ago I saw him leave this house with your son
George," was shouted from the crowd. -To the
threat that her house should be fired If she persisted
In her obstinate silence regarding his place of con
cealment, she replied: " Fire my house, rob me of
all I have, but never will I utter one word which

64 EYE-WITNESS.
shall betray my boy Into the hands of lawless men ! "
I did not stay to see the threat of the mob executed.
The defeat, which I had twice sustained through
John Coxe's agency, Helen, was fully cancelled by
the sight of the suffering his folly had entailed upon
his family. As I drove up Danforth Street, the
flames of the burning buildings lit up t je sky ; and
to the eager ears of the many, who leaned from
windows and balconies to question, — the reply, "A
Yankee conflagration ! " was received with clapping
of hands and peals of laughter; while " Good ! give
us another ! burn them all out ! " fell from coral lips
and souls loyal and devoted.'
" That night, under cover of darkness, Kizzie
sought the afflicted mother and found her and the lit
tle Winnie in a tumble-down negro hut. Not a friend,
if one she had, not a neighbor dared aid or comfort;
nor can we blame them, Maggie, for they knew that
by so doing, they would subject themselves to like
treatment. The basket, which Kizzie had filled for
her, she gratefully took ; but it was only after much
entreaty, that she would consent to accept the sum
jthe purse contained. On leaving, she handed Kizzie
a slip of wrapping paper, on which was written :
' The prayer of the poor and afflicted has been heard
and answered ; God has made you the almoner of His
giving. No enemy can stay the prayer of supplica
tion on Its way to God ; daily shall that prayer be
offered for your welfare, that strength may be given
you to do His bidding. Your maid says you have
no name to-night. In that land, where all Ills are
forgotten, I shall joyfully meet and bless, as I do
now, my dear, unknown benefactress.'
"Days went by and nothing was heard of the

EYE-WITNESS. 65
runaways ; but the scene of this morning has brought
back vividly the suffering of that wretched week. I
saw the prisoner, Maggie, and prayed from my In
most soul that It might be Dr. Brown. But when
my eye fell upon the boy at his side, I knew the
doomed one was Charles Coxe !
" I have told you all. Speak now, dear cousin,
and teach me how to act, that I may best reach the
stand.ird I have marked out for myself."
" Helen," said her companion, with solemn earn
estness ; ' ' Imagine yourself In the situation of this
mother, sitting by the bedside of a son just snatched
from death's grasp, and fearing that any hour may be
freighted with the death agony of another ; then tell
me how you would feel towards one, who with out
stretched hand could save, yet passed by on the other
side?" " For heaven's sake, Maggie, do not appeal to my
feelings," was the passionate response. " Duty, stern
duty, must be uppermost In my thoughts."
' ' Is the caU more imperative now than it was when
you besought Dr. HaU's aid to assist this man out of
the State?"
"T was sick then," Helen pleaded, " and allowed
my heart to pervert my judgment ; I have not now
that excuse for iniquitous faltering, when the path of
duty lies open before me."
" Cannot you leave the sword of justice in the
Great Avenger's hand ? "
" But my vow. I may not falsify my oath."
" If It conflicts with Christian duty, in our Father's
sight, it Is better broken than kept."
"Then, Maggie, tell me what to do! I go to
confront this man to-morrow."
6*

66 EYE-WITNESS.
" Do as you would, if your brother, not Charles
Coxe, had fallen into the hands of merciless harpies,"
was the firm rejoinder.
" But we must not forget this man is a traitor, and
for all such there Is a special reckoning, a special
doom," persisted Helen.
" Cousin Helen, is It for us to pass judgment upon
a human soul ? Are you or I accountable for any
one's sins but our own ? Look at this matter calmly,
search your heart to the bottom, then ask yourself if
you dare assume the i^esponsibility of launching an
immortal spirit into eternity."
" Still, duty is omnipotent, and if conscientiously
discharged  "
" Hold ! cousin. Here I hold out Justice's scales
and Mercy's curtain. Were sentence to be passed
upon you to-morrow, which would your guilty, trem
bling soul crave ? "
A servant at this moment entered and announced
the carriage for Miss Helen. As the cousins parted
upon the steps, Maggie whispered : " Seek the throne
of grace, lay your troubled thoughts there, Nellie, and
to-morrow your heart, purified by prayer, shall prompt ,
your words."
" Not here," said Ha^ry, drawing Maggie out of
the night-dews (for at the sound of steps upon the
walk, she had left the house, heedless of damp and
darkness, to relieve her intensely anxious thoughts,)
and seating himself by her side on a bamboo settee in
the hall, he resumed : ' ' Yes, there is one, and but one
hope of young Coxe's escape from being lynched."
" What is that?" gasped Maggie.
' ' The seizure of the babbler ; we've men on his
track ; if we catch him, Coxe is safe."

EYE-WITNESS. 67
" And you have no suspicion who he Is?"
" There are a dozen rumors afloat, but with not a
shadow of reasonableness in them. I'm off again in
a half-hour ; let him cross my path !  "
" Harry, I can save you and your friends a night's
ride ; for I know that the prisoner's fate hangs -upon
a woman's tongue."
' ' Then he '11 swing ! " burst in passionate vehem
ence from the young man's lips. "Women have
gone mad ! not one breathes, but gloats  "
"Hush! dear Harry," said Maggie, laying her
hand gently upon his lips, "there are some true
women left, and the heart of his accuser, though
warped by evil surroundings. Is not, I can convince
you, wholly corrupt."
" Maggie, you are the exception to all womankind ;
but in the kindness of your heart you allow yourself
to be most egregiously fooled. Aside from yourself
and this man's mother, there is not a woman in this
city but would cheer on the fiends In their , hellish
work of swinging up Union men."
' ' Harry I never heard you speak so passionately
before; wait until to-morrow, and. If I have been
fooled, as you call it, I will turn Sister of Charity at
once, and hide my simpleness in virtuous deeds."
" There, Maggie, don't be vexed; credulity, in a
compound sense, shall not banish you from my heart
or sight," said he, affectionately drawing her to his
side. " Tell me all you know, and make me believe,
if you can, in a secesh woman's clemency ; but stay,
I will first teU you my story. Charles Coxe is the
name of the young man so villanously used ; his
father was one of the most successful lawyers and
politicians In your State. Among the Union men

68 EYE-WITNESS.
young Coxe has many friends, and some one of them
may speak in his behalf to-morrow, although to do so
Is to bring upon himself the suspicion of loyalty to
the Federal Government."
"Did you go to his ceU?" asked Maggie, some
what impatiently. ,
"Yes, Mr. Whedden and myself were smuggled
in." ' ' I feared prison doors might be shut too fast for
even you to undo."
" Maggie, I never saw iron yet, which would not
yield to gold."
' ' And you saw and spoke with him ? Tell me all
he said."
"He told us frankly, that, had it not been for an
accident, he should have fled the State at least two
weeks ago ; he was warned he was suspected of being
an abolitionist, and left a sick-bed for a hiding-place
in Black Swamp. His brother George went with
him. In their flight they came up with a negro ; of
him they learned that two days' journey would bring
them to a 'jump and run,' where there was a gum-
tree in which was a hollow large enough to hold
them both until pursuit was given up. They were
within a few miles of the spot, when the baying of
hounds told them their tracks were scented. There
was then no escape ; they told the negro to run ; he,
however had sheep-skin on his feet and did not fear
the dogs, and stayed by until he had armed them both
with cudgels. Coxe said, the sight of the blood-
hounds roused the strength of a maniac within him ;
he had killed two, and could have finished the pack
had not a shot brought him down. Before he could
rise, men were upon him, who Ironed and marched

EYE-WITNESS. 69
him off. He said he did not suffer physically, but
he was maddened at the sight of the treatment visit
ed upon his brother.
" We stayed in that loathsome cell some hours;
bound up his wounds, which had been shamefully
neglected, and left him much comforted and with some
slight assurance, that life, and, what he valued far
more, liberty might yet be his."
" You told him his mother was with George?"
" Yes. The first words he spoke, when the prison
doors swung to behind us, were, ' My brother ! ' He
is the most unselfish person I ever met with. W^hen
assured of his brother's ultimate recovery and of his
mother's being with him, had the irons been struck
from his wrists and his prison bars unloosed by Abe
Lincoln himself, he could hardly have been more
overjoyed. Now, Maggie, tell me what you know
of his accuser."

CHAPTER Vin.
a unionist on TRIAL.
July 7th rose clear and calm, but the sun's rays
beat down scorchingly ; and although " Lazy Law
rence" could be plainly seen in the dry, parched
atmosphere, — a sign for -all but workers to stay
within doors, — the streets were thronged. Fair-
faced women, forgetful of tan and burn, pressed
hurriedly on under umbrellas, borne by Afric's dark
sons, or languidly reclined in cushioned carriages,
fanned by spruce-looking quadroon maids, as perfect
in feature, and but a few shades darker, than their
proud mistresses ; while lawyers, forgetful of briefs,
and doctors of patients, with well-to-do merchants,
planters, and boys, swelled the crowd, thronging
towards the Court House. The doors turn slowly
on their hinges and the eager press surges through,
flooding the wide entrance and filling the spacious
hall to overflowing. Seats were reserved for ladies,
but m%ny a bold look and undisguised sneer fell
upon the dear creatures, who, with immense, efforts,
were trying to bring within prescribed limits fabu
lous folds of muslin and astonishingly refractory
hoops. ""No place for women," growls graybeard, just
bowed out of a chair by a IVIiss of fourteen summers.

eye-witness. 71
" I reckon you are right," was the quick rejoinder ;
"did any one ever see the like of this, — only a
three-legged, crazy-back chair to hold me for two
long hours ! "
" You, Molly, take care ! another such a sit down
and we shall be floored ! " cries a distressed voice.
Miss Miffit, white with apprehension, had been watch
ing her plump neighbor, who, overcome with the
compound jostle of the crowd, dropped with two
hundred pOunds' weight upon the creaking bench.
The catastrophe of being brought to the floor was
for the time averted, much to the relief of the timo
rous few who occupied the same tottering support.
We will turn from the crowd to look at the pris
oner. Disfigured by wounds, pale and emaciated,
but fearless, Charles Coxe stood before his judges.
He had broad shoulders, a bold heart, and a loyal
soul ; to die for liberty was Indelibly stamped upon
his expressive -face. From him we will glance at his
accuser, Helen Bierce ; for It was her name, which,
connected with the man's arrest, had filled so many
seats with the city's fluttering fair.
At the question, "If she had ever seen the pris
oner, Charles Coxe?" she raised her lustrous black
eyes to his face. Their looks met. Calmly she
scanned his features ; except a slight twitching of
the muscles of the mouth and an increased pallor of
the face beneath such searching scrutiny, no emotion
was visible : the preserver and the rescued, the suf
fering but undaunted victim, the high-born aristo
cratic belle, the loyal soul and traitor's dupe, alike
the gaze of the crowd stood unmoved, unread, save
by the eye which searcheth all hearts.
Helen turned to the questioner ; her answer was a
firm, clear "No!"

72 eye-witness.
Down came the hammer in the hand of brief au
thority to command silence, for a disappointed mob
was growing unpleasantly demonstrative. In the
same shrill voice came the question, " Do you know
aught of this Charles Coxe ? "
" Only what I have learned since his arrest," was
the slow reply.
Mr. Francis Bierce, one of the number before
whose tribunal the "traitor" was arraigned, then
arose. A smile broke over his face, so self-satisfied
and bland that, as it met the ladies upon his right,
saddened under the unfavorable turn Helen's replies
had given to the affair. It carried full assurance with
it. " My daughter, state fully what befell you June
18th." The eager earnestness of the crowd increased as
Helen related what she had previously told her fa
ther ; but at her concluding words — ' ' that the pris
oner in your midst and the man who bore me to that
rendezvous of traitors is one and the same, you have
no proof, no valid testimony, only a negro's word,"
— the crowd became uproarious, and, for a time,
resisted all attempts to be quelled.
Amid the din Mr. Bierce stood, frantically beat
ing the air in the vain endeavor to call attention to
his words. Those near him heard, — "The rene
gade Yankee Brown has escaped us ! but see to It
that no more of the vile scum slips through our fin
gers ! Charles Coxe is a Yankee sympathizer, my
word for it ! Let summary punishment be visited
upon all such ! "
With the cries, " Up with him ! Swing him
high ! " violent hands were laid upon the prisoner ;

RICHARD WHIDDEN SPEAKING FOR THE UNION.

eye-witness. 73
but a powerful man near dashed the ruffian to the
floor, with the cry, " Hear, hear ! "
That any man should Imperil his life by speaking
In behalf of the doomed one, awed the crowd ; and
In their tumultuous eagerness to swell the list of
" Yanks" to swing, the greater part shouted, "Who
'are you? Spout ahead "f ankee ! " stifling the weaker
cries, "String them both up! — no speeches, no
prayers for traitors ! "
" Who am I?" shouted the bold man; " I am
Richard ^Vhedden of South Carolina, brother of
your General, Arthur Whedden."
A wild burst of enthusiasm greeted this avowal,
for the name of Whedden was a household word.
INIen forgot the diabolical act which was to imbrue
their hands in a brother's blood ; and women, un
mindful of flies and gnats, dropped their fans, and
gazed admiringly upon the towering form, that had
gained the estrade, and, proudly erect, stood thereon.
Curiosity to hear one who claimed the name of
Whedden, his noble enthusiasm and bold speech at
first, kept unbroken silence.
To set forth the Iniquity of their leaders, custom
had taught them to reverence, who declared, when
Northern democracy could no longer be made avail
able by the South for the control of the Government,
that the South must try the dissolution of that Gov
ernment, and the diabolical schemes entered Into to
accomplish the same ; to explode the foul bubble,
that the North, rather than give up the benefits of
the Union, would recall her armed bands and unite
with the South under such a constitution as she should
prescribe ; to portray vividly the ruin, which, as a
desolating spirit, would lay waste the land from the
7

74 EYE-WITNESS.
Atlantic to the Pacific, from the Lakes to the Gulf,
should civil war be fairly Inaugurated ; to compare
the immense naval and land forces which the J>lorth
could command, to their own limited numbers, crip
pled finances and lack of resource ; to depict the deso
lation which must follow the tramp of reckless sol
diers through fields ripe for the sickle and cotton-
picker ; through cities flourishing, and those, too,
which had lost their bustle, but not their pride, left
to be sacked and burned, while old men, women, and
children, fled from the outrages of brutal soldiers to
the mountain fastnesses, or buried' themselves In pes
tilent haunted swamps, was the subject-matter of his
harangue. The shaft of truth sunk deep ; and, when the im
passioned speaker ceased, its effects upon that homo
geneous throng, where all the elements of riot were so
fully developed, far exceeded his own and his sup
porters' most sanguine expectations.
True, he had often been interrupted by the mut
tering of the storm, which threatened, but which was
kept under by the many, whose better natures had
been aroused, and who clamorously shouted, " More !
more ! " With the glow still upon his face, which
warmed his heart, that his words had not been utter
ed In vain, Richard Whedden once more arose, and,
after a powerful appeal to their feelings in behalf of
the prisoner, said, " I told you I was a South Caro
linian ; my ancestors died in defence of that soil.
Once I was proud of my birthright; but. If to be a
South Carolinian means a nuUifier, a seceder, a trai
tor, an insulter of the proudest flag which ever swept
the ocean wave, or floated upon liberty's embattled
heights, I renounce my State now and forever ! and.

EYE-WITNESS. 75
If God wIUs, I wUl be the first to quench the flame
she has kindled to fire the South ! If to be a Yankee
sympathizer means a lover of the Union and of the
Constitution (the only one which the South can be
safe under) , a fearless defender of Columbia's flag, I
glory in the name, and will die In defence of the
honor that proud title awards me ! "
" Die, then ! " shouted a voice from the crowd.
The whistle of a bullet followed, and Richard
Whedden staggered, but was caught by friendly
arms. That shot was the keynote of the voluntary which
followed. Riot of the fiercest kind prevailed ; shot
fell thick and fast, and, amid oaths, groans, the whis
tling of bullets, and the crashing of glass, the shrieks
of women rose wild and shrill. More and more des
perate grew the deadly affray. Pistols were dropped,
and ' ' Down with Secesh ! " " Death to the Yan
kees ! " hand to hand the rioters engaged. Those at
the windows were calling loudly for aid, when a crash,
as if "the building was rent In twain, fell upon the
startled combatants. The floor had yielded to the
Immense pressure, and a yawning chasm presented
itself to the horrified vision of the few, who, still in
imminent perU^, clung to the windows and broken
beams. The platform, and that part of the house
reserved for ladies, escaped the fearful crash, which
had swept Rebels rampant. Rebels timorous, fearless
Union men, and quasi Union men, into one common
pit, where death in hideous guise held high carnival.
The choking dust, which filled the air, the piercing
shrieks of women, the heavy groans from the suffo
cating, struggling mass of humanity beneath the
fallen floor, the pen refuses to detail.

76 EYE-WITNESS.
Come with me, reader, to the scene of this dire
calamity at the setting of the sun on this eventful
d.ay. The last of the mangled corpses, alas ! so
crushed, that not a human lineament can be traced,
is being drawn from the debris ; and a night of bitter
gloom shrouds the city, which the dawn fofmd teem
ing with exultant life.
Thus the programme for the 7th of July read :
An execution was to come off, as the sun wheeled
Into the zenith ; as the day cooled, a military pageant
was to fill the streets with martial strains and war-
loving people ; and with night was anticipated the
presentation of a flag to the pet regiment of the
county. But the curtain fell upon muffled drums,
stricken mourners, and open graves !
In happy contrast with the wretchedness which
filled so many households, was the room where
mother, sons, and little sister Winnie, clasped in
each others' arms, gave God thanks for this sig
nal manifestation of the protecting love he has
promised to the widow and fatherless ; they had sorely
felt the sorrow, which endureth but a night ; the joy,
which Cometh in the morning, was now theirs.
In an adjoining room lay one of the victims of
the morning's catastrophe. With heroic endurance,
Harry Blout suffered the mutilation of his hand to
save life, and, with cheerful fortitude, bore the dis
secting knife. Over his couch Maggie, with tender,
womanly care, bends; and, conquering all repug
nance to the sight of blood and quivering muscle,
so Inherent in a woman's nature, unshrinkingly holds
the filling bowl, and dripping Instruments.
Farther on, in a darkened chamber, lay another.
The wound had been probed, the ball extracted, and

EYE-WITNESS. 77
now Richard Whedden, with closed eyes, reviews the
scene of the morning and his miraculous escape.
In crying aloud the wrongs Impious men were
practising upon the masses, untutored, but jealously
tenacious of their rights ; in nerving the hearts of
these plain, artless men to grasp Liberty's sword and
barttle for her truths, he had won for himself the
sweet consciousness of having done his duty, and the
inexpressible joy which Mercy leaves in the heart she
has roused to overthrow cruelty.
Cato, when bending over the prostrate form of an
Idolized son, exclaimed, " What pity is it one can
die but once for one's country ! " Richard Whedden,
stretched upon a couch of pain by' a traitor's hand,
thanked Heaven that he had been counted worthy to
suffer for his country ; and, God willing, with health
and strength, he would rise a firm defender of truth
and justice mid scenes —
"Where stern Oppression lifts her.iron hand,
And restless cruelty usurps command."

CHAPTER IX.
THE SWAMPS A RETREAT FOR LOYALISTS.
We will now go back to the city and trace events
which followed the trial and Its accompanying calam
ity. Francis Bierce was duly informed that the pris
oner had either made good his escape, or, what was
more probable, was among those so fearfully muti
lated as not to be recognized, and now buried.
The next question was, who, and where were the
men who dared draw in defence of " tyranny and
Abe Lincoln ? " A thorough search was instituted for
the " traitors," but proved unsuccessful.
It was a stubborn fact, and one generally accredit
ed, that scores of men in the surrounding country
were daily leaving their customary pursuits, planta
tions, and homes, to conceal themselves in the moun
tains ; and, report said, preparing to take the field
en masse, when the time should come to aid the Yan
kee invader ; therefore a picked guard was set to
watch, with unslumbering vigilance, every avenue of
approach to these fastnesses. Days went by, and, as
no arrests were made, the watch grew daily less
wary. It was night, and the sheep on the hill-top, no
longer caressed by the flickering, dancing light of

eye-witness. 79
the bivouac fire, looked down and saw Liberty swing
wide the vast portal of her mountain ranges and lead
on braves In paths, still echoing to the tread of those
gone on before. Not a bivouac fire, not a challenge,
not a sentinel ! No sound, save the tramping of feet
treason could not shackle, broke the stillness.
To cities and towns came the astounding news of
the disappearance of the guard to a man !
Where were they ! Go to the loyal sons of Caro
lina, now fighting for the nation's life, — they can tell.
Double the price set on " traitors'" heads, — double
the guard, — double the vigilance, but of no avail;
for Liberty, with her shining cohorts, leads on the van !
while treason's minions bivouac in vain on the out
skirts of her retreat, nor dare pierce the shadow
which she leaves behind.
In the firm belief that the impending blow, which
the "Grand Northern Army" was to wield at Man
assas, would effectually wipe out the Rebellion, men,
who from physical inability could not brave the moun
taineer's life, tore themselves from loving arms, and
sought the secure retreat which the cypress swamps
afforded. From these almost impenetrable morasses
prodigious trees loom up, whose limbs are covered
with a grayish moss, several feet in length, and in
such quantities as to curtain a safe abode for one or
more runaways. In and around, the rattlesnake, and
his no less venomous companions, the, moccason,
black-runner, and copper-head, keep guard, signalling
intruding footsteps with the deadly rattle or terri
fying hiss. In such secure haunts Black Dick and
Yellow Dine meet, — both runaways from cruel mas
ters or brutal overseers ; each, perhaps, representa-

80 eye-witness.
tives of different counties, but each alike seeking
refuge from the white man's tyranny. As with the
entire race, with few exceptions, courtship and the
marriage ceremony are abridged to the simple form
ula, " be my woman. Rose," " ask massa, Sam," so
these poor souls meet, and, resigning all former ties,
Dick takes unto himself a new wife. Driven from the
haunts of man by man's unrestrained violence, nature
takes the wanderers into her lap and lavishly spreads
her mosses for a screen by day and a couch for night.
Birds of rare plumage, and rapturous note fill the
dim woods with melody; while fruits and luscious
berries hang temptingly near, and , falling at the touch,
fill the hungry soul with nectarian juices. No mam
moth task, no stinted rations, no lash, no bleeding
back and groaning pallet, here await runaways, but
liberty and life, free and joyous, over acres of soil the
traveller fears and shuns with hurried feet ; and the
hunter with spurred heel urges on his jaded beast, lest
dark night should find him wrapt In the spectral-
haunted shadows, which steal up from these Intermin
able wastes.
It was a fearful hour, for a tornado swept the land.
Houses were unroofed, fences prostrated, and the
tasseled corn, and blooming cotton-patch laid low.
A sturdy oak, which had braved many a blow,
mightier than this, in years past, yielded to the blast,
and " crashing, thundering, shook the ground."
" God be praised ! " rose simultaneously from many
grateful hearts ; for the threatened danger, just
escaped, offered a temporary retreat for the pursued.
The unfrequented road, down which they fled, was
now rendered Impassable by the fallen tree ; for it
was sheer madness for their pursuers to strike out

eye-witness. 81
Into the forest which bordered the road on either side
on such a wild, dark night.
A score of men, panting with the fierce excitement of
the deadly chase, crept beneath the boughs of the pros
trate oak, and, in mud mid leg-deep, laid down, — and
it was time ; for a lull In the tempest brought to their
strained ears the tramp of approaching horsemen.
Soon a body of men appeared, the lightning playing
upon their weapons, — for they were heavily armed,
— making their faces glare out horribly beneath their
lunp, water-soaked caps.
The barrier, which neither man nor beast could
surmount, was met with a volley of oaths. " Halt ! "
was shouted, as others came dashing up ; " the devils
have escaped us ! Back to the fork ! — down to the
left ? We 'U have them, yet ! "
The savage threat which silenced one or two, who
declared they had seen objects creeping down the road
after passing the fork, left no room for farther sug
gestions or aught but implicit obedience. The hunters
turned upon their steps and sought the left fork ;
they found it, doubtless, but not the mud-soaked,
exultant creatures, who crawled from about the huge
tree, and, with mighty strides and laughter-ringing
shouts, defiant of storm and farther pursuit, pressed
on for the " big swamp."
' The East was kindling with roseate light, when our
baild of patriots, with hearts swelling with gladness
for dangers past and mercies near, reached and
plunged Into the thickest part of the welcome morass.
Sinking into the soft, spongy soil, springing upon
some inviting log, to jump as quickly from it, as the
king-snake, his domain being so rudely assailed,
crawls out therefrom, and, with glistening eye and

82 EYE-WITNESS.
arching neck, strikes terror into the hearts of the In
truders, — widely they scatter. Pitching, tumbling,
floundering, tied up, thrown down by the thick hang
ing vines, these dauntless ones push on ; for succor is
nigh, and hope warms the heart and makes the ills of
the hour the subject of jest and hearty good-humor.
To the hunter, to the naturalist, whom the fox or
some rare species of bird tempts to their borders,
these swamps seem impenetrable. " No human
foot," say they, " can pierce such a wilderness ; for
If once entangled In the matted verdure, which often
conceals dark pools, extrication Is impossible, death
sure." But dangers, such as the pleasure-seeker
turns shudderingly from, make men, hunted and de
nounced, bold to encounter, and fearless to brave
every ill, than to suffer a crucifixion of the soul.
Suddenly the leader stops and bends low. A long,
sweet note escapes him, which Is answered by the
shrill piping of the quail : the well-known signal is
followed by rousing cheers, and the hanging mosses
of a cluster of trees, but a few rods from the wan
derers, part, and disclose the retreat of the vocifer
ous band, which leaps forth, — and fathers, sons,
friends, neighbors, ahke supporters of Uberty and
union, meet.

CHAPTER X.
PRESENTATION OF A FLAG.
Never did a more brilliant throng grace Gaston
Hall than on this night, — the one which is to wit
ness the presentation of the flag, and which unforeseen
events had deferred. Flags, rich in satin fold and
golden tassel, heavy with bars (but not luminous,
for the greater part are starless) , festoon the walls,
and flowers of rich color and ravishing fragrance, the
triumphal arches, which span the rostrum, where
soft light, perfumes from Innumerable wreaths, and
secesh devices of costly jewels, bestow a charm,
which nought save the presence of the belle of the
season, the presenter of the flag and suite, could
enhance. Gaslight, that unsurpassed beautifier, shines down
upon beauty and grace, richly attired in gossamer
fabrics ; on aristocratic general-officers, whose gray
uniforms shine with the badges of their profession ; on
privates, glorying in the braided sleeve, where fair
hands have wrought, with exquisite skiU, the letters
of the cause for which they have pledged their lives ;
and upon citizens, very happy and very boastful of
coming victories. At a word of command, the crowd,
draws back, and, amid a wild burst of music, the

84 EYE-WITNESS.
graceful fluttering of handkerchiefs, and prolonged
cheering, the gaUant 7th moves down the hall and
forms about the estrade. All eyes turn upon the dis
tant curtain, which, rising from the lower arch,
discloses a bright and beautiful vision.
Amid the cloud-like drapery, which, in soft undu
lations, wraps the willowy forms of the attending
ton, stands the tall, dignified Helen Bierce, severely,
plainly dressed In homespun —
" With no bewitching curls, kissing as they go
Her brow, her cheek, her bosom of snow."
With no clear drops appending to the ear, no brace
let, or precious pin, but clothed In a cotton frock —
the work of her own hand — she, the cynosure of all
eyes, meets the unaffected stare of the crowd, and,
with Irresistible appeal, calls the eye-worship of the
throng to her face, which a truly earnest soul lights
up with a beauty Indescribable.
As the regimental flag is placed In her hand, and
with inimitable grace she steps forward to present it,
the motive, which prompted this self-sacrificing cour
age, bursts upon the crowd, and vociferous shouts and
overwhelming clapping followed. " Col. Blassing,"
she said, " to you, the commander of this regiment,
our hearts' love, to be our State's boast, we give this
flag; we, who have made It, and consecrated it to
Liberty, ask of you. Its brave defenders, to place it
upon the dome of the Capitol at Washington, where
floats the flag of a once happy, united people, now a
thing despoiled and hateful to our sight. It has been
said, and truly, that the want of everything is fully
made up by the spirit of the cause, and the soul
within stands In place of discipline, organization.

EYE-WITNESS. 85
resource. Such is the spirit, which animates every
breast in our young Confederacy. We may be crip
pled and Impoverished by our powerful adversary ;
but u-e cannot be conquered, and scorn defeat ! Our
noble Beauregard calls you for the great struggle at
Manassas ; we bid you go to meet a foe relentless,
vindictive, unscrupulous, to suffer, to die for your
cause, and the honor of your mothers, your wives,
your sisters. And shall we be unmindful of the
price of blood and treasure which our liberty de
mands ? No ! the duty the God of battles enjoins
upon us, shaU be unflinchingly met; our jewels, our
once valued gems, we throw into the common treas
ury, and, discarding the luxuries of which you are
deprived, clad in the durable work of our own hands,
await duty's call to the hospital, or amid burning
shot and shell to carry the cup of cold water ; and if
need comeSj,wIth arms In our hands, to fight bravely
by the side of fathers, husbands, brothers ; for living
we wUl be victorious, or dying, our deaths shall be
glorious." The gay and dashing Colonel received the colors
and replied gallantly, handsomely referring to the
noble example the presenter had that night set for
the mothers and daughters of the South. In con
clusion, he said : " This banner, dear to us all, shall
by our blood be defended, and, God wiUing, not
only over Washington, but over every foot of North
ern and Southern soil shaU the Bonny Blue Flag
wave, proclaiming to the world the life, the unsul
lied honor, the mercy and sovereignty of our glorious
Confederacy."
~ The main feature of the evening over, gay forms
flitted down from high gaUerles, and with braves,
8

86 EYE-WITNESS.
" so handsome and manly to view," sweep the floor
in the mazy round of the dance. Under festooned
arches, in shadowy corners forgotten by the revel
lers, in the dimly lighted robing-room, low earnest
words are breathed. The lingering pressure of the
hand, the "blush of consent," which speaks In silent
eloquence to the heart of the brave pleader, the rap
turous embrace which the morrow's departure sanc
tions, the vows of eternal love, the wild pulse-beats
of hearts, so soon to burn, to expire amid the fierce
tumult of battle, why further depict?

CHAPTER XI.
A MISTAKE IN A PROFESSION.
Behold us once more in Maggie Blout's parlor.
She sits waiting Harry's return from the hall ; he
enters even now, and, chiding her for her grave
looks, draws her to his side.
" And you will go with the regiment to-morrow ?"
Maggie asked,- struggling to keep back the tears,
which formed beneath the long silken lashes.
"I must,"
" But you are Incapacitated for the field," she
said, gently pressing the maimed arm ; ' ' say that
you wIU not go, dear Harry," she pleaded.
" Hear what I have to tell you, dearest, then you
will cease to urge me to remain idle at home. Of
the political state of America I knew little before
coming here ; and what has come to my knowledge
since, without the seeking, was enough to convince
me It was for my Interest and peace of mind to shun
lukewarm partisans as well as radicals. Never did I
for a moment entertain even a vague surmise that the
antagonism of the rival factions of North and South,
though so fierce and bitter, would culminate in open
rebellion ; but the truth that It would do so was
forced home to me some months since, when conced-

88 EYE-WITNESS.
ing to your uncle's request, although in direct oppo
sition to my own feelings, I entered the Court-house
to hear, as was announced for the evening, an
eminent speaker on the one subject of the hour —
' The despotic influence of a majority.' What, he
said, would be the despotism of the North, should the
election of Abraham Lincoln be secured ; and of the
long-continued and increasing, usurpations of those
who made, and as unscrupulously broke, laws of
their own caprice, tyrannizing at will over the South,
because the weaker of the two, could be summed up
in these few words, — Do as I bid, if you would live!
The man before us, Maggie, was a powerful speaker,
and the Intensity of his zeal was such as to win disci
ples to any creed he might advance ; and at his con
cluding words, ' Let the South band themselves toge
ther and the North will cease to be the masters ; cold,
calculating, mercenary, unmilitary as they are, they
will find themselves powerless to coerce and resist
us.' I felt it was the bounden duty of the South to
go out from such an association, peaceably. If she
could, forcibly. If she must. Under this fearful de
lusion I threw into the treasury what, now that my
eyes are no longer blinded, made my hands red — ^red
as the hands of those who, not blindly, there cast in
with me ; for Ignorance Is no excuse for my mad act."
Harry stopped, and for several moments walked
the floor, fuming silently; then throwing himself
again upon the settee by Maggie's side, he re
sumed : —
" The morning following the lecture, I met Richard
Whedden, and rode with him to his house. Before
we parted, the scales one by one fell from my eyes,
and I knew I had been fearfully and wholly misled :

EYE-WITNESS. 85
that not " right," but " rule or ruin," was the shibbo
leth on every lip of those whose cause I had espoused.
Would to God, before I had lifted one finger to aid
these robbers, these murderers, my life had been
taken ! Now my life, my all, is pledged to atone
for that irreparable blunder."
" Harry, it was a deplorable mistake, still, much
good has come of It ; your giving so generously, has
allayed all suspicion of your real sentiments, and
enabled you to secure the retreat of scores of per
secuted men from the State ; beside preserving my
house from the intrusion of military detectives."
" That much I have done, Maggie, and I go out
to-morrow, secure in the confidence of the Rebels, to
strike when and where the most effective blow may
faU." " Strike ybr those you stand arrayed against? that
wiU Indeed be hazardous."
"Yes, with all the power Liberty lends" to man
for her defence."
" But, found In the active volunteer service of
North Carolina, you will suffer."
' ' No matter what I may suffer, I have the spirit
to brave all fate may have in store for me. Say,
have you forgotten the wild life I led when a boy ? "
" I know your courage and intrepidity, but — "
"But what? Say on."
" You may be shot, and In some hospital languish
uncared for. See here," she added, rising and drawing
a serge garment from beneath the settee, " you say
duty calls you to the field; as Imperative a one
makes me join the corps of nurses, which leaves
here to-morrow for Manassas."
"Maggie!" 8*

90 EYE-WITNESS.
"Nay, Harry, I have besought you to stay at
home where your own Interest and others' require
your -presence, but you must go, you say ; so must I.
Do not look so grave, nor make an attempt to dis
suade me, — my determination cannot be changed."
"Have you counted the cost of such self-saorl-
fice?" Harry said, to break the painful pause which
followed Maggie's avowal.
"Yes, thrice over. The agony of suspense Is in
tolerable ; the labor of nursing the sick, comforting :
It is for you, and you alone, that I go into camp or
hospital — anywhere to serve you best."
" Your affection for me, Maggie, priceless as It is,
must not Induce you to neglect higher duties at home ;
next to you, in my heart's love, comes Richard Whed
den. To serve me best Is to watch over him, to
conceal him from the villains on his track."
" And leave you to the neglect of hirelings, if sick
or wounded ? "
' ' Neither, Maggie ; I shall come back to thank
you, under God's mercy, for my friend's life."
After a short, but painful struggle, the promise
"to stay" was given; and, to interrupt the expres
sions of gratified affection which followed, Maggie
said : " Enough erf ourselves, dear Harry. Now tell
me of your two special charges, Charles Coxe and
Mr. Whedden."
" Charles Coxe, thank Heaven, has made good
his escape. I saw the negro, who acted as guide to
Coxe and his men, to-day. Though hotly pursued,
he said they eluded the armed gang on their track,
and reached the swamp In safety."
"This Is indeed good news; and now of Mr.
Whedden. Is not the search for him given over yet ? "

EYE-WITNESS. 91
" No : and I fear never will be. He Is safe here
for the present only."
' ' Has his property been confiscated ? "
" Yes : I bought what he valued most, and left It
In the house."
" His horse, what became of that?"
" I take him with me to-morrow."
' ' Then all of Blout's Rifles can turn cavalry if
they choose?" said Maggie, archly.
' ' No Indeed. I do about as I please. The horses
which you saw on the morning of the hunt were
hired for the occasion ; If I mistake not, these men
\xill see the time when they'll wish for horses, or
winged feet. The North know our strength, and go
doubly armed to meet us ; the fighting will be no
boy's play, Maggie ; for on the issue of this coming
battle, I confidently believe, hangs a nation's life or
death. Now to business," he added ; " see how late
the night."
At this moment a servant entered, and handed her
mistress a note. She took it, and at Harry's request,
as It was from Helen Bierce, read it aloud : —
" The torture of the evening is over, the arrange
ments for the morrow complete, and I am weary and
sick at heart. O Maggie, shall I ever be reconciled
. to dear, dear WiUIe's death ? Had he fallen at his
post, my wicked, rebellious heart would check Its
grief;- but to be crushed, to be suffocated is awful I
I cannot stay here longer. I have sold my nag, my
jewels, my wardrobe — all I own — and leave In the
early train for Richmond. My hfe, so wretched, shall
be spent at the pallet of our sick soldiers. Come to
me, dear cousin ; I am so sad to-night — the last in
my father's house. Discarded from his love, the Idol

92 EYE-WITNESS.
of my heart buried, with no one to kiss me good-by,
I go wretched, unloved, alone ! I heard your cousin
say, as he passed me on the hall steps : " he left
with his regiment." These are his last hours with you ;
therefore do not hesitate to refuse my request, if In
my selfishness I ask too much. If you do not come,
write me one loving word. To be forgotten by all but
you is my earnest wish. Helen."
The silence which followed the reading of the note,
was broken by Harry's saying : ' ' For once In my
life I must acknowledge, I have misjudged a woman.
The petted, spoilt child of fortune passed out of sight,
when Helen Bierce, in defiance of her father's threat,
said " No," on that memorable morning. It cost her
the affection of a fearfully depraved parent, — but for
that one act of heroism she will feel fully repaid,
when awakened to a sincere conviction of her duty."
Then rising, he rang for the carriage, adding, "I
can spare you for a few hours, for Miss Helen needs
you. Just five minutes for bonnet and shawl, not a
moment over," Maggie heard, as the door closed after
her.

CHAPTER XII.
FAMILY HISTORY.
The world said, Mrs. TuU loved her riches with
the fervor of adoration. Born heir to thousands of
acres, and as many negroes to till them ; taught
from Infancy, that to lack money was to lack a pass
port into the pleasant places of God's earth ; taught al
so to look upon poverty as a crime, a scar, and Its sub
ject the despicable mark of the world's scorn and
reprobation, she consequently had no use for any,
save the well-to-do In the world, and would shun
the plea of the suffering poor, as she would the vi
per's sting. She had married to Increase her wealth ;
and, when death took from her side the one she had
vowed to love, — ay, love for his gold, — no grief or
bitter reflection pierced her unnatural heart.
The ' ' diamond widow " needed no long wooing ;
the richest of her suitors bore away the prize amid
the hearty congratulations of friends, — and Helen
Bierce had a new mother.
Within a year, Helen and her two brothers were
sent North to school. Annually their father visited
them ; his wife never.
Years passed. On a return trip from New York,
the proud father led his beautiful daughter to her
mother's side, thinking, witless man, the admiration '

94 EYE-WITNESS.
she everywhere elicited, would at least command re
spect from his heartless wife. But her charms so
completely eclipsed the mother's, that no other emo
tion but intense jealousy was aroused, and she took
no pains to conceal It.
Helen had no love for the selfish being, who had
made herself and her brothers aliens from home ;
and, but for her father's urgent entreaty, would have
never gone back to a roof, once hallowed by a fond
mother's love, now overshadowed by the sin of a cor
rupt woman.
Judicious training and education had much modi
fied Helen's imperious disposition ; but the air of the
North could not cool her^ blood ; and it was with
many secret misgivings Mrs. Winn ^— the truly
Christian lady to whose care she had been entrusted
— ¦ saw her young and gifted charge removed from
the quiet seclusion of her own home, and gentle but
firm restraint, to mingle with the world.
Helen's return to her father's house was soon fol
lowed by that of her brothers. Ralph, the elder,
was a cold, stern man. Had he been blessed with the,
gentle care and cherishing love of the mother who
bore him, instead of "being left to -the neglect of a
mercenary Northern teacher, he would doubtless have
been other than we have to portray him.
How Helenas heart ached, when, the first fond
greeting over, she saw the change years had wrought
In her bold but generous-hearted brother. She had
felt he was changed, for of late years his letters had
grown strangely cold and short. She should see him,
she thought, then all would be explained. But when
they met, her pleading eyes, her tremulous voice,
were passed by unnoticed ; no assuring smUe to ban-

EYE-WITNESS. 95
Ish forebodings, no loving word came, only the chill
ing look, which silenced every inquiry his haughty
reserve excited.
To Willie, Helen turned, and In that fond heart
found the ever-ready sympathy, the loving response
her kindly nature craved. Like his sister, William
Bierce had found kind friends in his Northern home,
and now he had returned to his native State, to glad
den at least one heart there, — his sister Helen's.
Very proud was the father of his boy, who had
left the North, rejoicing In the high honors his cadet-
ship at West Point had won ; but his mother passed
him by as she did his sister, "having no use for
such." ' ' What has the North done to provoke the South to
secede, do you ask, boy ? " said Mr. Bierce to his son,
who, to stop the storm of abuse, which was daily heaped
upon him for not volunteering, had ventured the ques
tion. "What has the North done?" he repeated;
" look to her progressive usurpations, so long, so un
complainingly borne by us. What are they? Why,
enormous tariffs, unconstitutional, oppressive, unjust,
which fill Northern vaults with golden Ingots, but
beggar the South ; the fishing bounty, which we pay,
and New England Yankees reap ; the navigation
laws, which carry all trade to Northern marts, coin-
peUing us to go up thither to be swindled and jewed
by the Insane cupidity of a community, which has no
higher aspiration than commercial gain ; and, more
than all thisj a people, who trample under foot the
law, which requires the return from the Free States
of fu'3'Itive slaves to their masters ; send into our
midst aboUtionists, ' demons reared in the blackest
smoke of hell,' to Incite our slaves to rise and mur-

96 - EYE-T/ITNESS.
der us, our wives, and little ones, with the promise
of our lands. If the butchery is thorough and clean !
This is what the North Is doing now, and has been
doing for years, and what we say shall no longer be
done ! We have lifted our voice, but of no avail, —
we now lift our hands, — let the North beware ! "
" And It Is such as you, Francis Bierce," cried the
young man, springing to his feet, as the door closed
after the elder Bierce, his face flushed with the right
eous anger, which fired his words, — "that have
swept the South through, kindling the incendiary
fires of rebellion by such mischievous misrepresenta
tions and falsehoods ! It is such as you, who, with
shotted weapons, dodged Abe Lincoln's steps from
his native State to the Capitol at Washington, while
your minions stood at their guns, waiting the electric
word to peal out, to thunder through the land, the
monster — dead! Ay, and it Is such as you, who,
with bloody hearts but cleanly hands, left Washington
the night of March the 4th — defeated ! but loud In
your boasts that, when next you entered there, evafy
building, then teeming with Northern vandals,
should be razed to the ground ! "
Foolish, foolish William Bierce ! stay thy tongue,
or such ebullitions of indignant feeling will cost thee
thy young life. Don the gray livery, as hundreds of
others have done to save themselves from abuse;
so the heart Is bold and strong in the right. It cannot
contaminate. Snap thine eyes wrathfuUy at the
braided sleeve, where with exquisite skill is wrought
C. S. A., which thou hast promised to wear; those
who know thee, know the wearing of it Is no conces
sion to the mandate of the arch-traitor Davis, but to
the persistent entreaty of a sister, whose Idol thou

EYE-WITNESS. 97
art ; so be reconciled to the traitor's garb, for with
such armor thou canst best serve thy cause, relieve
the suffering, and defeat many a well-laid scheme of
those thou dost fraternize with.
A month later sees our prediction verified.
Mr. Bierce had fitted out a privateer, and desired
his son to command her. This he resolutely refused
to do ; but, at the unceasing solicitation of his sister,
he finally gave his consent to go as mate.
The ' ' Pigeon " sailed mid the booming of cannon
and shouts from the shore. Long after the crowd
had dispersed, Helen Bierce walked the landing ; she
loved the sound of the waves, which had borne her
Willie from her ; softly lapping the wharf, where she
stood, they seemed to bear away with them to the
mighty deep, one a tear, another a sorrow, until the
weight which crushed her heart was gone. With a
last fond look turned upon the vanishing sails of the
privateer, these words escaped her : —
"Do your duty fearlessly, Willie; I have done
mine In urging you to this step, — and God bless us
both." The " Pigeon " had been but four days out, when
the Intrepid mate made the attempt to scuttle her.
" Better that all should perish," he said, " than lend
themselves to piratical sins."
The attempt proved abortive. One night an alarm
of fire rung through the ship ; but, by the unwearied
exertions of desperate men, she was saved. A day
later the pilot was missing, and the " Pigeon" struck
firm and fast on the bar ; but again the Evil One lent
a helping hand and set her afloat. So much Ill-luck did
attend the fated ship, the desponding crew were
about to set sail for home for repairs, when the cheer-
9

98 EYE-WITNESS.
ing cry of " Sail ho ! " from the look-out, roused the
crew's failing courage and fiendish Instincts.
With all sail set, the " Pigeon " bore down on the
unarmed craft and silenced all opposition to entering
a Southern port, by the show of formidable guns.
Another white-winged victim fell into the power of
that piratical crew, and the " Pigeon" set sail home
with her valuable prizes.
Since the disap.pearance of the pilot, so vigilant
was the watch set, that young Bierce- was compelled
to abandon further attempts to bring summary
vengeance upon the buccaneers.
We next meet this brave, loyal soul in secesh liv
ery, urging home a besotted companion ; and still
again in the crowded Court-house, mistake those who
were near, heard amid the fierce tumult of that morn
ing, his shout, — ' ' The Union and Abe Lincoln for
ever ! " as he went down amid the struggling, fight
ing mass, which sunk beneath the broken floor.
When his manly form was drawn from the ruins,
suffocation had done its work, — a black and stiffened
corpse he lay I

CHAPTER Xm.
MOTHER AND DAUGHTER  MISTRESS AND SLAVE.
Ui her boudoir, Mrs. Bierce, just returned from the
gay scene at Gaston HaU, reclines. The richness of
her attire, however, lends no charm to her haughty,
disturbed face.
Vine, a spruce-looking quadroon chamber-maid,
answers her violent summons.
' ' Please, Missis, Miss Helen Is busy, and can't
come." " Go back. Vine, you nigger ! a,nd tell her I say.
Come directly."
Mrs. Bierce, always Impatient of delay, was to
night more Irritable than usual ; and, as Vine still
delayed, she sprung, to the bell-rope, exclaiming :
' ' Hateful niggers, I wish the North had every one
of you ! and you. Vine, I heard you whisper to Jane
the other night, ' It wasn't for long you'd have such
a cross old missis.' I'll see If you will use my name
again In that way : these Yankee notions I shall take
upon myself to whip out of you." Then looking at
her watch, "you shall have your first lesson to
night, for Francis wIU not be at home for two hours
yet ; " and again she attacked the bell.
So fierce was the jerk, the heavy tasseUed cord flew

\
100 EYE-WITNESS.
from Its fastening, and struck with no gentle force
upon the head of the excited lady, driving a pin,
which held her massive braids, deep into her flesh.
The pain and the sight of blood, which trickled
down her white neck, roused all the passions of her
turbulent nature, and at the sound of approaching
footsteps, she sprung to the door, exclaiming, " You
shall smart for this. Vine ! "
After the duties of the day were over. Vine's cus-
tpm was to steal down to the servants' quarters and
relieve herself of the day's budget of news.
Once she had been hired out, and during that time
had secretly been taught to read. As she possessed
a remarkably retentive memory, she. was eagerly
sought after by the servants in the Square, who con
gregated at nights In some spacious kitchen or un
occupied hut, and in smothered tones talked of the
Yankees coming to set them free, and of the North
ern homes made ready for them. This night the
sable group is larger than usual ; and, as Vine still
lingers in the big house, and the thought Is forced
home that she may not come at all, their dark faces
grew frightfully ugly, as seen in the flickering light
of the pine knot on the hearth. From the look-out,
near the barred door, the girl Is discerned at length
tripping down the steps ; now lost in the shade of
the elms, to emerge Into the broad moonlight, which
silvers the brick walk her swift feet scarcely touch.
The door cautiously opens, and, with low exclamations
of delight, their oracle seats herself in their midst.
"There," she cries, " do hear Missis' bell ! here,
you. Zip, you go hold the clapper till I'se through,
and here's a sixpence for you." Then turning to the
group — " Missis did n't mind the news much to-day.

EYE-WITNESS. 101
she's SO full of her own self; but while I'se dressin'
her hair, I used my eyes handy. The Yankees is
comin', every one of them, to kill every man that's
got niggers ; the North Is fighting for the niggers
and nobody else ; they swear they can whip tlie
South all to nothin', and we shall be free and fine
as white folks. There ! I read them very words, and
every one is as solemn and true as these big bumps.
See here (stripping up her sleeve) , this is what I gets
for what Missis calls laziness. When I reads the
good news, I forgets my fingers, but not long ; It
takes Missis to scatter a pretty dream." A sympathet
ic groan from the dusky audience has the desired ef
fect, and Vine Is to-night more garrulous than ever ;
and, after telling all she knew, and a great deal
which was only conjecture, she finished, saying :
" And ]\Ess Helen won't stay here no longer. I saw
Ejzzie packing her trunk, and she told me she was
going away with young missis, and neither of them
was coming back no more. Poor Miss Helen !
Massa William's death has wellnigh killed her ; old
massa ought to be hanged for looking so cross at her
as he does, because she would n't swear to somethin'
about that abolition man. Hark ! if there Is n't his
call now for Jim, and I must cut for missis' room.
Golly ! what a tearing rUge she's In ! but who cares
for Missis when Massa's here."
With a merry laugh Vine left the group, and,
spinning the promised sixpence at the head of Zip,
who, perched upon a chair in the long hall, was with
bis might doing her bidding, she bounded up the
broad flight of stairs, which led to her mistress'
room, with the fleetness of a gazelle.
To return to Mrs. Bierce, whom we left In no en-

102 EYE-WITNESS.
viable state of mind, awaiting her maid's reappear
ance. She was near the door when it opened, and
her daughter entered. " So you Ve come at last ! "
she screamed, as she seized Helen, In her blind fury,
mistaking her for Vine, who was but a shade darker,
and quite as fresh looking ; "I'll skin you alive! I
will ! and we'll see if your master dares — "
" Unhand me, woman ! Are you mad, that you
take me for Vine ? "
Helen's voice calmed the enraged being before
her ; she quicldy dropped her arm, and staggered to
a chair. " I thought you were Vine, Helen," she said at
length. ' ' You know you do resemble a nigger ; oh
my poor head (by way of covering her face to escape
the withering look which was cast upon her) " why
don't you hand me something to ease it ? "
Helen did not move ; very wliite and calm she
stood, tapping the floor with her slippered foot.
Presently she said : —
"I came here at your bidding; what ir your
wish ? "
" I sent for you some half hour since, that I might
be the bearer of the good tidings, that your father
has signified his consent to overlook the past, and
take to his heart his Helen, so becomingly dressed in
the work of her own hands ; " — then scannino- her
closely — "all the colors of the rainbow, well stirred
up in cotton web. Is truly appropriate mournlno- for
your _ dear Willie ; but no matter, so long as the
scantin^s of material finely displays the contour of
so voluptuous a form ! " and a Ught, mocking lauo-h
followed the taunting words. But words and laugh
ter feU ahke unheeded upon the silent girl. Thor-

EYE-WITNESS. 103
oughly provoked by Helen's passive Indifference, her
merciless tormentor then hurled her bitter venom at
the only vulnerable spot so sinful a tongue could
reach, — her affection for her deceased brother.
" Hold, woman ! " she cried, tortured beyond all
endurance. " Speak not that sacred name here. I
have borne insults from you long and patiently for my
father's sake, but that is over now ; this Is the last
night we spend beneath the same roof. I go, and you
have the joy. If so depraved a heart can experience
such an emotion, of seeing the complete consumma
tion of all your projects ; 1 go" from my father's roof,
fully resolved never to enter his house again, while
you are its mistress."
Not caring to witness the triumphant smile, which
she knew her words would awaken, Helen turned
from the room. As she left the door. Vine entered
by another Into her mistress' presence, and, before
Helen could reach her own room, a sound, which
could not be mistaken, followed by a heavy fall,
made her turn quickly upon her steps, and re-enter
the boudoir.
At the same moment a carriage drove up to the
house, and a gentleman and lady flighted.
" Helen, dear Helen, look up ! Am I not wel
come? "
The sweet, soft voice of Maggie Blout aroused the
suffering girl ; she raised her colorless face, exclaim-
In o- : "Maggie, is It you? Thank God, I have
some one near to ease my breaking heart."
The approach of morn had awakened Night's
drowsy sentinels, and, with a will, they were cheerily
lifting the curtains of the eastern chamber, when

104 EYE-WITNESS.
Maggie and her cousin rode away from Mr. Bierce's
dwelling. During their drive home, Harry Blout heard from
Maggie the fearful scene which, a few hours before,
had been enacted in the house they had just left. -
" Was the girl much Injured? " he asked.
" Yes ; but Dr. HaU thinks, with proper care, she
may eventually recover ; she is to be removed to the
hospital to-day. Helen has been prevailed upon to
remain at home ; consequently, uncle Francis and his
wife leave immediately for the country ; and, as
Vine not Infrequently attends them on their journeys,
her absence will not be remarked. When they
return, some kind of a story will be gotten up, —
either that she was too saucy to keep and was sold,
or she sickened and died, and so the matter will drop.
O Harry, what greater evil could be visited upon man
than slavery? It is truly a foe to religion, a de-
spoiler of morality, and, as we have proof, almost
daily, makes the master, be he man, woman, or
child, a despot of the highest grade. God grant, if
this war must be, that It may ultimately and com
pletely do away with slavery."
A few hours later and Harry was gone ; but Mag
gie still lingered at the window, from which she had
leaned, to wave a last adieu as the cars swept by.
" I shall come back, Maggie," lingered upon the
lips of the one, whose dark eye moistened as he re
turned the loving salute ; and Maggie felt his last
words were prophetic.

CHAPTER XIV.
ESCAPE OF SIRS. WEASEL  FINDS A FRIEND.
On the following morning, Maggie was awakened
before light by her servant. ' ' Dare was a woman
down stairs," she said, " dat wants to see missis."
" Who can she be?" exclaimed the startled girl.
" She did n't give no name, missis ; but she 'pears
awful anxious Uke."
' ' Did she come alone ? "
" No, missis ; she has a boy wid her. See, bar's a
slip o' paper for you."
Maggie glanced at the few words, then said, hur
riedly, " Tell the good lady to come here directly, —
but stay ; who admitted these strangers ? "
' ' Me let 'em in ; no other soul don't know tbey's
har." " I am so glad, aunty, and do not speak of this to
anyone." ' ' Neber you fear, Missis ; old Liz is as black as
the grave and as hush, too ; she neber tells nobody's
secrets and she'd die all ober 'fore she'd tell yer's."
"I know It, aunty; and now that the time has
come for great caution, your wise eyes and open ears
must be my hedge. Go now and bring the lady and
boy here ; there Is work for us both, and we must be
about It."

106 EYE-WITNESS.
Nothing pleased the old servant so well, as to be
told she was of much account to her mistress ; and
the thought that she looked to her to fill master
Harry's place, sent the rheumatic old body spinning
down the broad stair-case as if youthful vigor and
not infirm old age turned the key of locomotion.
Lizzie, or aunt Lizzie, as Maggie loved to call her,
was ripe in years and good works ; she had been a
faithful nurse to Maggie's mother, and at her dying
bedside had received into her arms her infant
daughter. "Promise me, Lizzie," said the sinking
mother, "that you will be to my babe what you
have ever been to me, and I die happy ;" the mother
heard the promise given, and on the devoted servant
and her charge, her last, fond gaze rested.
A mother's love and servant's fidelity were repaid
by the strong affection Maggie ever manifested for
her black nurse ; and when, after her father's death,
— she told Lizzie she was to be free, with money
enough to live comfortably on, the remainder of her
days, the old nurse fell on her knees and begged her
young mistress to let her serve her always ; she was
rich enough, happy enough, she said. In dear missis's
house, where she had promised dead missis to live for
her babe and die for it, if the Lord willed.
Maggie, finding all remonstrance vain, finally told
her she should never leave her ; and that she might
take the money she had reserved for her, and buy
her husband if she could ; and so old Jake Avas free.
He hired himself out In the city, spending his Sundays
with his wife and filling his heart with the praises of
young Missis, which Lizzie's tongue never tired to
utter. " Should violent hands be laid on you or yours,

EYE-AVITNESS. 107
Maggie," said Harry, on leaving, " you need no more
doughty champion than Aunt Lizzie."
"And elake?" said Maggie, "is as honest as Lizzie,
for all I know ; he certainly possesses a fair share of
her sagacity, and the fact of your having purchased
his freedom, secures you a powerful ally in him ; and
be sure nothing in which you are concerned can
transpire in the city, without his being conversant
with and publishing it here."
But to return to Lizzie. Not long, and with the
lady and her child, she reentered her mistress' room.
Maggie's charming ease of manner, and the kind
sympathy her words and looks evinced, soon drew
from the stranger the cause of her flight, and the
imminent danger, which threatened her, should her
steps be traced. Calmly Mrs. Weasel spoke of the
atrocities practised upon herself and family, because
her husband refused to volunteer, as well as all
demands to equip troops. "When he was arrested,"
she said, ' ' because of his Union principles, and thrown
Into jail, I could not murmur, for I felt he was safer
in prison than out of it. With my children, I sought
shelter in an untenanted house of my husband's ; but
my persecutors found me there, and made my life
wretched with abuse ; I should utterly have failed in
courage, had it not been for a kind stranger, who
heard of my distress and visited me. Through him I
heard of my husbarid's well-being, and of the
successful flight of my brother. Dr. Brown, with
his family from the State. I speak of this noble
young man to you freely, for I know he is your
cousin." " Neither are you unknown to me," said Maggie ;
"I have heard Harry speak of you often ; and now.

108 EYE-WITNESS.
that he is no longer here to assist you, you must let
me be your friend and protector."
" He told me to come to you in my extremity," —
for the first time her voice trembled, — "I little
thought it would be so soon."
" Don't cry, mamma," said the boy, who, with his
head on his mother's knee, had been Intently listening
to what she had related ; "I will tell the lady aU the
rest, it makes you cry so."
Maggie drew the little feUow to her side, and,
smoothing his bright curls, said : '.'Yes, you shall
tell me what has happened ; then I shall know how
best to aid you."
With childish eagerness, but with his eyes fixed
upon his mother's bowed face, he said : "Mamma told
Cora, that's little sis, and me, that when Mr. Blout's
regiment went away, we should come to town to see
him off; Mr. Blout was good to us, good almost as
papa, and a great deal richer, I know."
" How do you know that?" Maggie asked.
" He gave mamma a heap of money, and when she
would n't take It, he gave it to sis and me ; It was a
whole hundred ; papa never gave us more than
dollars, sometimes only shillings. Well, sis and me
were up before mamma waked, and were in the city
by sunrise ; we promised, faithfully, we would keep
out of the streets and stay hid, just where I knew the
cars went through. I knew all about the cars, fori
went with papa to Raleigh once. We had been hid
a long time when we heard some music ; then we
knew the cars were coming. We were covered up
by some alder-bushes, but we saw Mr. Blout lean
from the car window and wave something white ;
Cora jumped up and threw the flowers we had picked.

EYE-WITNESS. 109
at him ; he saw us, laughed, and kissed his hand,
then the train was gone.
" Sis cried a little, but I told her papa said It
was n't brave to cry, and she hushed ; we picked honey
suckles, awhile, then we got tired and fell asleep.
Sis' crying woke me up, but I found I could not
move, my hands and feet were tied with vines. A
heap of boys were teasing Cora, pulling her hair,
pinching her and tearing her frock; they were
dreadful mean boys. I went to school where they did
once, and they caUed me such bad names, and beat me
so, papa took me away, and said I should go to
school no more, until these bad times were over.
Papa says, I am a strong boy for one of my age ; I
know I was pretty strong that time, for I snapped the
vines almost as large as my thurnb, and got at my
knife, and cut them from my feet. I had my pistol
In my pocket, — papa gave it to me, and taught me
how to shoot too, — and I ran up to Jack White, and
told him I'd shoot him if he kicked sis again. He
said ' ' he'd kicked her three times, and should kick the
Yankee brat 'tUl she was dead." Just as he raised his
foot I put up my pistol and shut my eyes ; ' after the
noise, I looked,, and Jack lay on the ground very still."
"Oh, my son," groaned . the weeping mother,
"God would have punished him."
" He did, mamma ; when I shut my eyes, I asked
him to aim for me, and the shot went right into
Jack ; the boys all run away then, and I went up to
Jack ; I was glad he did n't move, for I had no more
shot for him if he should hurt Cora again. She was
bleeding awful, and, when I attempted to move her,
she shivered all over. I saw a man coming up the
road in a buggy; I stopped him, and asked him to
10

llO EYE-WITNESS.
take Sis home, she was so sick. He got down and
went into the woods a little way ; Cora had stopped
groaning then, and never did anything, when he put
his hand on her, and afterward bound up her head
with his handkerchief. When he saw Jack White,
he^stepped up to where he lay ; he said, he thought
the boy was dead, and asked me ' who shot him ? ' I
told him, ' he kicked Cora until she fell down, and said
he would kill her ; then I shot him.' ' Served him
right, the scamp,' he said, and called me a brave boy ;
then he asked me whose children we were, and,
when I told him, he turned quickly to his horse
saying, ' Go home, and tell your mother all ; Cora is
badly hurt, but I will take good care of her, and
drive round after night, and tell her how she Is.' I
ran with all my might, but had n't got through telling
mamma, when we saw some men coming down the
road horseback ; mamma said, they were coming to
the house. We fastened the doors and windows, and
she took papa's revolver, and I my pistol, and we
waited for them ; they soon came up. I saw Jack
White's father ; he jumped down first, and came to
the door ; they all tried the door, and swore awful,
because mamma would not open for them. She
told them, they must tell her what they came for.
They talked about me, and said they had come to get
us both. Mamma said, she should fire upon the first
one who broke into the house. But they did n't seem
one bit afraid ; I reckon they did n't know what a
revolver she had. One man broke through the
door, just where we were. He had got all In but
one leg, when mamma fired, but it didn't hit him.
I heard some one groan, though, outside of the
door, where the ball went through. The big man

EYE-WITNESS. Ill
was In then, and came right up to the table, on which
mamma told me to stand. • He had one hand on her
shoulder, and the other, which hfeld his revolver, was
raised. I struck at it with my pistol, and the
revolver fell to the floor. As the man reached down
for it, mamma put out her foot ; It went off, and the
man rolled over on to the floor. Then we kept
very still, to see what the men on the outside would
do next. As we could hear nothing, we crept to the
door, and I heard them call mamma a devil, and say
the housfe was full of thern, and they must set a
guard about It, and send off to the city for more men.
They shouted for Bill White, but he did n't answer,
then one of them rode away. Two only were left,
one was on the verandah and the other in the garden
behind the house. Mamma whispered to me to load
my pistol ; that she was going to get out of the
house and hide in the woods until night ; but first, she
said, she must frighten the guard away. She went
up to the man on the floor and took the revolver out
of hia-^hand, and another bigger than that out of his
belt. She fired right smart, and the man in the
garden ran as she said he would, and we escaped
from the house; crawled through the ditch in the
garden and reached the woods unseen. While we
were hid, I fell asleep ; and when I opened my eyes
it was night. Mamma said we must run for our
lives, and we did. We would get tired and sit down,
then run again. Just as it began to grow light we
came out where the man had found Cora ; and. In a
little while, we came to your big house. Mr. Blout
told us, if we came here, not to go Into the city, any ;
and we came just as he said."

112 EYE-WITNESS.
"And this Is all?" said Maggie with a deep sigh,
pressing the little fellow to' her side.
A large tear on the boy's hand, made him look up,
and the sympathy he read in those eyes, turned so
lovingly upon him, made him bold to say, " Please
ma'am, may the black woman give me something to
eat? I had no dinner, nor no supper, all yesterday."
Lizzie entered, at this moment, with the morn
ing's meal, which she spread temptingly before the
wanderers. Only after the most urgent entreaty,
was Mrs. Weasel prevailed upon to break her long
fast ; while Percy, overcame with excitement and
fatigue, fell asleep with his food untasted ; one hand
holding the sweet cake his hungry stomach craved,
but which the weary mouth refused to admit.
There Maggie and her guest sat long after the sun
was up, the one comforting, the other growing strong
with the bold confidence her hostess expressed, rela
tive to her own and her children's safety In her
house. The mother's heart throbbed once more with hope,
when she learned there were many In the city, as
true to the Union as her husband and herself. " The
Influence of wealth and position now," said Maggie,
" Secures them from sufferings, such as you have
experienced, but let success crown another raid of
the Rebels and all, who refuse to take up arms in
defence of Southern rights, will be condemned as
traitors, and treated as such. But, dear Mrs. Wea
sel, have no solicitude for your safety, so long as I
have a house and the power to protect you ; if the
time should come, which sees me deprived of them
here, we will seek protection and a home elsewhere ;

EYE-WITNESS. 113
and, rest assured, your little girl has fallen into kind
hands ; I have trusty servants, whom shortly I will
despatch for information of her."
Looking from the window as she spoke, she added
joyfully, "here comes our old family physician! a
better friend and counseller you could not have ; I
must speak to him In your behalf, directly." And
she left the room. 10*

CHAPTER XV.
DR. HALL AND HIS PATIENT.
Dr. Hall was a man whom every one knew and
honored, but no one feared. Secesh, respected him
for his wealth and unbounded Influence, and he
duped them : Union men, denounced, penniless wan
derers, sought him and were fed from his table, sup
plied with his gold, and by his keen sagacity helped
out of the State ; while forsaken wives and fatherless
children blessed the good Samaritan, who, all un
known, kept the heart warm with shining messengers,
which fed, housed, and clothed them.
On Issuing from the sick-room he met Maggie.'
'.'Ive seen your patient," he said, "and find
you 've minded me to the letter ; he's twenty per
cent better than his case promised yesterday ; " then
bending down to her ear he whispered, " Its well
he's mending ; I 'm mistaken, or another dawn finds
him out of these snug quarters ; I tell you they are
again on his track, flercer than ever ! one of the
d  rascals told me, this morning, the Yankee
Whedden wasn't in town, and this day's work was
to scour the suburbs ! that's what brought me here ;
say, now, are you ready for them ? "

EYE-WITNESS. 115
"Does Mr. Whedden know of his situation?"
asked Maggie, with quickened breath.
"Yes, I found him strong enough for the whole
dose ; he swallowed It like a martyr ; come I come !
no more time talking ; get up your fixings for a
tramp." " I must speak with you, doctor," persisted Mag
gie- " Can't hear, can't hear, time Is too precious to
listen to a woman's rattle," and putting his hands to
his ears. Dr. Hall began to ascend the stairs leading
to the attic.
"But you mitst hear, doctor," and the resolute
girl laid a firm, detaining hand upon his shoulder.
Dr. HaU turned, and reading the determination
In her face, gave a low whistle ; then patting her
flushed cheek, said: " Blaze away ! Maggie, I pity
your sweetheart when you get up such a look as
this." " Have you heard of a Mr. White's being shot?"
Maggie asked, in a sharp, quick voice.
' ' Bless your heart, girl ! don't let that trouble
you ; that's an old story : It happened at least twelve
hours ago, and not worth a fig compared to the.
work which we have on hand."
" Will you tell me the particulars?"
"Hang me, if I don't think you are demented !
Ain't my hands full and my neck bare for a swing. If
any of my irons should burn? "
But Maggie was decided ; so, after grumbling a
moment about woman's stick-to-a-tiveness, he re
sumed —
"Jack White — not a worse boy in town — was
shot yesterday In the woods beyond here,' by a boy.

116 EYE-WITNESS.
for beating his sister. Bill White, the boy's father,
and a posse of men went to this boy's house — mind
you, his father, Mr. Weasel, was shot last week at
Salisbury, for trying to break jail ; — he was a brave
man! I knew him, — oh! I'm sorry, sorry for his
family ! Well, as I was saying, they beset the house,
but the woman was readyfor them. She was shrewd
enough to get assistance before she was attacked. I
saw one of the party after the affair ; he said the
shot fell thick as hail ; one thing Is certain, the men
were driven off; and while waiting for reinforce
ments from the city to renew the attack, they lost
their game ; for the posse in the house made good
their escape. When the house was broken open.
White was found mortally wounded, and one of his
accomplices not much better off In a room adjoining
the one where White lay. They fired the house, and
then set up such a hue and cry for this same woman
and her allies, that if the Almighty has n't taken them
under His mantle, they'll be caught, sure, and — "
"What? doctor."
" Murdered, of course ; I declare for it," he said^
musingly, "she was a brave one; I' could fight for
such a woman with a will."
" What would you do If she sought your pro
tection ?"
" Do ! Ly St. Paul, I wish she had ! What would
I do? why arm her to the teeth, and bid her kill the
monsters, who have slain her husband and burned
her house to the ground ! There, there, Miss curi
osity, I've told my story, and see what a heat you've
got me Into ; can't afford to let my energy work off
in this way, when I've such a job on my hands, as
this Whedden ; but let me get him In a place of

EYE-WITNESS. 117
safety, and If that Mrs. Weasel escapes the dogs
to-day, I'll find and help her out of the State, — let
me alone for that ! "
" But this same woman demands your aid now,
doctor; to-morrow It will be too late."
' ' Who ? what ? this same woman ! where is she !
not In this house?" exclaimed the excited man,
grasping Maggie by the arm.
"Yes, she Is in this house; she wandered all
night In the woods with her boy, and reached here
before sunrise."
Dr. HaU dropped the arm, which he had grasped,
and with his thumbs in the arm-sizes of his waistcoat,
gave expression to Ihs dumb-foundedness in ' ' shucks"
vociferously uttered. Recovering from his surprise,
and rubbing his hands, he cried —
" Glad of It ! glad of It ! I'll father that woman
and her young ones ; just the right kind of material
to spill one's blood for ! — a life for a life. I'm In
for that now ! "
" Shall we come to that to-day? doctor."
' ' Chicken-hearted already ! " he said, drawing
Maggie down to his side, " Mrs. Weasel must put
some of her fire Into you."
" She has been under fire, remember that, doctor ;
give me a fair trial before you attach cowardice to
me." " So I will, so I will ; but we shan't fight to-day,
though we are coming to It, fast."
On the stairs the two sat, and In low earnest
tones, laid their plans to outwit the murderers on the
track of the afflicted ones, who demanded their
counsel and protecti,on, and whose safety as nearly
concerned them as their own. What those plans

118 EYE-WITNESS.
were, they were successfully carried out, we must
believe, or Maggie could not have entered her parlor,
filled with armed men, as calmly as she did, a few
hours after her consultation with Dr. Hall. The
leader of the band of detectives, who thus assailed
her house, was Ralph Bierce. His cold, searching
gaze was returned with haughty surprise by Maggie,
who, declining the proffered chair, said —
" Cousin Ralph, is It thus you enter my house,
after so many long years of absence ? "
"Duty, Margaret, Is peremptory, not discretionary ;
in times like these, when traitors lurk in every house,
the courtesies of life must be waived, the utmost
rigor Instituted to bring offenders" under the law."
" And do you, and your armed friends, look to a
defenceless woman's house as a rendezvous for such ? "
asked Maggie.
' ' It was reported, that Richard Whedden was
among the number crushed to death the morning of
the trial ; but information has been received, that he
still lives ; to seek him, we are here, as it is quite
natural to suppose that he has friends in neighbors
so contiguous to his former residence."
' ' You have the right to draw such conclusions as
you please," Maggie replied, coldly, " but those who
knew aught of Mr. Whedden, knew that he led the
life of a recluse."
"You have more knowledge of him, I see, than
we," Ralph said, looking fixedly at her, " and we
now propose to pursue our sfearch here."
"Ralph, if my father were living, I should not be
subjected to such an Insult ; his good name should
spare his daughter the indignity of being treated as
an abettor of sin in any guise."

EYE-WITNESS. 119
"It Is not to offer personal affront, but to satisfy
the people, that we search here."
"I understand, perfectly, the popular voice
sanctions the outrage of even our most sacred rights.
Unprotected women, like myself, have no power to
resist an armed force ; but I do insist, that what you
do here you do-quickly ; my servant will take the keys
and open the house for your Inspection, with the
exception of my own chamber, — that, no strange
foot shall enter."
The dignified, determined manner of the lady of
the house checked any expression of opposition, which
her words might have aroused ; as she left the room,
Ralph Bierce turned to his men saying —
" Miss Blout is above suspicion ; to save a scene,
we will allow her the undisturbed seclusion of her own
room." And the search began ; up stairs, down stairs ; from
the crannies in the attic to the coal-hole in the
basement was heard the tread of heavy feet.
Stables, barns, orchard, grove and garden, were
swept clean by busy, sin-blinded eyes, but nothing
came of it ; and the watchers In the room fronting the
street saw the heated, foiled band move off towards
the city.
" Why does n't Ralph go ? " said Maggie, in a low
voice to an elderly lady, who knelt by her side at the
window; " he certainly can expect no civilities from
me." At a low tap at the door, Maggie rose and drew
the bolt. Lizzie entered ; this is the substance of
her story : —
" The man with black whiskers had followed her
from the roof to the dog-kennel, from the parlor to

120 EYE-WITNESS.
the servants' quarters, opening closets, stripping beds,
and overturning couches until ' nothin ' 'taint as
't was ; but," said Lizzie, shaking with suppressed
laughter, " Massa Harry '11 match 'em for't, when he
comes back."
" Go on, what then?" said Maggie, impatiently.
" Dey jest questioned me and Jake all to pieces, but
we did n't know nothin'."
" Jake, here? to-day," asked Maggie.
" Yes, missis, he-followed de men har."
" Well, what did you do after the men left,
Lizzie ? "
" I stole out to whar de sick man lay, and found
him as comfortable like, as if he had n't no enemy in
de world ; and de little boy neber looked handsomer,
¦ den I saw him dar, playing wid two owlets, he'd
found In de nest ober his head."
" Thank heaven ! they are safe as yet," said
Maggie. Her companion made no remark, but behind her
glasses great tears gathered, but were not allowed to
fall. Brave, suffering mother, only trust, and the
sorrows and pangs of earth's night shall be ex
changed for the eternal day, and the crown, which
even now ang«l hands are twining for the faithful,
that endure unto ihe end.

CHAPTER XVI.
A STORM AND ITS EFFECTS.
The hall-beU sounded ; Lizzie answered the
summons, and returned saying, " Massa Bierce
wanted missis."
' ' Insufferable ! monstrous I Is he not satisfied
with searching my house ! go back, Lizzie, and tell
Ralph Bierce, your mistress will receive, through her
servant, any message he has to deliver ; but stay, I
know Ralph's nature so well, my refusing to see him
will only delay his departure. I will go this once,"
she said rising, " and mind, Lizzie, open this door
to no one but your mistress. Ann will attend me."
On descending, she met Ralph In the hall ; he was
coldly polite, as before ; but It required a masterly
control of her feelings to retain the haughty in
difference she assumed, while listening to his account
of the fruitless search, when she heard him declare,
with perfect nonchalance, his determination to take
up his abode In her spacious house. " The situa
tion," he said, " was the most desirable the country
round for himself and men ; it afforded greater facil
ities for perfecting their plans, than any other, which
could be found."
Maggie knew that his gaze was upon her ; that he
was trying to read her very soul, and, with almost su
perhuman effort, she checked every expression, In word
IL

122 EYE-WITJifESS.
or look, which might betray her trepidation and
intense indignation. " Her house to be made a den
of robbers!" she thought, — "her presence to be
polluted by the leader of a gang of men tainted with
treason, whose souls crime had darkened until they
were blacker than" the smoke of the homes their
hands had fired ! I cannot suffer this outrage," and
she remembered the promise she had made Harry.
" Vengeance is mine," — " I will be a father to the
fatherless," came to her throbbing heart ; her hand
dropped to her side, and she grew calm and firm ;
raising her eyes to Ralph's face, she said —
' ' This house is dear to me ; it Is sanctified by my
parents' lives ; dying they bequeathed it to me ; before
it shall become the rendezvous of lawless men, I will
lay It in ashes, and go with my servants into the
woods ; and upon you, Ralph Bierce, shall rest the
vengeance of a God, whose protecting care is the
orphan's." " Cousin Margaret, you mistake my meaning; It
is my intention to be here certain hours of the day,
and the nights, of course ; there are buildings near,
for my men : and I can promise you, no depredations
shall be perpetrated by them ; oh the contrary, they
will be very efficient aid in protecting your property
from th_e predatory excursions of runaways, who
infest the woods below." Then, speaking more
deliberately, — "I should certainly regret seeing
this fine house in ruins, but should not hesitate to
raze it to the ground myself, should It prove an
asylum for traitors, such as Richard Whedden or the
murderer of Bill White."
" And do you, who have shot down unarmed men
in the street, and followed up your persecutions with

EYE-WITNESS. 123
fire and insults the cruelest, come with unwashen
hands to my door and cry aloud for more victims ! If
my house were an asylum for such, think you
I would give them up ? Never ! I would fight for
them, with them, until these rooms flowed with our
blood." " See to It, Mavgaret, that you hold your house
free from proscribed heads ; and keep such sentiments
to yourself, or your life will answer for it," Ralph
said ; and he turned upon his heel and left the house.
" Oh ! If Harry were only here ! " sighed Maggie,
as she ascended the stairs. ' ' Ralph looked strangely
at me ; can it be that his penetrating eyes read my
Inmost thoughts ! how strange he should have men-
tloned this White affair, — he will come back ! — oh !
what will becoine of us ? " and she rested her
aching head upon the balustrade, as if her resolute
spirit fainted within her. Suddenly she thought, ' ' I
have Dr. HaU to consult, why need I fear ? " and with
a bounding step she gained her chamber door. On
being admitted, with forced gayety she exclaimed —
"AU right as yet, dear Mrs. Fay, (the name, cap,
spectacles, and dress assumed, making the hunted
mother a nice-looking -elderly lady,) — come now
and help me to uncage my bird."
The two approaching the dressing-room, tapped
gently, and, at gruff tones of welcome, entered, to
find Dr. HaU well armed, and complacently whiling
away the tedium of solitary confinement with his
meerschaum. While IMaggie related the events of the past two
hours, he nodded most approvingly ; but when she
repeated the conversation held with Ralph, he burst
In : " Who in the  plays us false ? there's a spy

124 EYE-WITNESS.
among us ! call up the niggers ! let me catch the
culprit, and I 'U skin him alive I
" Pomp, Lizzie, and Ann are all I have here now,
and they are as true as steel," Maggie said.
" There 's mischief in one of them, call them up ! '
I say, call them up ! But what 's this ? " raising the
curtain, " rain, by my soul ! Look here, a storm
is on us ! — to the swamp ! all hands of you ! he 's a
dead man if he gets a soaking."
Too late ! the storm was already upon them, for
when they reached the hall door the rain fell In tor
rents. ' ' Stay here ! " cried the doctor to the hesitating
group; " when I want you, I will signal from the
tree ; the storm is a mad one, but it will soon spend
Itself." Then wrapping his rubber cape about him,
he sprung with flying leaps towards the garden.
They saw him reach the grove beyond, then the
blinding rain shut him from view.
The blankets were folded and laid ready for use ;
the servants bidden to keep strict watch for signals
from the swamp, and then Maggie, placing the arm
of her friend within her own, drew her gently Into
the hall, saying —
' ' Let us be patient ; such a storm cannot last
long ; brave little Percy can weather It, I know."
" Not of my child, but of the sick man I am
thinking," was the rejoinder; "it would be dreadful
to have him prostrated by fever again ; and he is so
exposed." " Only until Dr. Hall reaches there," said Maggie,
cheerfully, ' ' his rubber cape can quite cover the
nest, and keep them all as dry as bob-o-llnk's nest
lings under his feathery coat. We will sit here, and

EYE-WITNESS. 125
while we are watching the storm, I will tell you what
a nice nest that Is, and what two old birds own it.
Beyond the grove Is the swamp, which separates Mr.
Whedden's grounds from these . Once Cousin Harry,
while hunting, quite lost himself in that almost im
penetrable growth of reeds and underbrush, and
only after severe labor, succeeded In reaching a cleared
place. There an immense sweet gum-tree towered,
and by its side was a pine. Some twenty feet from
the ground these trees locked trunks, and mingled
their boughs, forming a hollow capable of holding
two persons comfortably. Harry has had a path
cleared through the swamp so circuitously, I would
defy any one, without a pilot, to find It. In our
nest, (Harry and I claim it,) that Is in the bosom of
the sweet gum and pine. Pomp laid Mr. Whedden ;
and there, too. Is Percy, who. Pomp said, laughed
at our vine ladder and climbed the pine like a cat.
But see," she added, rising, " the clouds are lifting;
we shall soon see signs from the exiles ; " and the two
stepped out on the veranda.
True, the rain was falling slowly, and bright
patches of blue were seen overhead ; but the black
clouds piling In the south, which they did not see,
foretokened a storm fiercer than the one just passing
away. There were no signals ; and by night a tempest
raged. Objects, within the house and without, were
whitened by the blinding light; while thunder-claps,
the raging wind, and sounding rain held each heart
hushed and awed.
" Every room, which faces the swamp, is brilliantly
lighted ; they shall see that we are thinking of them,"
whispered Maggie, as she turned from the door and
II*

126 EYE-WITNESS.
bent over the chair In which Mrs. Fay sat, with her
head bowed upon her hands.
A flash, followed by a startling clap, told those
fear-smitten hearts that something near the house had
been struck.
" On the lawn ! missis," cried Lizzie, and Maggie
followed her servant to the hall door.
Up shot the fierce flames about a grand old oak
not fifty yards from the house.
"That shot was a fair one," growled the storm-
king to his swarming hosts, whose panting breath
tossed golden streamers and banners of dazzling
light aloft; "one more charge and the revel Is
done." Another thunderbolt smote near, and a light
beyond the grove drew the household to the east
veranda. Red, bright, and fierce rose the rioting flames,
seeming to lick the thunderous concave overhead.
' ' The sweet gum ! " groaned Maggie, and she
turned in speechless agony to the mother.

CHAPTER XVII.
THE PATIENT AND BOY SAVED.
" Not so near ! not so near I missis, call your
boy ! " " Percy ! dear Percy ! where are yoii?" but
no answer came ; the flames crackled and roared, and
the cry was lost.
" Dey are In de canes, no signs of dem har."
Yes, for the mother's eye has caught something ;
she darts amid a shower of blazing sticks, and
springs back unharmed. A small singed cap she
presses to her lips, while tears pour down her cheeks.
"See, a paper!" siie cries, and she unpins the
scorched scrap from within the cap.
" We are safe; come to the  ," she reads,
then a fierce gust whirls the paper from her trem
bling hand ; it is drawn towards the flames ; again
the fearless woman springs upon the burning fagots,
but reaches her arms in vain. "It Is gone ! " she
cries, as aU ablaze It was whirled aloft, and fell,
senseless. An hour before midnight two men appear ap
proaching the house, bearing a third; Lizzie and
Ann follow, carrying a happy smiling mother, who
holds her boy by the hand. Though her limbs are
badly blistered, she heeds them not ; for her heart is
overflowing with joy, that the lost are found. She

128 EYE-WITNESS.
smiles bravely as the doctor dresses the fiei>ce burns,
and, when on leaving, he takes her hand and calls
her a brave woman, a tear is on his cheek. " A
cold In head," he mutters, and dashes his hand across
his face.
Ah ! no. Not a cold in the head, kind soul, for
that was pity's tear, which so noble a heart as yours.
Dr. Felix Hall, need not be ashamed to own.
" Now, Maggie," he said, when the two stood on
the steps out in the night, " I shall call in during the
day to pay my respects to your cousin Ralph. I
have sounded Pomp and the women, they are all
right ; but there is a wolf somewhere ; mind you
keep your eyes open, and we 'U track him before
another day is gone.'^
" Ralph, doctor," sighed Maggie, " do you think
he will be here to-morrow ? "
" To-morrow, child, that he wUl, and by sunrise
too. I know the man well ; we have to thank the
storm for preventing his return to-night.
" You think there Is no danger of his attempting
to force my room ? "
" None now, whatever. I would not trust him
this morning, but he has shown himself less keen
than I thought him ; we are more than a match for
the scoufldrel. By the way, Frank McGowan has
reached home ; he writes me he shall be In our city
to-day." ' ' So soon ? Harry thought It probable he would
not be allowed to return."
" It was a hazardous thing any way, this journey
of his ; he went North for his sister, did n't he ? "
"Yes. Annie McGowan has been at school In
New York for several years ; I shaU Insist upon

EYE-WITNESS. 129
Frank's making his home here, while he is in the
city; his presence will. In some measure, reconcile
me to Ralph's Infamous Intrusion."
' ' A capital suggestion ! " cried the doctor, glee
fully, " I'll meet Frank at the station and send him
here ; next to Harry Blout, Maggie, you could not
have a wiser or a cooler head to consult with ; he 's
a man after my own heart, firm and true as steel."
Dr. Hall was right. Before breakfast was served,
a clattering of hoofs was heard on the drive, and, as
Maggie turned to the window, she saw Ralph and
two of his men in the act of dismounting, and sigh
ing deeply, she left the room.
Some hours later she sent for Ralph to meet her In
the parlor ; and on his appearance, after a few
commonplace remarks, with a forced smile she asked,
"if he had any choice of rooms ? " The smile
vanished, however, when he replied —
"The one front, which you objected to my enter
ing yesterday, would suit my purpose best."
' ' That room Is mine ; it will remain so," Maggie
replied. ' ' Very well. I will occupy the one opposite ;
the view is, perhaps, equally as good."
" That one I have reserved for Mr. McGowan, a
gentleman I expect here to-day."
" Excuse me, I understood you to ask if I had a
choice ; it Is restricted to what you have not already
appropriated, I see. However, a room is of small
moment ; you spoke of Mr. McGowan ; Is it Frank
McGowan of Whiteville ? "_
" The same," Maggie said, more eagerly than she
was conscious of.
" Is he a relative?"

130 EYE-WITNESS.
" A distant one ; although I call him cousin."
" A valued friend? perhaps."
" Yes. Do you know him? "
" I know somewhat of him, and can safely say he
will not be here to-day."
"Why?"
"I read in this morning's paper, that a man,
answering to such a name, was arrested last evening,
while on his way to this city, for expressing senti
ments decidedly obnoxious to his travelling com
panions. The paper did not state what, but It seems
enough was said to have him passed up the road to
Salisbury." At this moment Maggie was called from the room.
With her usual grace she crossed the long parlor ;
but the hall gained, and that stabbing voice lost to
her tortured senses, she could restrain her feelings no
longer. " Anything, Lizzie," she whispered, " only leave
me undisturbed for an hour."
Lizzie looked into her mistress' face and forbore to
make her request. She saw her enter the library ;
then clinching her huge hand she shook it before the
open parlor door, muttering —
" Yer'U kill 'er ! yer old sarpent. If Massa Harry
stays up yonder many more days ! but I've swared
to save her, and old black Liz. will do it ! "

CHAPTER XVIH.
INTEODUCING NEW CHARACTERS.
Into one of the few handsome residences which
grace the antiquated town of Whiteville, let me
transport you, reader. The house and Its surround
ings bespeak wealth, and the cultivated taste of the
owner. Our attention, however. Is drawn to the
two persons who sit busily sewing upon the veranda.
The elder Is a noble-looking lady of some forty
years ; her face is expressive of goodness and beauty ;
her eyes are fuU and earnest, and her smile, irresist
ibly winning. Those who knew Mrs. McGowan
most Intimately, wondered how one bred in an
atmosphere of pride and ultra refinement, could, so
unreservedly, associate with the less favored ones,
among whom, in later years, her lot was cast. It
was the Christian loveliness of her character, which
endeared her alike to all, even the most prejudiced of
her neighbors, who, on her advent among them,
declared — "They had no use for aristocratic Vir
ginians ; too fine ladles for their town ; for aU they
could see they were as good as she, if not quite as
ladylsh," &c., &c.
The young girl at her side Is her daughter ; she
has the same full eye and wavy brown hair; her

132 eye-witn':ess.
features are regular, with a liveliness of expression,
which portrays every change of feeling.
" Do see ! mamma," she exclaimed petulantly,
"how this thread will knot; if I were sewing for
the Yankees, my needle would go as smoothly as
Aunt Lucy's shuttle."
"You would be less troubled, my daughter, if
you would take more interest in your work, and not
keep your eyes on the road so intently."
' ' Nothing ever came of an attempt to accomplish
a thing the heart does not sanction ; so good by
homespun ; some one else will have to sew for Jeff.
Davis's soldiers, I can't longer."
Annie tossed her work into her maid's lap, and,
springing to her feet, clapped her hands for her
pony, capering near. His attention caught, she
pointed at the post, where the saddle hung, then at
the coachman. Away trotted the docile creature,
and taking the saddle between his teeth bore it to the
stable and laid it. carefully down at the groom's feet.
" Quick ! John," shouted the little lady, " and do
you saddle the mare and accompany me." Then
dropping her voice, she thus soliloquized : —
" Once in the woods and I can sing ' Red, White,
and Blue,' and ' John Brown,' to my heart's content.
Mamma has never heard the latter ; I believe I will
surprise her with one stanza."
Annie's voice was of singular sweetness and rare
compass ; and the verse was sung with such effect,
as to draw many an ebon face from tasks assigned.
With "Glory, Glory, HaUelujah" still on her lip,
she turned to note the effect of tabooed patriotism
upon her mother, when, to her great discomfiture,
she discerned one of their neighbors approaching.

eye-witness. 133
Thinking to escape observation she bent low behind
some flowering shrubs near, whispering to herself:
' ' If there is n't old lady Prue ! I do wonder what
she comes here for ; it was only last week she said
the McGowans were all Yankees and ought to be
put In jaU ; — despicable secesh ! I wish such as
you would stay away from those you affect to
despise ! "
"Annie," said her mother; but the young girl
was too Intent with her own plans, for the most
consistent treatment to be tendered an avowed
enemy, to heed ; at the second bidding, however,
she arose and walked deliberately up to the caller in
the deep fly-bonnet.
" How do you do? Mrs. Prue," she said, extend
ing her hand.
' ' How d' y, Miss Ann ? I 'm tolerable, are you
weU?" ' ' Quite so ; and your family ? "
" Are all up, I believe."
The usual salutatory remarks over, Annie seated
herself where she could escape her mother's eye and
any gestures she might make by way of caution.
Mrs. Prue, at her hostess' request, laid aside the
fly-bonnet, and drew her hoopless skirts about her ;
then, as her custom was, took from her pocket a
small tin box and brush.
"Have a dip, Mrs. McGowan? May be you
have a brush of your own."
" Thank you, Mrs. Prue, but I never dip." *
* This custom of dipping is almost universal at the South, —
high and low, rich and poor, mistress and slave, practise it. The
slave makes the brush for her mistress by cliewing a little twig
of a certain kind of wood, until the end is like a fine soft brush.
12

134 EYE-WITNESS.
" But, Miss Ann, you wiU 1 " and the gill of mac-
aboy was extended to the right.
"I haven't any brush," said Annie, with well-
feigned regret.
' ' I suppose you would n't use mine ? "
" My daughter never dips," Mrs. McGowan
quietly remarked.
" Well ! weU ! neither of you dip ? It 's a mighty
fortunate thing these days. . Snuff is growing so
high ; it 's a dollar a pound now, and hard to get at
that. What we are aU coming to, if the Yankees dont
stop this fuss soon, I can't for the life of me teU."
" The destruction which threatens, is appaUing,
certainly." " Yes, Mrs. McGowan, bread and meat may be
scarce ; money, however, will purchase food, and you
and I have nothing to fear on that score ; but laws-a-
me ! siiuff, it can't be had in the Southern Confederacy
two months longer ! It is bread and meat to me,
and it 's something I can't do without."
' ' Have you sent to our larger cities for it ? "
"Yes, everywhere in the State, but it can't be
had," said Mrs. Prue, most despondingly.
' ' Why not grind up tobacco and put salt with it ?
our niggers do so ; " said Annie.
" Why, chUd, it would be strong enough to sta,rt
every tooth in my head ! I have fifteen pounds laid
by, but that much wUl not last three weeks, — three
weeks ! no ! for Clara and Sallie are inveterate
dippers, like myself; and then the niggers steal at
least a quarter of a pound a week."
" Jane, bring a spittoon," her mistress said.
It is then given to her mistress, who hides it under her garter,
ready for use.

EYE-WITNESS. 135
" Never mind, Mrs. McGowan, I can clear the
steps. I never soU my own ; " but the spittoon was
brought, and INIrs. McGowan was spared further
exliibition of her guest's proficiency In " clearing
steps." " JMIss Ann, you were singing a beautiful tune as
I came up," said Mrs. Prue, graciously, " you
didn't learn that up North, I'm sm-e."
' ' Glory, Glory, HaUelujah, was that it ? " and
Annie hummed the first line.
" Yes, yes, that's it ; it 's a grand old Methodist
psalm tune ; let me hear it again."
Without waiting to be urged, Annie sang one
verse of the song.
"There, that's what I call good music, real
soul-stirring," cried the delighted lady. "I must
have my girls learn it ; but who was this EUsworth ?
He must have been a mighty good man, to have had
such a song as that made up about him."
" So he was, Mrs. Prue, and has gone to glory,
you may be sure," said the young girl, reverently.
" I don't doubt it, my dear ; but is that all of the
tune ? "
" There is another verse about a martyr John,
whom, 'tis said, wise men slew."
" It 's good, I know, sing that," but a cough from
her mother warned the now laughing girl that she
must go no farther.
"I cannot work and sing too," she replied.
' ' You must excuse me from music untU I have fin
ished my afternoon's task ? "
' ' Afternoon ! there, that 's one of the Yankee
words which provokes the girls so to hear ; they teU
me. Miss Ann, you are a Yankee all over. I did n't

136 EYE-WITNESS.
believe It though; but I thought I'd come and see.
You haven't had many callers since you come home,
I reckon." " The misses of her age have not been to see her,"
said Mrs. McGowan.
"No, and, they say, they wont come untQ she has
dropped them Yankee airs she has ; but for my part,
I can't see but she appears just the same as if she
had n't been up to New York."
" I am sure if Annie's young mates should visit
her, they would find her no more changed than you
and I."
"They see her at church, they say, and that's
enough for them ; them pink roses on the top of her
bonnet and on the inside too, they hate, they are so
Yankeelsh ; there is n't a girl around here, little or
big, who would wear them. So, Miss Ann, if you
want the girls to visit you, you must leave off such
miserable finery, and do as they do."
' ' How is that ? " Annie asked, in so subdued a tone
that the zealous neighbor was encouraged to admin-
ister more wholesome advice.
" Why, take off your hoops, and wear your old
bonnet and old frocks, as all of tts have sworn to
do ; yes, (more vehemently) sworn to deny ourselves
everything of the kind, all from principle, you see,
untU this war is over ; just to match Northern shop
keepers, for sending their clerks down here to steal
our niggers. They'll learn, too late, whose money
they 've been living on ! But we 've shut our purses
now, and never, never will buy or use another article
of Yankee make ; nor would you. Miss Ann, if you
had the right kind of principle about you." Mrs.
McGowan was at this moment called into the house.

EYE-WITNESS. 137
Annie arose, and taking her mother's chair at the
side of Mrs. Prue, said —
' ' I am quite sure that I can convince you I am a
girl of some principle. See, here are clothes I am
making for the soldiers ; now, there's industry in my
favor, is n't there ? "
' ' Why, yes ; but one must do something besides
making soldier's clothes, if they would stop the
war." " I am making a red, white, and blue flag;
there's patriotism for my list."
" What are you making three flags for, child?"
" I am not making three flags, only one ; our flag,
which Is red, white, and blue."
" Three colors in one flag? "
"Certainly; it's an old saying, that those three
colors properly put together, make a banner which no
tyrant can see without trembling."
" Why, you don't say so ! " ejaculated the aston
ished lady. ' ' I'U teU Clara and Sal about It ;
they've been making a flag out of red bunting,
but it can't be half so handsome as yours ; you will
let us see it when it is done, won't you? "
' ' Yes ; you shaU see it just before I give it to the
soldiers it is made for; you wUl want one like it
then." " I dare say I shall. I declare, I'd like to see a
flag, which would bring them horrid Yankees down
on their knees ; for if they arn't tyrants, there are
no tyrants in the world."
"Mrs. Prue," said Annie, solemnly, "it's my
opinion, that if you and I live long enough, we shall
see every one in these States of America under this
flag." 12*

138 EYE-WITNESS.
" The good Lord grant -it ! "
" Amen ! " was Annie's fervent response.
" But, Annie, what name do you give it? "
"Columbia's flag; it's a pretty name, don't you
think so ? "
" Yes ; but it's a right smart hard one to remem
ber." ' ' Never mind the name, that is nothing ; it is what
is done under it, which makes us proud of It."
" That Is my Idea, exactly." *
" Now, one word about fashions," said the mis
chievous girl, demurely; "you tell your daughters
that they can wear their hoops, and the very nicest
things they can find in our stores ; for the styles have
changed so much since our merchants went North, no
one here can be accused of iinitating Northern fash
ions, let them dress as they will."
' ' You are sure of that, are you ? for my girls
would die, before they would wear the first thing like
them miserable Yankees."
"Yes, quite sure; just to look at Godey's last
fashion plates ^ "
' ' Have you Godey's last ? " and the neighbor's
chair approached the settee where Annie sat, moder
ately fast. " How I should like to take one, just
one little look into it ; Clara and SalHe are dying for
Godey, but there ! they would n't touch it, nor
Harper and Frank Leslie's trash now, for their
weight in gold ! But I might get some little idea
how to fix up their bonnets and frocks for summer
(they would n't know it, you know) , they do look so
shabby ! It would n't be helping the North any if I
looked out of your book, would it ? "
" Yes, Mrs. Prue ; you might look into my book,

EYE-WITNESS. 139
to be sure, but I have too much principle to tempt
any one to sacrifice truth, or to pilfer what they
openly scoff at," and the young girl raised her ear
nest eyes to the face, which was bent down to her
box, in which the mop was twirling with unusual
rapidity. " Steal, chUd, steal ! " said the slightly disconcerted
neighbor, clearing her mouth, in a manner more
decorously imagined than described, for a fresh dip,
" I feel we have thrown away a great deal of money
upon Northern trash. Northern humbuggery, and it
is ray due to make it up when I can. There is one
comfort, though, we are done with them and their
lies now and forever ! It is a very serious matter to
the Yankees, however, very serious ; husband says, —
and he ought to know, for he has been North every
vear for goods except this last one, — he says, the
North must burst up completely without our trade ;
and what's more, he says thousands will die in the
streets for the com we throw to our hogs. The ven
geance of God is upon them for their sins, so every
minister in the land wUl teU you."

CHAPTER XIX.
PREPARING FOR THE BALL.
" See ray beautiful pony, Mrs. Prue ! " exclaimed
Annie, interruptuig the story of Northern destruc
tion which she had heard, not once, but scores of
times during the short two weeks she had been at
home, " is n't he a beauty with his new saddle on?
it is a Spanish saddle ; I brought it with me from
New York."
" Then, for the Lord's sake, don't ask me to ad
mire it ! " was the indignant reply. ' ' Who do you
suppose wUl ask you to ride with that thing on your
horse? And that reminds me, the gentleraen here
have sworn not to notice a lady, be she young or old,
who has n't on' a secesh badge ; and the ladies also
have bound themselves by an oath to frown down, to
cut completely, every man who refuses to volunteer ;
that 's my spirit, exactly. Yankee sympathizers can't
Uve here ! "
' ' Are Clara and Sallie going to the ball ? " asked
Annie, seemingly too Intent upon the antics of her
pony, to notice the look Mrs. Prue favored her with,
as she uttered her last emphatic words.
' ' To be sure they are ; — they are among the
managers." ' ' Then the ladies invite ? "

EYE-WITNESS. 141
" Of course they do ; I suppose you did n't expect
an invitation ? "
" I have received none."
"No indeed! there isn't a dozen, no, not half
that number, who would go if you were to be there.
Yom' brother Frank's not volunteering has set people
to talking awfully about you aU ; if Frank knew
what was good for himself, he would fall into the
ranks before he is a day older."
' ' Brother Frank is not a man to be intimidated
into doing anything," was the emphatic reply ; then,
after a short pause, — "but do teU me, what the
girls wUl wear to-morrow night ? "
' ' Oh , dear ! that 's what troubles the whole of
us — (and stUl more despondingly) their pink
sUks are badly faded an^ their muslins wretchedly
torn. They are worried to death nearly, for fear they
shall not look as weU as the rest."
"How cheap silks were seUing, when I bought
mine," said Annie, absently; " the nicest kind for a
dollar a yard; fortunately I laid In a supply of
thread, needles, pins, shoes, and frocks of various
kinds, ^^'hy, they told me at the store, yesterday,
that in less than a month not a thing of the kind
could be had in the market."
" Yes, indeed, that 's so. Not a pin, nor a spool
of thread can be had here, to-day, nor this side of
Newbern. I sent Dick there, this morning, and if
there are none to be had in that city, the girls will
have to stay at home from the ball, and it wUl well-
nigh Idll them to do that."
" If they have nothing new to make up, what
need have they of thread ? "
' ' WTiy, child, if they do not wear hoops they

142 EYE-WITNESS.
must tuck up their skirts. They could n't dance
with them laying two feet on the floor, could they? "
"They had better wear their hoops then."
" That's very well said; but, to be honest about
it, they have n't got any to wear ; theirs are all
broken up, and there are none to be had to replace
thein." -"I have three; but they are of the very newest
style." "Yes, we all saw yours last Sunday. It sets
your dress out awfully about the bottom ; but if
that's the fashion, no matter ;" up came the chair and
the capped head dropped again to the girl's blooming
face ; " Look here. Miss Ann, rather than have the
girls stay at home and Jose such a ball, — a real
soldier's ball, — the first one we have ever had here,
you know, maybe, if Dick brings no pins nor thread,
I'U slip round or send one of the niggers and borrow
a hoop for each of the girls ; they need n't know but
Dick brought thera from Newbern."
Again Annie's face assumed a very grave expres
sion as she said, "No, Mrs. Prue, they will never
know anything about it, for it would be unprincipled
in me to lend my hoops, or anything else which has
been condemned, or to help cheat anybody."
A small cough, another dip, and Mrs. Prue arose
to go, saying, — " Of course, of course, you can do
as you please. If the girls, however, have any
thing which you would like to borrow, don't hesitate
to send round, I like to be on good terms with all my
neighbors ; and tell your mother," she added, draw
ing on her fly -bonnet, " she raust come round and
see us ; and you must come too. Miss Ann, when
you can feel and act as every Southern Christian
should."

EYE-WITNESS. 143
She turned to leave, when, stopping suddenly as a
young lady rode up to the gate, she exclaimed, " If
there is n't Puss Smith ! I should n't think she
would come here ! "
"Dear Annie, I have just got home myself, or I
should have been here before," were the words Mrs.
Prue heard, as, with her bosom rife with enmity and
rankling jealousy, she turned from the gate to treud
the sandy road homeward.
A twofold object had this neighbor in view, when
she announced to her astonished family circle her
Intention to caU upon the McGowans : the first, and
most essential, she thought to accomplish by going
through the garden, thinking to hear something " on
the sly," which she could hurl into the unquiet stream
of conflicting rumors, whose black waves of error and
exaggeration were so soon to engulf that cheerful
and devoted home : the other, to obtain a piece of
Yankee finery, and, with such adventitious aid, to
" fine" her girls for the ball ; and in both endeavors,
we have seen, she met with signal faUure. As Mrs.
Prue passes from sight; feeling as uncomfortable,
inly, as the evil-disposed can feel, when the heart,
expanding to embrace some cherished project, is
made to contract sharply under the stab of mortifying
defeat, — our best wishes that she may reach a hap
pier goal than the one she is now heading for,
attend her.
" WHiy, Annie, the sun has set," said her com
panion, jumping up. " W^ho would have thought I
had been here two hours and more ! But there, I
cannot leave untU I know what you will wear at the
ball to-morrow night."
" I have had no invitation to attend the ball," and

144 EYE-WITNESS.
Annie repeated Mrs. Prue's remarks, adding, "I do
not care to go ; I have said I would not wear those
secesh badges, and I will not ! "
"Annie McGowan, now hear me. I am head
manager of this ball ; your name I have seen upon
the list of guests, and your brother's also, although
great opposition was offered to lils being invited.
Why your invitation has not been sent, is something
for me to find out. Did Mrs. Prue's ' girls,' as she
calls thera, dare to erase your names during my ab
sence ? I think not, but I wUl Investigate this mat
ter thoroughly, and see to whom this neglect is
chargeable. The guis around here, from what I
hear, are envious of you, solely because you have
more stylish clothes than they, and look so beauti
fully in them, too."
" It is better for me not to meet with them, then,
if, as you say, ray presence excites envy."
' ' No such thing, Annie dear. Now promise me
you wiU go to-morrow night, and wear the most
stylish clothes you have ; then I must be off. "
" I cannot promise, for papa and Frank are both
away, and I would not like to leave marama alone."
" Only say you will go," pleaded the young lady,
"and I will find your mother a companion. You
know we have a nice chatty aunt Uving with us ;
now she will be delighted to spend an evening here,
to ventilate some of her odd notions about this war ;
say you will go, and brother and I wUl caU for you
in the carriage."
Annie finally gave her consent to the arrangement,
and then followed a long discussion upon dress and
ball-adornings. Miss Smith's wardrobe, as described
by herself, kept her young friend in a right merry

EYE-WITNESS. 145
mood and constantly repeating, ' ' it can't be half as
bad ! you surely do exaggerate ! "
" Well, if you distrust what I say, come and see
for yourself." Then, with her face flushed with mor
tification, and her heart fired with bitter animosity
towards the supposed author of her riches in rags,
the excited girl stamped her foot upon the floor, ex
claiming —
' ' Abe Lincoln shall yet pay for all these annoy
ances, all this scrimping and pulling to keep one's
self decently clothed ! You raust know, Annie, we
are to march from Washington on to New York, and
from there, who can tell where? What folly it is
for our people to say, we have no use for the North ;
now I would just like to know who cares a fig for a
bonnet, or a garment of any kind. Unless it comes
from New York? It's the Yankees, themselves, we
can do without, but not their splendid cities ; to think
of our owning Washington, New York, Saratoga,
and Newport ! Imagine, if you can, our walking
into Stewart's, BaU & Black's, and Tiffany's, and
taking what we want without as much as, 'by your
leave.' It is wicked for me to grumble about a frock
now, when in a month, or six weeks at the latest, we
half-starved, half-nude DIxieites shaU have
Gowans of silk and golden ore,
Evermore, evermore !
Fortunate it is indeed for us, that we are of the
right age to enjoy such conquests ! "
" What news have you. Miss Mary?" asked Mrs.
McGowan, stepping out on the veranda and seating
13

146 EYE-WITNESS.
herself beside the young girls. " Do to-day's tele
grams bring what is favorable to our arras ? "
" O, Mrs. McGowan, I have heard no particular
news ; I have only been fitting a key to the lock our
soldiers are to turn."
' ' And what is the treasure so ponderous a lock
withholds?" "Liberty."
" What do you raean by that, Mary? "
"To do just what one wants to do, and in a way
it suits one best ; that's what / caU liberty ; and 'tis
what we have known as little about, under Yankee
rule, as those nigs yonder."
' ' How are we to get such unconditional power. If
you raean by us, the South? "
" Why, by whipping the North, as we are going
to do at Manassas."
' ' Our soldiers are confident of victory, I Imow ;
but we raust remeraber that those who stand arrayed
against us, are powerful."
" As to numbers, yes ; but when we have God on
our side, what good wUl men and money do thera? "
" Are we sure we have the God of battles on our
side?" " Certainly, for God always favors the right ; and
I ara equaUy sure, that that rich Aster's raoney raight
as weU be thrown Into the sea, as to be handed over
to Abe Lincoln. Just to think of one raan giving a
hundred mUUon to prosecute this war, and promising
to lend as many raore ! Uncle Jaraes says, those
merchant princes of New York are made of gold ;
and we all know, now, that what has been said of
their being so grasping and raercenary as to seU their
own chUdren for a sixpence, is too true."

EYE-WITNESS. 147
Mrs. McGowan cast an anxious, warning glance
upon her daughter ; she saw that her cheek was
flushed, and it was with difficulty she could restrain
her eraotlons. She waited until her passion had
subsided, and then said : —
' ' I have heard you speak often of Mr. Aster's
wealth, Annie. Can't you set your young friend
right as regards a true estimate of his property ? I
saw the statement of his enormous wealth in our
paper; but I am sure, although a very rich man,
Mr. Astor has not so manv mUlions to give Mr.
Lincoln, or any one else."
But the young lady was not to be convinced.
" She should beUevethe papers, the Southern papers,
before any assertion Northerners raight raake."
Annie yielded the point with a good-natured laugh,
and her friend coming off cgnqueror, continued her
storm of invective against the North, untU words were
exhausted, ff her passion was not, and finished by
extolling the efficiency of Southern troops and their
abUity to annihUate any force which raight be sent
down upon them, from North, East, and West.
"My dear young friend," said Mrs. McGowan,
" you must not be too sanguine ; the waU of defeat
may yet sound throughout our young Confederacy.
The North and South are one people ; *the valor,
fidelity, and endm'ance shown by one faction may be
equally matched by the other. W^e must be pre
pared for any event which raay happen ; remeraber
great deeds are not always the sons of mighty resolu
tions." " How little your mother knows about the Yan
kees," said Puss Smith, as Mrs. McGowan's foot
steps were lost in the distance. " Defeat, Indeed!

148 EYE-WITNESS.
there 's not a Southern soldier but would die twice,
before he would run from, or suffer himself to be
taken prisoner by a Yankee ! W hat can a set of
Yankee mechanics do, when face to face with our
men, strong and brave as lions ! Why, of course,
they will run, — run with lightning speed too, to
their coal-hods, mallets, and spades, where they
came from. Let the North send her gentlemen into
the field, as the South has to do, then we shall see
fair combat ; but their fine men stay at home twirling
their moustaches and smoking their meerschaums,
while the scum of their cities is hurled into Dixie,
to pollute her homes, to say to Southern chivalry,
"Take up the hoe and dig with us, — you have
played the gentleman long enough, — Abe Lincoln
has other use for your niggers ! I say, Annie, it Is
nigger's work to fight such, — and let niggers take
the field ! "
"Who'll gather the crops. Puss, if we turn our
negroes into soldiers ? "
" There 's white trash enough for such labor."
" But you know, as well as I, they wiU not do
nigger's work."
" They can be starved to it."
"Puss," said Annie lowering her voice, " do you
want to see arms in our negroes hands? Are we
sure they would fight /or us, if they thought by fight
ing against us, they would be free? "
" Why, Annie, how foolishly you talk ! Just as
though they would dare to turn against us, whUe we
hold their women and chUdren ! "
" And if the North should say, " Come over to
us, and we wUl free your women and children," what
then?"

EYE-WITNESS. 149
"I wish the North had them, — every soul of
them," said Puss, musingly, and then with more
energy, — "I have heard papa say, time and again,
he wished slavery could be done away with, that
niggers were a torment, eating and destroying in one
year more than they are worth ; and, for ray part, I
am'heartUy sick of them, they are so mean."
" But say. Puss, what would you do, if they
should all run off? — you, who have never raised a
finger to help yourself."
" I, a Avaiting-maid, competled to handle a broom,
to hook ray frock, and lace my boots, — never ! "
said Puss, eraphatically.
' ' Why not ? We may all have to come to
that." "No, indeed, my little Yankee sympathizer!
You forget, if the time should come, which sees
smutty faces, Uttle and big, gathered into the bosom
of Abraham's famUy, we shall have prisoners to fill
their places ; they will only be too glad to exchange
ball and chain, for hoe and spade. I do declare, I
would turn overseer myself to see Yankee Doodle
stepped out at the double quick, under my lash !
The Yankee women, they tell me, are neat and
smart as crickets ; would n't I Hke a house full of
them, subject to my wUl ! " Then dropping her
light, mocking tone, she continued : ' ' Slavery is
a curse, — a terrible curse ! But the evU is here,
and cannot be done away with in our time, and if
ever, — never at the dictation of the North. If the
negro question, as it is generally believed, is the
cause of this rupture between North and South, there
wiU be treasure and blood uselessly spent, — for the
issue of this strife wUl be slavery stUl, — but in a
13*

150 EYE-WITNESS.
more aggravated forra than we now know it to ex-
ist." A voice from the road at this moment shouted,
" out beyond hours ! " and Puss springing to her
feet, exclaimed: "There's brother Jim, for me
now. Not an hour after sunset is It safe to be out
without proper escort, the niggers are so saucy.
Oh, dear ! when will this state of things end?" she
added, somewhat despondingly, as the two drew near
the gate ; and, before she mounted her horse, she bent
down to wlusper : "If you should hear unpleasant
things said about your brother, to-morrow night, be
too sensible to mind them. If he Is as rank an
abolitionist as Aunt Fannie " —
" Frank Is not an abolitionist," said Annie, indig
nantly interrupting her.
"He is caUed so because he wUl not volunteer,
and is accused of keeping others from doing so. I
do hope he will not fall into his Uncle Calvin's
power." " Brother knows how to take care of himself,"
was the rejoinder, and the young friends parted.

CHAPTER XX.
IGNORANCE AND HATRED.
" M.AMMA," said Annie, as mother and daughter
sat together In the deepening twilight, " what a com
fort It Is to be alone ; we have scarcely had an hour
to ourselves since my return. Curiosity, we know,
brings the greater part of our visitors to the house,
and I raust say I have no patience with them ; for
not a third part of the people about here read a
newspaper, but credit every idle story which is
afloat." ' ' Annie, there would be no merit in cultivating
patience in our hearts, if there was nothing to bear ;
nor to bear cheerfully, if there was nothing to en
dure ; trials make our faith perfect."
"But, marama, how can one as hot-tempered as
myself have patience with people, who, like dogs,
swallow the bone the master flings at them, whether
it is poison or not? I told Mr. Wilson, who rode
up soon after Puss Smith left, of my conversation
with one of our neighbors on our flag. He laughed
heartUy and said, the men In the gross were no better
informed ; he had himself, within a month, proposed
as a toast the ' Red, white, and blue,' to a crowd
who had been railing at and cursing the supporters of
that very flag, and it was drunk with prolonged

152 EYE-WltNESS.
cheers.* I do not wonder at such ignorance In an
old lady like Mrs. Prue, who has no thought, no as
piration aside from what money can bring ; but for
men to be so grossly ignorant as to curse and cheer
the same flag in the same breath, is almost incredible.
No marvel that Calvin Hicks and his party, under
false pretences, swell their ranks with thousands of
such dupes. I hope to see the day their eyes are
opened, and they are fully conscious of the game
Jeff. Davis and his tools make of them."
" Be careful, Annie, that you do not repeat any of
Mr. WUson's reraarks out of the house ; he says
here what he would not say elsewhere. He is a
marked raan, and, like your father and brother, ac
cused of being a traitor, for declaring this war unne
cessary." StiU later in the evening Annie drew to her moth
er's side, begging to know why her Uncle Calvin had,
for years, shown such Ul-will towards their faraUy.
" What put that thought into your head to
night?" asked Mrs. McGowan, somewhat startled.
" Something which Puss Srnith said on leaving,
has filled my mind with Col. Hicks, (I like best to
call hira so, raamma,) and I have been wondering
what any one of us could have done or said, to have
made him such an enemy."
"It is a sad, sad story, ray daughter, and a trial
to me to fUl your young heart with the sinfulness of
an uncle, and that uncle my only brother. But,"
she resumed with a sigh, "it is, perhaps, well that
* This may appear almost incredible to Northerners, but is
none the less a fact, for I hadit from the gentleman himself, be
side others of a similar nature. It is this ignorance that gives
the leaders of this Rebellion their power. — Authob.

EYE-WITNESS. 153
you should know what the world knows ; that in
your daUy supplication at the throne of grace, you
may evoke God's mercy to the healing of a soul cor
rupt with a long-continued course of sin. Calvin,
when a boy, was headstrong and passionate, and the
cause of great anguish to our parents. I was the
only one who exercised any control over him, and
never entirely lost my Influence, untU his shameful,
profligate life made me close my doors upon him, and
discard his image wholly from my heart. His wife
died here, you remeraber. When she fled from the
persecutions of the slave, who had usurped the au
thority, privUege, and affection of the wife, I "took
her home. But her days were few ; we soon laid
her side by side with the beautiful babes God had
given, but in his mercy removed, before the sin of
their father had tainted their young lives. Twice
Calvin and your father were rival candidates for the
same office ; your father's success, and my meddling
with his doraestic affairs, as he called it, Is the cause
of the relentless animosity he has shown towards us
all. He leaves, however, with his regiment the day
after to-morrow ; then, I hope, your father and brother
wiU be spared the contumely which, as non-combat
ants, he has neglected no opportunity to heap upon
them." ' ' I will not go to the ball, mamma, for I am sure
I shall meet him there."
" No indeed, Annie, he has no taste for such gay-
eties. It is my wisTi that you should go ; ff you are
the good-natured girl there you are at home, I am
sure your companions will forget the prejudice they
have conceived against you. K annoyed by their re
marks, remember the efficacy of a soft answer," she

154 EYE-WITNESS.
added, smoothing the brown head which had dis
placed the work in her lap.
" I will go, if you wish it ; and if Frank prevails
upon Maggie Blout to return Avith him, they may be
here iii season to attend with rae."
An hour later, and a carriage was heard upon the
drive. " Here they are, now ! " cried Annie, spring
ing to the door, to welcome the travellers.
"Massa Frank, didn't come," shouted John, and
the carriage turned from the drive to the stable.

CHAPTER XXI.
THE REVEL  HOW IT ENDED.
" Beautiful being in robes of white,
The prettiest nightgowns under the sun ;
Stockingless, slipperless, sit in the night,
Por the revel is done."
" Will they Uve to come back?" and the weary
head of the speaker drooped sadly upon the mantle.
" Why, Carrie, of course they wUl. Have you
forgotten Big Bethel fight ? "
"If the Yankees can't hurt them, camp fever
may." " Oh, ghost of MoU Pitcher ! Carrie, if you are
so timorous a woman, as to scream at shadows, you
are no fit mate for the Captain. By the way, how
weU he looked to-night, and Ned, too; the major*
seemed to have jumped from a nice Uttle lover to a
deity to be worshipped."
" Cousin Ned certainly never looked better; and
you have rewarded him at length for his persistent
devotion, SaUie?"
" Why, yes, I suppose so," and the heightened
color and sparkUng eye which the confession kindled ,
chased away the weariness which was before apparent
in the heavy eyelid and sinking voice. " Now that
Ned is reaUy going away," she resumed, " I feel I

156 EYE-WITNESS.
shall miss him wretchedly. I have promised him,
that I will keep all ray songs and smiles until his
return; and he has promised me, — what? Carrie,
I would try your powers for divining the occult."
" To come back to claim the consummation of
vows plighted."
" More than that : try again."
" Never to run from or allow himself to be taken
prisoner by a Yankee."
" Carrie ! " burst in the indignant girl, " you in
sult your cousin ! Run from a Yankee ! Allow
himself to be taken prisoner ! " and a scornful laugh
foUowed the mocking words. "Think you he or
any other man would show himself In my presence
that ever stepped a foot from the path of Yankee
scavengers ! Over them, Is the road to Wash--
ington ! "
Without waiting for further conjecture on the part
of her companion, and with the angry flush still on
her cheek, she continued, — "He has promised to
come as an Indian warrior, with his wampum-belt
decked with Yankee bones, to lay his trophies at my
feet, — or he comes not at all, — and he is to me as
?though he were not."
' ' Monstrous ! " exclaimed Carrie, whUe a very
perceptible shudder shook her lightly-draped figure,
" I hate the Yankees as much as you, SaUie, but
I hate barbarity more."
" My dear, little fluttering friend, you will be the
first to borrow my Yankee toys ! "
" Never, Sallie Prue ! Were cousin Ned, or any
man I know, to perpetrate such a wicked deed as to
scalp his brother man, were he twice the foe the
Yankee is, I would rank and treat him too as the

EYE-WITNESS. 157
vilest, the most bloodthirsty savage, that ever trod
the earth ! And O, SaUIe," she pleaded, " Edward
loves you devotedly, passionately, and do you require
of him a sacrifice of honor, manliness, and humanity,
in order that a cruel whim may be gratified ? Dare
you wrest from the heart, which you have made
weak as a child's, the noble attributes God has placed
there, and send him out to the battle-field with the
scalping-knife in his hand, and the ferocious passions
of the savage within his breast ? "
"You are a goosey, Carrie, to run on so about
savages and scalping-knives. Everything is fair in
war ; and If worse than savages come out against us,
tomahawk must meet tomahawk, knife meet knife."
' ' SaUie, how can you talk so wickedly ? "
" There, Carrie, dry your tears, and I wUl talk of
something' else, lest you dream of death-heads, and
prate of my depraved taste to your soldierly lord that
is to be. He, by the way, is as much Uke you, as
two tears on pity's cheek. I am sure you would
both nm'se a sick Yankee, as tenderly as you would
one of our own soldiers. As for the Captain, — we all
know he is a splendid shot, — should he bring down
a dozen of these Yankees, he would as quickly throw
away his gun, rush to his game, bind up wounds,
wash faces, and set the blockheads again on their feet ;
then, with a poUte bow and encouraging smUe, turn
back to the ranks."
' ' Captain Lee is a gentleman and a soldier ; he
knows his duty, and wiU do it honorably," Carrie
replied. "Come now, and lie down, Sallie, we
have talked long, and I am very weary."
" Not yet. You go home to-morrow ; this is our
14

158 EYE-WITNESS.
last night together, and my heart is in a flutter to
relieve itself."
"Of what?"
"Of what you said in the carriage you wished
I would not speak of there."
" Say on, now ; there was one with us at the time,
who might have been hurt by your remarks."
"Who?"
" Miss Mary Smith."
' ' Puss Smith ? Not she, indeed ! she talks about
our aboUtion neighbors as unsparingly as myself."
" But she was the only one, to-night, who showed
herself friendly to Annie McGowan."
' ' Were you in her set, when her Uncle Calvin ac-'
costed her so ungraciously ? "
" I was directly opposite her, and was, at the very
moment, admiring her bright and beautiful face, and
the perfect simplicity of her dress, which so charm
ingly set off her youthful figm-e and graceful move
ments." " Tell rae just what she said, and how she looked,
when she answered Col. Hicks."
' ' I saw this dark, fierce-looking Colonel when he
carae into the hall, and I was told afterward, that as
soon as his eye rested on his niece, he stopped in his
walk, and watched her through the figure. He then
walked directly up to our set, and touched her upon
the shoulder. • Miss Annie had been laughing with
her partner, Lieut. Smith; but when she turned and
saw the man who confronted her, her cheek lost its
beautiful color, and her girlish face at once became
white and firm. When he said, ' Col. Hicks,' she
bowed ; it was wonderful to see how she retained her
composure, when so many eyes were upon her ; but

EYE-WITNESS. 159
she did, perfectly, even when he said, loud enough
for us all to hear, ' When I left Frank at Salisbury,
he gave me this,' and he handed her a slip of paper.
Oh ! what a fierce look he fixed on her sweet face, as
she read those few words. Raising her eyes to those
bent upon her, she said, ' This is your work.'
" It is my work to seize traitors, wherever I find
them ," he replied, sneerlngly.
" Col. Hicks," she said firmly, "if you have any-
tliing more to say to me, select a more suitable place.
You impede the dance." Then turning to her part
ner, she spoke in a low voice, and the two left the
hall. With a smUe which made me loathe the man,
he watched her from sight ; then turned on his heel,
and joined a group on the rostrum.
In a few moments, the news that Frank McGowan
was in prison at SaUsbury, spread through the hall,
and what rejoicings foUowed ! I was glad Miss
JMcGowan had left. It was this Miss Smith, or
Puss Smith, as you caU her, and her brother, who es
corted her to the carriage. I afterward heard Miss
Puss sharply contradict many things that were said
of the McGowans, and openly declare Calvin Hicks
was the fabricator of every vile story which was cir
culated about the famUy."
" Well, for my part, Carrie, I am not sorry Frank
McGowan is in prison ; he is no coward, I know,
but those who wUl not come out and openly espouse
our cause, must be against us, and the sooner such
people are out of harm's way, the better. I am
sorry that Annie should have heard such unpleasant
news in the baU-roora. But there, that is throwing
sympathy away. The McGowans are a proud set,
and, no doubt, wUl hold their heads as high as ever,

160 EYE-WITNESS.
if Frank is a jail bird. Now, to change the subject,
what do you think of homespun in a ball-room ? "
"I saw, a short time since, in the papers, that
the belle of  set the fashion there." ,
" Likely as not. We've all got to come to it,
thanks to Abe Lincoln's ships."
"Yes, Sallie, homespun and brogans must soon
banish silks and French slippers."
" There is one comfort, though," yawned the
sleepy girl, " the gentlemen are all away ; and when
there is nobody to admire, who cares whether one
has on French work or niggers."

CHAPTER XXn.
THE EFFECT OF THE FIGHT AT MANASSAS.
Mothers, wives, and sisters, with exultant hearts,
had seen loved ones depart, and caUed down God's
blessing upon the cause, which had clad their limbs
with steel, and sent them forth to the strife with
" Sic semper tyrannis " on their banners, and " Lib
erty " their battle-cry.
Long and weary days the fond watchers looked for
glad tidings, and as they came not, the smile of ex
ultation faded, and anxious thoughts filled the minds,
and spectral shadows the hearts of the groups, which
gathered in the streets, or clustered around saddened
hearthstones. The list of hospital sick and the dead, grew longer
and longer, to the eyes which scanned ^he papers ;
for military discipliae, severe labor, and exposure,
together with the want of proper clothing and whole
some food, were fast decimating the ranks, "invul
nerable to Yankee lead."
Many, who had bidden gray beards and beardless
youths to the field, now, in unutterable anguish, be
moaned them dead.
"What is Washington, or New York to me?"
groaned the stricken widow, as the pitying heart of
some kind neighbor whispered of coming victories.
U*

162 EYE-WITNESS.
" I bid my boys go to kUl the Yankees ! " the
chUdless mother shrieked, ' ' and they have died with
out a shot at them ! "
' ' If the  Yankees don't pitch in soon," growled
a fierce-looking Breckite, as his eye run down the
long list, " the devil will leave none of us to " — the
paper fell to the floor, while a fearful groan Issued
from his lips writhing in agony : ' ' Dead ! dend !
John and Bill dead, and no fight yet ! "
What followed, smote the mother's ear, hastening
to her husband's side for news from the boys. In
that raother's heart there was a love for the ' ' Stars
and Stripes," which nothing could efface ; and on her
knees she thanked God and wept tears of joy, that her
sons had been taken before their young lives were
stained with a brother's blood, — that, though they
had carried the sword to cut down the noble flag. He
had smitten the upraised arm, and taken the mis
guided ones from further contact with earth's sinful
ness. "May the Lord and Giver of life protect the
right," was the unceasing prayer of that Christian
raother. The long night of suspense was over. ' ' Our loss
is heavy, but our cause is won," was flashed with
lightning rajndity throughout the length and breadth
of the young Confederacy. Shouts and shrieks of
frenzied joy rent the air. Stores were closed, houses
deserted , and duties forgotten. Friend met friend, —
" We are free," leaped from every eye and every
tongue ; whUe each footfall rung out a note of vic
tory. "Twenty thousand Yankees dead!" was the
morning salute; high noon sounded "Forty thou
sand of the Vandals killed ! " but nightfall came

EYE-WITNESS. 163
down with the tale : ' ' The Grand Army of the
Potomac crippled to a raan ! — a hundred thousand
stands of arms taken ! Washington deserted, —
and General Scott a prisoner of the " warrior Presi
dent," who, in a hand to li.and fight, had vanquished
the invincible hero of the North ! "

' ' Dixie forever ! The North is ours ! " came to
the strained ears and fiercely-beating hearts, that in
damp and filthy cells, at the iron -barred windows,
and in deep and noisome swamps, heard.
High o'er the " Te Deum Laudaraus," which came
from Potomac's shore, and swelling, thundered o'er
the lowlands of the Gulf, rose the piercing waU of
these crushed and bleeding ones — ' ' God have mercy
on us ! "

' ' The young Ship of State " with pennons of vic
tory at the mast-head, and proud banners flung to
the breeze, now rode triumphantly upon the tide of
popular favor. Souls, that had looked with fear and
trembling upon the headlong, impetuous crew, which
thconged her decks, no longer doubting, with loud
acclaim crowd her sides.
The launch was simply magnificent ; the dangerous
reef passed safely over, the helmsman, with calm,
majestic mien turns to the joy-kindled throng, which
press around, and in tones which constrain belief,
says : —
" The goal is won ! Fear not the ship, my boys.
She carries Cffisar ! "

Days wore on. Newspapers teemed with glorious

164 EYE-WITNESS.
achievements and wonderful valor displayed by brig
ades, regiments, companies, and individuals : there
also was the sickening detail of dead and wounded.
Fjfora the Chief Magistrate had corae — ' ' our loss
is heavy ; " the mourners at home believed it, al
though the crowds upon the street swore it was
nothing, a mere drop in the bucket, compared to
Yankee slaughter.
And in fulness of time it was known also that
Washington was not taken, nor New York threat
ened ; and raore : — the smoke of the fagots which
were pUed high for the base deserters, once Virginia's
proud boast, refused to ascend, though expectant
hearts called loudly for the torch to be appliecf.
England and France heard of the unprecedented
success of Southern arms, and of the overwhelming
defeat of the Army of the Potomac. Still, no tidings
of the recognition of the ' ' Young League " by those
mighty nations, came to the hearts, which with terri
ble earnestness watched for thera. Consequently the
most credulous dropped the voice, and lifted not the
foot so high ; and a moderation of self-assurance
finally settled down into sometliing like despondency.

CHAPTER XXm.
VISITORS TO THE MINERAL SPRINGS.
Once more the streets were thronged with volun
teers, and wealth was lavishly poured Into a depleted
treasury ; whUe earnest women plied the needle and
robbed homes of needful comforts for those whose
work was n»t yet done.
Places of fashionable resort were for the most part
abandoned ; and sea-breezes and all the allurements
of the visiting season forgotten ; for a stern and inex
orable duty was upon men and woraen.
The sick could not work, so waters of healing
raust be resorted to ; and officers frora the Gulf
States also sought for their famiUes a home, where a
short furlough from the field of action could be
enlivened by the presence of heart-idols.
The " Home," * situated araid the hills of Western
North Carolina, celebrated alike for the medicinal
properties of its Springs, and the beauty of its
scenery, and as its site commanded direct communi
cation with Richmond, which was but twelve hours
ride, was doomed to a most uncomfortable notoriety.
Most propitiously the season of 1861 opened.for the
proprietors, but distressingly incomraodious for the
many, who, wasted by disease, toiled there.
* The Kitrell Spring, N. 0.

166 EYE-WITNESS.
Amid its crowded halls and spacious parlors we
wend our way, and, with unqualified pleasure, feed
our eyes upon a few superlatively beautiful represen
tatives from the Gulf States. Haughty, but of ex
quisite mould, these black-eyed beauties fascinate,
dazzle, and bewUder ; rich "in all the world calls
wealth, their every look and movement coramand the
horaage of the eye, but not of the heart. By the
side of the Mississippi belle, Tennessee, Georgia, and
even North Carolina's daughters suffer no dlsparage-
raent, because less iraperious. Comet Uke, these
beautiful beings flash upon us, then are lost amid the
crowd of matronly women, invaUds, and boisterous
children. And gentlemen were not a few ; judges, lawyers,
and planters, too old for active service, having given
their sons and wealth for liberty, sat down in the
pleasant "Home," to greet the coraing of the day,
whose dawn was kindling the Southern sky. Bach
elors gay, and those too crabbed and crotchety, whose
want of a wife was, for the first time, keenly felt,
(should master and overseer be called into the field
without a head, those " held to labor " might enact a
scene, detrimental, at least, to the master's interest,)
gathered there. The young and pretty passed them
by with a sneer ; elderly maidens alone laughed gen
tly, as the shuffling gait and wheezy breath announced
the approach of lovers
" At least, well-grown,
"Who used lavender water and eau de cologne."
With night and dancing, officers carae frora camp
near. Of them little can be said, as not merit, but

EYE-WITNESS. 167
political influence and the abUity to raise recruits, was
the standard by which rank was distributed.
With the greater part of the gentler sex, industry
marks the hour. Earnestly old and young lend them
selves to the cutting and making of garments, and
the lighter work of knitting, for the destitute sick,
who, in canvass tents, within sight of the " Home,"
are dying by scores. Hands soft and white and
sparkling with jewels draw the coarse thread, or wind
the cotton, laboriously turn the slow needles.
"See my sock, mararaa ! all that done, (the all
consisted of an inch and a quarter of very hubbly
knitting,) and but just one week about it ! "
The needles are twisted firmly together, the huge
baU is stuck on, and the blooming belle, with a sigh
of relief that the task for the day — three needles
and a half — is over, calls for her hat and cup for the
morning's walk to the Spring. The pink on her cheek
deepens ; is it the consciousness of an effort made to
aid her barefooted countrymen which thriUs her heart
and kindles blushes ? Ah, no ! From the lofty
window her eye catches the dashing approach of offi
cers, imposing with gold lace and gay plumes, and
splendidly mounted upon richly caparisoned steeds.
Now the call for maids is stunning. With the speed
of blackbirds at the crack of the hunter's rifle, small
black forms skim the lofty staircases, and return with
gloves, gossamer veils, and the jauntiest hats imag
inable ; a little out of style, but n'importe, no New
Yorker was there to criticize.
Hasty words bring hasty acts ; and hasty acts
hasty blows. The ribbon is tied too tight, and the
panting maid measures her length upon the floor ;

168 EYE-WITNESS.
while " You nigger, you pinch me again, and you
shall have the lash ! " cries the enraged mistress.
" Oh! pray, missis! " the glove is torn"; too
much haste again ; and the torture which the young
mulatto suffers, proves conclusively, that the smaU,
deUcate fingers which could not knit could pinch —
prodigiously !
Hats and gloves are donned at last ; and now down
the lawn, on through the beautiful grove, creatures of
beauty and soldierly mien stroll ; the musical fall of
water, blending with martial strains, which sweep
down frora the camps, scattering every despauing
sense of the horrors of war, which, with funereal
gloom, is settling over their young heads ; a war
which is to scar the hearts of the survivors with life
long misery.
Proudly boastful of future halcyon days, breathing
in the charming aroma of the laurel-leaf crown.
Fame's glowing hand holds teraptingly near — you,
who, in soldier garb, teU of a field where iraperishable
glory is to be won — dream on ! Pitying heaven
curtains from sight the ghastly horrors of the battle
field, where, smeared with thy own blood, stiffening"
and clammy with the dews of death, — God caUeth I

CHAPTER XXIV.
THE DEATH AND BURIAL OF AN OFFICER.
It was night, but no sound of revelry came from
the brilliantly lighted ball-room. A holy hush per
vaded the entire house, whUe grief and weariness
were Iggible on the faces of old and young, who,
seated in groups, talked of the solemnity of a sol
dier's burial that day witnessed.
An officer, on his way to the ball, given at the
' ' Home " on the previous night, had been thrown
frora his horse and killed instantly. A favorite with
his raen, and no less popular with the ladies, his
death was deeply deplored in camp and parlor. Re
port said, his father was a Union man, and disowned
his son when he took up arms against the Federal
Government. Be that as it may, the deceased had
exacted the promise from a brother officer, that, if he
should survive him, his body should be buried where
he fell, and his sword, his only love, laid by his
side. " To think," exclaimed a young lady to her
brother, who had just arrived, then on his way
to Virginia to join his regiment, " of any man being
so inhuman as to deny this young soldier a grave ;
giving an excuse, that niggers could not be made to
work on land where dead men lay. The planter was
15

170 EYE-WITNESS.
away at the time the grave was dug, but returned
just before the burial, and stubbornly refused to
permit the Interment. When we arrived at the
camp, we heard of this monstrous meanness, and
that a spot had been found nearly three miles distant,
where the body could be laid.
' ' Did you ladies follow in the procession that dis
tance, in such a broiling heat as we have experienced
to-day?" " Certainly," chorused the group, to whom the
question was addressed.
"But with no very charitable feelings, I assure
you, said a Wilmington Miss. " Every sentiment of
grief and respect for the dead was swallowed up in
wrath, as we toiled through the almost interminable
cotton-patch, and over the low ground to the limit of
that execrable creature's land. I would stake my
fortune, that the man has Yankee blood In him.
But here is Mrs. Davis,* approaching; she has lived
North, and knows more of the Yankees, than the
rest of us. See if she does n't say such a piece of
barbarity is on par with all their aptions."
" Not so, my young friends," the lady addressed,
replied. " There are bad men to be found every
where : the North, comparatively speaking, has no
more than the South.
" But all Northerners are fanatics," persisted the
young lady.
' ' Many of our people entertain the Idea that they
are, but it is an erroneous one," was the reply.
" There is a party North, made up of men, scrupu
lously observant of the rights granted us by the Con-
* Mrs. Jeff. Davis.

EYE-WITNESS. 171
stitution ; they are at present, impotent to aid us,
but then- determined resistance to, and abhorrence of
the outrages of those, who to gain their infamous
ends would trample under foot every human and
divine law, we hope wUl ultimately succeed in check
ing the frenzy of the hour."
" I see by the faces of these young ladies, ray dear
madam," said Judge Green, joining the group,
" that there is a bitter even in the sweetness, which
your lips distil. May I ask, what your remark was,
which has banished smiles and caused this brUliaut
parterre of blooms to droop their delicate heads ? "
Before the now smiling lady could reply, she was
called away by a servant.
" Papa," said a curly-headed girl, springing to his
side, and placing her plump hand In his, " the lady
says there are some good men North, and that Is
what makes us aU look so sober."
" Good men North, my Uttle daughter ! You
certainly misunderstood her."
"But she did. Judge; and although I have aU
proper respect for Mrs. Davis's opinion, I cannot
think but in this assertion she is egregiously mis
taken." "Then I see all ray young friends, here, believe
with rae in the total depravity of the North."
"We do, we do!" chorused a dozen voices.
" And instead of whipping us into subraisslon, we
have thrashed them all soundly, and sent them to
beds of torture and repentance."
" Yes, yes," laughed the group.
" God, .in signal mercy shown us, has spared the
' Old North State ' the foulness the Yankees have
heaped upon the once honored cities and towns of
Maryland and Virginia," said Francis Bierce, who

172 EYE-WITNESS.
with his wife had been attracted to the spot by the
merriment Judge Green's words aroused.
" Judge," says another of the group, " have you
no faith in the report, that the sound we hear from
Northern shores, is no death-rattle, but rather the
premonitory signal of a deadly spring? "
"Faith, no Captain. It's folly, consumraate
folly, to waste a thought upon such twattle. I teU
you we are done with the Yankees, now and for
ever ! "
" I can't agree with you. Judge, knowing the
vindictiveness, the stick-to-a-tive-ness of the Yan
kees. I know, I feel it too, that before our liberty is
achieved, there must be, not a battle, — but bat
tles?" "Nonsense, Captain, you talk like a child! I
tell you the Gmnd Array of the Potomac is wholly
demoralized ; the energies of the North completely
paralyzed. (More vehemently,) — Don't talk to me
about the commotion going on among the Yankees ;
I tell you sprawling children always holler."
" Ah ! Judge," was the rejoinder, " you know no
more of the North as a people, than I of the Hottentots.
Live with them as I have, then you will believe, as
I, that not one blow, nor two, nor a score, such as
we gave them at Bull Run, will raake them cry
"enough." I know no better illustration of their
dogged obstinacy, than the habits of the Arctic
puffin, which naturalists tell us, when once it has
grasped a thing wUl suffer being drawn from its hole,
its limbs torn from its body, and every torture
which can be practised upon it, but never let go;
death only releases the coveted prize. It Is just so
with the Yankees. Before the pangs of death-teUing
blows have subsided, lo ! four men wUl take the place

EYE-WITNESS. 173
of the one shot down, and billions wUl be held out,
with eager hands, where millions were proffered."
" What good did Darius' wealth, and countless
numbers do him. Captain Selden?" said a weakly
voice. " We are but a handful compared to the
North, but omnipotent, because we have right on our
side." "Right, madam, right! Our friend. Captain
Selden, will do his duty in the field, we all know ;
but say, ladles, would it not be raore becoraing his
rank, if he would lay down his pair of double million
magnifying gas microscopes of hextra power, of Sam
Weller's patent, and let common sense tinge his prog
nostics ? "
"I wUl, I wUl ! " laughed the jolly Captain.
" But first promise rae, you wUl buckle on the sword.
If a nest of the vermin should be blown to our
shores." " Judge Green," said a lady on his right, tapping
his hand with her delicate fan, " papa thinks as
Captain Selden, that the worst of the fighting is to
corae. -He says, every man in the South wUl be in
the field before we gain our freedom."
" Who is that young lady? " whispered the even
ing traveller to his sister, directing her attention
to the speaker.
" General HUl's daughter; the General's word is
of course recogmzed authority ; but if I were Miss
HUl, I would keep such sentiments to myself; they
certainly impair her popularity here."
' ' But ought not. I like her ; she Is honest and
outspoken," was the reply.
" My dear Miss HUl," said the Judge, " no one
has a more exalted opinion of your father's ability as
15*

174 EYE-WITNESS.
a general, and his devotedness to our cause, than my
self. Consider it, therefore, no disparagement upon
his great and acknowledged generalship, when I add,
we cannot take every word which he utters as
oracles ; " and then t.o Captain Selden, — "Well, if
we admit that our present force raay be called into
the field and cut to pieces, we have a reserve, which
cannot be conquered. Two mUlions of slaves, armed,
would be invincible, whatever the opposing force."
" Such a reserve can never be brought into the
field ! never. Judge, never ! "
' ' It can ! I maintain it can ! I myself have four
hundred negroes," said the Judge, rising and laying
his hand forcibly upon the captain's shoulder, " and
what is more," he continued, with increasing vehe
mence, " there is not one of them but would stand
by me, while there was a drop of blood in my veins,
and fight like demons over ray dead body ! "
' ' I have n't a quarter of that number. Judge
Green, and I am called an easy master ; now I speak
what I know, when I say not one of my negroes, but
would make good his escape, should the way be open
to the North."
The disputants had gradually withdrawn from the
group of ladies, and as the debate waxed warmer, a
crowd began to collect ; and, what was noticeable,
the Captain, who .with one frail girl, stoutly persisted
in the peril of the hour, and openly rebuked the
exaggerated self-confidence of his associates, was
heavily reinforced, when the pract>icability of arra-
ing the negroes was discussed, by stout hearts, that
spurned the slave unarmed, but feared him as a fam
ished tiger, when cold iron gave him the power
of self-assertion.

CHAPTER XXV.
NEWS FROM WASHINGTON.
" Oh ! the torment of little things ! Hateful Yan
kees ! " cries the beautiful pianist, as she pulls up the
key which would not sound; " im) piano, no music,
nothing ! aU for you ! "
From lips white with anger the goblet is dashed,
and the water (uniced) is splashed upon the marble
slab. Pianos, purchased to replace cracked kettle-drums,
went ba£k instead of into Southern ports. Ice (and
what is life South without ice) had been shipped for
Southern markets ; so bad medicine, for the want of
which chUls and fever, bUious and typhoid, raged
unmitigated; but Abe Lincoln's ships, bristling with
guns and manned b)y desperate men, stopped the
way. Therefore, tepid water must be drunk ; and the eye
followed the flow of butter in amber streams from
pitchers. Songs rose loud and clear, but no efforts
of the gifted songstress could drown the discordant
accorapanlment, which carried one back to the haunted
charabers of youth's distempered fancy. For want
of strings, harps and guitars lay by, unswept ; and
oh, sad, sad words ! fever patients and ague subjects,
racked with pain, then pale and languishing, dreamed

176 EYE-WITNESS.
of quinine and soothing cordials, and woke to curse
the light which tortured thera, the darkness which
strengthened their pangs, to curse the North and
die.

The piano has stopped. Music, talking, and even
heart-burnings are stayed, for the Evening Post, just
brought in, teeras with good pews.
' ' Overtures of peace frora Washington ! " shouts
the portly Judge Green, bouncing from his chair ;
' ' I told you so ; all right. Captain  ; to dictate
our own terms, too. Ha ! ha ! ha ! Dixie has
blown up a storm which has capsized Uncle Sam's
old craft ! See the old hull ! she's unshipped her helm,
her sails are torn, her seams open to the engulphing
waves. Hark ! here's a signal gun of distress ! Let
the rotten old craft go down amid the breakers which
have stove her ; and woe to the man, woman, or child
that throws a rope or a spar, to save the drowning
wretches ! "
Amen ! was the hearty response.
The excited man read extract aft^r extract from
the New York Herald, and here's another "hear,
hear," and the no less excited crowd cheer and clap,
then listen in breathless sUence, and then cheer again
for Dixie, as extracts from Northern papers fill their
eager ears.
The demonstrations of exultant delight, which fol
lowed the reading of the " papers," whose verity few
doubted, have, in a measure, . subsided, and now,
singly or in groups, the visitors at the " Home " lend
themselves to the coveted papers which bear the long-
expected tidings, "Peace sueing," the recognition of
the " Southern Confederacy."

EYE-WITNESS. 177
When Judge Green, to the astonishment of every
one, read from a Southern paper, — the Post, —
whUe great drops of sweat stand out, bead-like, upon
his flushed face, (a very safe channel for the exuber
ance of such joy to vent itself,) the programme to a
new play which has just been brought out, at  ,
called, "Picayune Butler, is coming out to-night.
Crowded houses. Tremendous excitement ! " &c. &c.
" You all know Picayune Butler," cries the Judge,
" the meanest of aU men, — ladies, your presence for
bids my expressing a more emphatic opinion of the
'Knave.'" " The programme reads, 1st part — Picayune
Butler is represented in league with the ' DevU and
imps,' for the possession of ' Booty and Beauty,'
of a fair Southern city. A contract is drawn up, by
which Butler receives the services of his horned com
peer. Butler plans, the cloven-foot gently executes.
' ' Part 2d — The barricades of the city are
shaken as if by an earthquake. Butler looks on and
smUes, (as the way is cleared for him to march in
and take possession.) ' It is mine,' cries the raad
raan, as his eyes gloat over the beauty and gold the
doomed city discloses. 'Not so,' cries the 'Prince
of darkness ; ' ' one such sold as thine I must have.
So reads the compact : I have gone from ocean to
ocean, from heights of the mountains to the lowest
depth of the valleys, yet I have not found one such
as thee.' ' Did'st find none at Wheatland ?' gasped
Butler, -writhing with torture as the gripe which
held him tightened upon his flesh. ' And shaU I buy
what is mine own? Not so reads the compact. Go
thou, and seek a soul like thine ; I'U hold the city.'
"Part 3d — Butler goes and returns, and goes

178 EYE-WITNESS.
again. ' Not such as thine,' was the stern reply,
whUe weary and worn with much watching, ' goin'
to and fro the earth,' the watchman sleepeth, but
awakes to find himself shorn of his taU, horns, and
cloven-foot, which the wily Butler had appropriated.
' Die ! ' cries the new beast, as he bends over him ;
' thou ray raaster ? earth nor hell has no match for
thee,' cries the defenceless compeer. The keys of
the bottomless pit and thy life is spared,' says his
master. ' ' Part 4th — Then follows the descent of the
' Great new beast ' into the infernal regions, there
to bind his servant, and whora else he pleases, whUe
he ravishes the earth.
" Part 5th — The curtain rises, for the last time,
upon a man loathsome and haggard, hideous to look
upon, chained to an iron staple in his ceU. ' I have
dreamed ! ' he cries, shaking his manacled hands ;
' aye ! dreamed that earth and hell were mine ; that
such as I earth would not bind, nor hell .restrain.
But Dixie ! Dixie ! Dixie ! ' in agonizing tones,
came from those dying lips ; ' What heaven nor
hell could do, thou hast done ! ' Under the door,
bread and water ! and the raad raan, frensled With
want, clanked his chains, and, in paroxysms of rage,
bites his flesh. ' Booty and Beauty,' laughs the
jailer at the grated window, while the sparkling glass
and wheaten loaf are Ufted high. The glaring eye
balls and gibbering lips devours the sight. ' Give !
give ! ' and skeleton hands claw the air. ' Booty
and Beauty ' rings through the lowest depths of
' Castle Thunder ! ' The glass and bread left in
tempting sight, the jailer flown. As Death draws
near, Reason kindles the. glassy eye. It turns from

EYE-WITNESS. 179
the fearful wreck, the fleshless bones, to the breast In
the grated window. The trembling lips unclose —
' Woman, thou art avenged ! ' A groan, a shud
der, and the lifeless form falls to the earth."
A burst of overwhelming applause followed the
reading of the programme.
"To die and be eaten of worms, is too mUd a
death for such a monster. Let him set foot on the
soil of my honored State, and tortures, and death
that he dreams not of, await him."*
" Well spoken for you, Bierce," said a voice from
the crowd. But if he should light upon us some day,
what woidd you do ? "
"Take him prisoner, of course; then hand him
over to the ladies to dispose of."
" But, my dear husband," said Mrs. Bierce, " you
know I should not let you go out to meet such a
piece of abomination ; you meant you would detail
your niggles to do the vUe work."
" Of course, wife, I am but joking; the infamous
Butler is dead, without question."
' ' Hear ! Hear ! " cries Judge Green ; "I am
chosen chairman of the committee of arrangements
to take the young ladies, to-raorrow night, to witness
the grand play of ' Picayune Butler coming out to
night.' What gentlemen offer their services ? "
The list, soon swelled to some length, was read by
Capt. Selden, very deliberately, and then handed
back to Miss Green.
" Your name, of course, I shaU put down? "
" Not so, madam."
" You surely will not deny us the pleasure of
your company ? "
' ' I have not the slightest desire to see this sham
Butler."

180 EYE-WITNESS.
" It wUl be a pleasing relaxation from camp
duty." " I find aU I need here."
"Ridiculous! Captain, say you will go; see, I
have your name down ; and don't plead camp duties
an excuse for not seeing the Yankee Butler give up
the ghost."
"If you please, strike off my name from your
list, my young friend, and put it on the roU where
Ben Butler, if lie«lives, is to be found. I would like
to meet him face to face in the field."
" What ! meet that execrable monster? "
' ' Meet him ? yes ; if he is the coward report says
he Is, he is mine ; if a soldier, and better armed than
myself, I may be his."
' ' Don't speak of it ; I should shudder at the very-
thought of such an encounter, if I did not know that
the vile creature was dead, and buried out of sight."
' ' How do you know that ? " ,
' ' Not seeing his name paraded before the public is
proof infallible that the Yankees have permitted one
of their gods to sleep." 
"If that is the case, I see no cause in heaping
such imprecations on Ben Butler ; he is the least of
aU the rascals that has brought this trouble upon us ;
look to the masters, not to the monkey and dogs,
that have been taught bloody theft. If you would put
a stop to such depredations."
"Do, mararaa, come here," said the fair pleader
to an elderly lady who was passing ; ' ' Captain Sel
den refuses to go to — to-morrow, to witness the great
play. I raust go on with ray list ; wUl leave him in
your hands, and do you mould him to my will."
" I am glad to hold some conversation with you,
Captain."

EYE-WITNESS. 181
" Speak on, madam."
"I have unbounded confidence in your judgment."
" Yes, madam, but what would you say^" Tak
ing the proffered chair, his interlocutor resumed :
" t am much disheartened to know, if the terms of
peace offered by the Yankees, and accepted at Rich
mond, wUl compel us to resign all hopes of possess
ing New York? You must know," — with true in
valid look and voice she continued, — " that I have
been in the habit of going to Saratoga yearly, and,
in my present infirm state of health. Congress water
is indispensable. It is, however, quite out of the
question for me to think of 'going to Saratoga, New
port, or any other place North, untU we have posses
sion of two or three of the Yankee States at least.
Now, what I want to know of you, is, how soon we
may claim, say, Pennsylvania and New York, as our
own ? "
"Never ! raadam," was the emphatic reply.
' ' Never ? " gasped suffering secesh ; ' ' why, what
do you mean by that ? "
"I mean, that those who would visit Northern cit
ies, must do so under Northern auspices."
"You misunderstand rae. Captain. Not one of
us dream of going North, untU we can call this place
and that, our own. I am speaking now of a treaty
of peace between our people and the North. In what
way shall we be benefited, if we consent to negoti
ate with thera ? "
' ' What treaty of peace have you reference to ? "
" Why, you heard Judge Green read, a short time
since, of a committee having been sent from Wash
ington to Richmond, with propositions looking to the
restoration of peace." 16

182 EYE-WITNESS.
" That was a fabrication."
" What was a fabrication ? "
" What the Judge read."
"Captain, it is a very grave charge to bring
against any of our papers, — this fabricating stories to
tickle the public ear ! We may look for wholesale
falsehood among Yankee people, where lying is an
indigenous talent, but — "
"Madam," said the Captain, interrupting, "the
Post, which Judge Green read frora, is a sensation
paper, and no sensible person would waste a thought
on the matter contained In it."
" What paper then contains reliable news? " very
-despondingly was asked.
" The Richmond Examiner is, in my estimation,
the only paper worth the reading."
" O dear ! O dear ! If what you say be true, and
our papers are up to lying, we can't expect to be
prospered. But do tell me. Captain, if the North
does not offer to make peace, what we may expect
next?" " A fight, raore sanguinary even than the last."
' ' Then I hope Beauregard wUl be allowed to push
on North, as he wished to do after the Bull Run af
fair. I am convinced, that if Joe Johnson had been
out of the way, and Beauregard had been allowed to
carry out his plans, I should now be sipping my Con
gress water with the dignified grace of one, who Is
monarch of all she surveys."
' ' That was the first and last chance that Dixie had
for Northern conquest," was the rejoinder. " Some
one of our generals has said, ' we delayed to march
upon Washington in the critical moment of destiny,
and having neglected to do so, the tide of fortune is

EYE-WITNESS. 183
turned against us. Now, we shall do well to hold
our own ! ' He was right, and I believe it, from ray
heart." "But, Captain, if, with all the fight, which is in
our soldiers, we can't hold our own and gain what is
absolutely essential to our comfort, let a draft be re
sorted to."
" One thing we must have, and that is New York
city, before Christmas, draft or no draft," said a
merry voice at the Captain's elbow.
" You here. Miss Mary?" he said, turning; " I
thought the dance possessed irresistible charms for
you." "So it does, usually, but yours and mamma's ear
nest faces attracted me here ; say now, think you I
am too sanguine of spending a merry Christmas in
the Empire State?"
"•First, tell me how we shall obtaui possession of
that much coveted State ? "
" By assault, of course."
" How shaU such assault be made, by land, or
water ? "
"Now, Captain, you are laughing at me. You
know, as well as I, we shall approach New York by
Washiftgton." " Washington is ours, then? "
" You know it soon will be."
' ' No, my young friend, I know no such thing. I
was saying to your raother, as you approached, we
shall do well to hold our own."
" Hold our own, indeed ! Of course we shaU do
that, and take what we want from our thievish neigh
bors, also. Every one says you are a brave man,
Captain Selden," she added, with an arch smUe;
"the wonder is, you use such weak words."

184 EYE-"WITNESS.
" Better a weak tongue, than a storaach that can
digest only sugar-pluras."
"And you class me araong that weakly sort of
people ? "
"Yes, Miss Mary, and worse," said the blunt
Captain. " I call all raen and woraen cowards, who
say the Yankee is yet to be born, who can turn them
one foot frora his track; and I regret to add, not a
lady of my acquaintance here, but has avowed the
same. As for the men, they have perjured them
selves fearfully, if ' back to the foe ' is written
against thera."
' ' And do you advocate Yankee skedaddling ? "
" I recorainend discretion in all things. Were I
overpowered, and saw a chance to save my life by
taking to my heels, I am quite sure I should make
the attempt ; and I am almost as sure, should the
Yankees approach your city and threaten to sheU it,
not one of you ladies but would seek an asylum in
our Western hills."
' ' I, never ! I would brave danger and death
even in defence of my beautiful home ; were we in
Baltimore, I could convince you my courage is not of
words." ' ' Washington raay have its turn as weU as Balti
more." A merry laugh followed the Captain's suggestion.
' ' Why not. Miss Mary ? " '
" For the very stubborn fact, that it will keep the
Yankees sleepless to defend their own Washington ;
our troops are now at its very gates ! "
" We must not forget the North has a navy.
Think you they wUl allow their ships to rot in their
harbors, when the cry for cotton is so urgent? "

EYE-WITNESS. 185
' ' But the world can't have Southern cotton until
Abe Lincoln is made to raise the blockade."
" That is for the strongest party to maintain."
"If we find we are to be overpowered, we can
burn our cotton, and refuse to plant more."
" Then we burn our own fingers."
" I question that."
" We all say ' cotton is king.' Now, If we are
mad enough to burn what, at present, alone consti
tutes our wealth, to prevent its falling into Yankee
hands, and refuse to plant raore, we throw away the
only key which unlocks us to the world."
A commotion was at this moment heard in the
outer hall ; and a brother officer, with marked agita
tion approaching, whispered to the Captain, and the
two hurriedly left the room.

CHAPTER XXVI.
nUTLER PANIC.
Morning broke over the ' ' Home " in showers of
golden light. Nature looked up and smiled, but per
jured man, raaddened at the retributive justice his
crime had called down on his own head, — cursed.
With dawn, vociferous heralds came from the
camps with —
' ' Forts Hatteras and Clark have fallen I Butler
leads the Vandals ! "
The dreamers of yesterday — where are they ? In
chambers, parlor, and halls, stern raen d — ra the
Yankees with faint breath : women, pale with fright,
toss their hands in wild despair, and call piteously
upon husbands, brothers, and sons. Wliere are
they ?
Conquered, humiliated, they lie huddled in proud
ships, canopied by the colors they have failed to
strike, and stung to the soul by' the martial strains,
which led on their ancestors to valorous deeds and im
perishable renown.
The panic-stricken visitors at the ' ' Home " watch
shudderingly for the morning maU ; it comes, and
their worst fears are confirmed.
' ' Read ! " shouts the frantic crowd. From a
strong voice on the right —

EYE-WITNESS. 187
' ' Forts Hatteras and Clark have fallen ! The key
to Albemarle Sound is in the hands of Northern
Vandals ! Yankee gunboats, filled with brutal invad
ers. Infest the Neuse, the Tar, and Roanoke ! Wash
ington, Newbern, and Beaufort are at the mercy of
the foe ! " Then followed the particulars of the en
gagement, ' ' which was heroically sustained by a
mere handful of men against an overwhelming force
of Yankees, the carnage on the decks of the Yankee
squadron telling the accurate aim of Carolina's brave
boys." From a gathering on the left, we hear : —
' ' The forts could have held out untU reinforce
ments arrived from Newbern, had they not been
basely betrayed by a traitor, who signalled to the
fleet, where the only landing could be effected.
*****
" Commodore Barron, the traitor, was seen shak
ing hands with Brute Butler on the ship's deck ! "
*****
" A greater calamity could not have befallen us.
The coast of Virginia, from Norfolk to Cape Lookout,
is at the mercy of Yankee gunboats ! The perU
which threatens Is appalling ! To arms ! men, wo
men, and chUdren ! Brickbats are at hand, when
guns and powder fail ! To the shores ! The guns
of the iron monsters already rend the air ! The yells
of the invaders pierce our ears ! "
The scene at the ' ' Home " is one of direful con
fusion. Hurrying of feet, packing of trunks, calls
for coach, buggy, hack, knd wagon, a sob and an
oath, a cry for help, and tearful farewells, flU the air ;

188 EYE-WITNESS.
while poopoohing at ' ' cowards constitutionally " '
drops into the deep bass of unmitigated wrath :
" In holy anger and pious grief,
They solemnly cursed the rascally thieves ;
They cursed them at board, they cursed them in bed.
From the sole of the foot to the crown of the head.
They cursed them in sleeping, that every night
They should dream of the devil, and wake in a fright ;
They cursed them in eating, they cursed them drinking,
They cursed them in laughing, in sneezing, in winking,
They cursed them in walking, in riding, in fleeing ;
They cursed thera living, they cursed them dying ;
Never was heard such a terrible cursing ! "
And oh I the flight of those panic-stricken ones.
Some to the gates of the beleagured cities for home
treasures, but by far the greater number, in mad
haste, sought the fastnesses of the Blue Ridge, where
the suUen jar of cannon and the fall of cities might
not come. " From morn till eve the sad array
Urged on its melancholy way ;
Women and children swelled the tide,
And old age tottered by their side."
With home-bound ones we push on ; yet not far,
for armed men fill .the cars. A carriage is secured,
but stUl, many mUes from loved ones, we find our
course impeded by faint and weary pUgrims who
block the road. " [Nabob and negro] side by side,
Commingling in one motley tide."

CHAPTER XXVn.
MAGGIE AND RALPH.
Come with me, reader, among other actors on the
world's wide stage, upon whora the 28th of August
rose cloudless. Before the finger upon the dial of
time marked the day far spent, wondering eyes were
turned to the heavens. Quick, sharp thunder -claps
heralded a storm, but stUl no cloud obscured the blue
expanse above ; clap succeeded clap, yet no storm-
cloud, no flash.
" Somebody is getting it," says the merchant, as
he complacently rubs his hands. "The storm wUl
not trouble us," and he turns from the lookout to the
cool counting-room.
' ' There's a storm brewing," growls the sportsman,
and he shoulders his gun and whistles to his hounds.
" Mighty big thunder," chuckles Sambo, in the
corn-fleld ; and he too scans the heavens for the rain-
cloud which wUl send niggers to cover.
But before night a sound was heard, which shook
homes and terror-smitten hearts, as if an earthquake
spoke. That sound — "The Yankees are on us!
Yankee gunboats boom along our shores ! "
Maggie Blout, a prisoner in her own house, with a
heart tortured by the uncertainty of the fate of one
she had. risked her life to save (who had been be-

190 EYE-WITNESS.
trayed into the hmter's power) , and by the absence
of her Cousin Hffry, whom the world called dead, —
a-word had reached her that he was weU, and would
soon strike home for her, — endured the days of her
captivity with that self-sustaining energy which defies
-calamities, beneath the weight of which weaker minds
would sink.
Frigidly affable, Ralph Bierce met his captive daily
at the board ; there he carelessly recounted the events
of the hour ; for all intercourse with the world with
out, and all newspapers, had been interdicted from
the raoraent Ralph's hand had fallen upon her trust.
"Those are Yankee guns. Cousin Margaret," he
said, as he sought her side that August morning.
' ' I will thread your needle ; those trembling hands
can never do it."
As Maggie quietly declined his assistance, he
added —
" Why so moved? you have nothing to fear."
' ' Fear ! Ralph, conscience only makes cow
ards." " You are very white, and I see your breath comes
hurriedly ; nay, do not struggle to conceal your emo
tion, for I can assure you the Yankees can neither
harra me nor aid you."
" Your welfare does not particiUarly interest me,
nor ara I so selfish as to think of myself, when brave
men are falling like autumn leaves, perhaps at each
blast of those distant guns."
" Were you to die to-morrow, and a violent death
might be averted by those same Yankees pegging
away at our forts, this booming of cannon — "
" Ralph, speak out ; what do you insinuate? "
" What, by your looks, I know you divine."
" Why torture me so ? "

EYE-WITNESS. 191
' ' Would it ease your heart to know, that to-mor
row Richard Wheddon dies ? "
"If he raust die," and ilaggie spoke slowly and
firmly, " better it should be so, than to drag out a
miserable existence in a loathsome cell."
' ' Such resignation is truly sublime ! I thought it
woman's nature to weep, when robbed of heart's
Idols ; but you, Margaret, do sit here unmoved, as
the rope swings, which is to launch a sin-smitten soul
into eternity. What a commentary upon the faith
lessness of woman's love ! "
" That I do, Ralph, and smile too, but not at the
approaching death of a man, the daily beauty of
¦R'hose life makes yours hateful ; I smUe at the raean
malignity that his unswerving fidelity to his country
' has aroused ; for I know, and you know also, that,
deadly as your enmity is towards him, not one hair
of the head God has set his seal upon, can you or
your minions harm."
"Tell me, Margaret, where the waters of purifica
tion are to be found, where befoul traitors and ef-
feles intriguantes go down, and corae up saints and
singing angels ? I would dip, and be counted worthy
to be nurabered with such shining lights, " Ralph
said in his usual sarcastic tone.
' ' Your sainted mother taught me where the true
waters of comfort are to be found."
' ' Hold ! my mother's name is sacred ; speak it
not ! " and the proud man bowed his head as if smit
ten by an unseen hand; then, rising, paced the room
hurriedly. ,
Maggie gathered up her work, and rose to leave
her cousin's presence. As she laid her hand upon
the door-knob, Ralph was by her side. " Stay, and
hear what I would say, " he said.

192 EYE-WITNESS.
Refusing the chair he motioned for her to take,
yet grasping his extended hand, Maggie said : —
""Ralph, for your mother's sake, I wish we were
friends. "
"You speak of my mother. Had she lived, I
should not be the man I am, wrecked and ruined by
the woman who bears my father's name. Though so
young when she died, I loved her with all the fervor
of ray nature ; had she lived, a life's homage would
have been too little for the wealth of affection she
lavished on me. But she died, and I live to curse
heaven — "
" Stop, Ralph; curse the abode where your an
gelic mother calls you ! Learn to love what she loved,
and there is an eternity for you to spend together."
" Go ! Margaret, " and, as he spoke, he dropped
her hand ; " your woman's tongue unraans me."
She glanced up to the dark face, which was par
tially turned from her. Grief and contrition were
plainly stamped there ; and the sight of a tear on his
swarthy cheek made her heart bound with inexpress
ible joy. ' ' Cousin Ralph may be saved yet, " she
thought. "Love of thee, dear Aunt Mary, is the
only ' green blade of joy ' in that blasted heart. May
thy angelic presence guide tlie stumbling steps of thy
first-born, best-loved child ! "
Through the long evening Maggie sat at her win
dow, and, although peals of distant thunder sounded
at intervals, she paid no heed; for the execution of
the morrow weighed heavUy upon her spirits. "O
Harry, Harjy, why are you not here? " she breathed
aloud ; "no kindly syrapathy, no loving word ; dear,
dear Harry come back ! "
A step upon the walk aroused her. She raised

EYE-WITNESS. 193
her head, for her heart whispered, " he has come ! "
But no, " only Dr. PUl," she sighed. As she leaned
from the window, she noted that the raan, who was
not an infrequent visitor of Ralph, was listening in
tently, and counting on his fingers the sharp claps
which sounded now at shorter intervals. Ralph's
words, " Yankee guns," came to her, but she shut
her heart, and would not indulge the wild throb of
delight, which his words at first excited. Pushing
wide the blinds, " I wiU watch the storm," she
thought. ' ' God's voice is in the whirlwind ; it may
speak peace to my — Great God ! and can it be ? "
burst from her, as her eye swept that quarter of the
heavens resonant with thunder-claps where not a cloud,
not a miniature float obscured the dazzling brightness
of the glowing concave. ' ' God be praised ! the
Yankees are here, on our very coast," and she clapped
her hands in ecstasy of joy, as a continuous roar shook
the air, and died, and rose anew.
' ' Amen to that, lady ! "
Maggie dropped her eyes, and they rested upon
Dr. PUl. Stout, but misshapen, dressed in coarse
garments he stood ; uncovered as to his head, for his
one hand held the felt hat, which a true feeling of
chivalry had raised, although he boasted no "descent
fi'om English cavaliers."
Quickly she drew back. "There is something
about that man which strangely affects me," she mur
mured ; ' ' what can he have to do with Ralph ? He
must indeed be an arch-dissembler, if a Union man,
to dupe my shrewd cousin. I remeraber now, it was
after one of his calls here, I found that word from
Harry, pencUled on papa's bust ; he may have news
for me to-day. There, that was what I read in hia
17

194 EYE-WITNESS.
face ; and he shall bear tidings of Mr. Whedden's im
minent danger to Harry."
The few words were written with a trembling hand,
and once more, with unwonted cheerfulness, Maggie
had seated herself at the window to await the doctor's
reappearance, when a summons came to meet Ralph
in the parlor.
" Margaret," he said, on meeting her there, "news
has just come which calls rae to the city. Dr. Pill
confirms what I told you this morning. The Yan
kees are upon our coast, ten to one of the force, which
man our forts. Men have been sent for; I leave
with the company which goes from our city." Then,
dropping his voice, he continued ; ' ' Your reputation,
your Iffe is in my hands ; one word of mine, and the
prisoner's doom is yours. The negro w^ho betrayed
you is dead ; those you have here are devoted to you.
I go away, Margaret, but put not out your hand
again to rescue these accursed Yankee. sympathizers.
This time I spare you, for I would hurt no thing my
mother smiled upon ; but now I warn you, as there
is power in law, your Iffe is forfeited, if you raise but
a finger again to aid proscribed heads. The woman
I sought here has sUpped through my fingers. I
have to thank you for that. I have track of her;
you look as if you doubted it, but it is true. No
woman outwits me but once ; remember that, and
remember, also, what awaits you ff you set aside my
threat." Without waiting for a reply, Ralph turned away,
and, with Dr. PiU, left the house. Hardly had the
door closed upon them, when the loved bust was
raised. There lay a sUp of paper, and Maggie read
thereon : —

EYE-WITNESS. 195
" Men in our town tuilt a jail,
And a tall man put within it.
Yankee Doodle came to town,
Yankee Doodle dandy ;
Nothing in it, notfeng init,
But the bricks around it ! "

CHAPTER XXVni.
RICHARD whedden's ESCAPE.
" Never ! " said an intrepid girl, as the warning,
" Run, the Yankees are on us ! " reached her ; and
a sraile lit up her face as her eye fell upon the heavily
shotted weapons which lay near.
" Run, raissis, run ! old Butler 'U- catch you," cried
her raald, bustling into the room.
" No, Kizzie, never ! I fear no Yankees while I
have so good a friend as this ; it never faUs rae," and
she laid her hand upon her treasure defiantly.
" Missis is a powerful shot, I knows, and a raighty
sight braver than them white folks runnin' yonder.
See, see, they come this way ! "
Mistress and maid leaned frora the window, and a
scornful smUe played over the watcher's face, as she
marked the crowd of young men and maidens, old
men and cliildren, who, panic-smitten, rushed pell-
mell through the streets to the depot.
"Fly, Miss Bierce, — not a moment to lose!
The Yankees are in sight ! " Again she uttered
that single word, "Never!" and the breathless
youth quickened his steps as, with the word, her eye
flashed, "coward."
A raan in the city's loathsome jaU heard the turault
without, and, with a look which spoke a soul at

EYE-WITNESS. 197
peace, turned to meet the assassins who sought his
life. W^ith a blow, the low door flew wide, and a
strong man entered.
" Be you Richard "U^hedden, what was to be
hung ? " he cried.
" That is my name."
A low chuckle, a whispered word succeeded, and
the tall, gaunt man sprung to his feet, and followed
his bandy-legged, one-armed guide to the door,
where a cart and mule were in waiting. With a
powerful lift, the prisoner was safely placed in the
cart, and the rude driver, leaping in after him,
shouted, as he lashed his mule amid the press of fug
itives :
" Split ahead, Dixie ! — clear the track, niggers ! —
jump in write trash ! Yankee gun-boats, slam up to
the city ! " then to liis mule, " mind you, Sal, what
did I feed you for? Tear ahead, Dixie, — forty
mUes to Weltown ! Thunder and blltzen, we creep
like snaUs ! " and the mad driver alternately cheered
and, mocked the struggUng crowd, lashing on his
mule the while.
' ' Forty mUes to Weltown ! " but with the accom
panying fortieth lash, the animal, with a leap, cleared
the rope harness, and down went the cart, out shot
Jehu, away went mule ! Apparently in no way dis
concerted by the jeers and threats which assaUed him,
the prostrate man shouted, ' ' Forty miles to Wel
town ! hurry up, friends, I'm with you ! " Then, on
reo-aining his feet, he deliberately wiped the blood
and dirt from his bruised face, and dragged his cart
to the shelter of the trees by the roadside.
" Served you right, you cruel man, for beating
your mule so unraercifiiUy," Helen said, for the catas-
17*

198 EYE-WITNESS.
trophe had occurred before her window. The man
heard the words, and looking up, saw the laughing
faces bent down upon him. A bow and grimace fol
lowed, and the cap was snatched from the mop of
matted hair, to be jammed down upon the head of the
man who lay doubled up among the fodder bundles
which were in the cart ; and, in a twinkling, the
quaint driver was lost to sight.
"See! Missis, see!" cried Kizzie, directing her
mistress's attention, which had wandered to the crowd,
again to the cart and owner.
One look, and Helen sprung to the steps. Too
late ! for the noble bay was in the ropes. With a
bound Into the cart, and a low whistle, the bold rob
ber, capless, whipless, without a rein to guide the
plunging horse, dropped his body in raocked obei
sance to the enraged fair one, while " Forty railes to
Weltown ! jump in, raa'am ; free ride for nothing ! "
came back on the wind.
" VUlain ! robber ! " but her voice was lost in the
rattle of the bounding cart. " I might have shot
him," she said, bending forward to see the last of the
priceless horse. ' ' Oh, Ralph, Ralph, what wiU you
say ! "
' ' Massa Ralph wUl roar now ! " chuckles Kizzie,
from her lookout. ' ' Served him right, though ;
'taint his horse, no how; he took him from Miss
Maggie's stable 'cause Massa Harry did n't come home
from the war."

CHAPTER XXIX.
heroism.
On the day following Ralph's departure, Maggie
sits quietly at her window, watching the flight of the
terror-smitten ones, which the city has poured forth.
" More frightened than hurt," she cries, as her eye
caught sight of a low cart, which was whirled furi
ously on, araid men, women, and children, pack-horse,
mule, and shoat. "What a mad animal! is his
owner dead with fright, that he does not guide the
wild creatm'C ? "
When in fuU view of the house, a capless head
shot up from the cart, and a handkerchief held high
over it streamed out upon the wind.
" It is Dr. I*U1 ! he surely signals me ! " and Mag
gie leaned from the window to wait for the dust to
lift, to catch another glimpse of the fleet runaways.
The heavy dust cloud rose at length, but winged
steed, cart, driver^ and flag had vanished !
The successful flight of .Dr. PUl brought vividly to
Maggie's mind his rude' rhyme; and, in order that
you, indulgent reader, may appreciate the absorbing
and complete happiness the thought of Mr. Whed-
dori's probable escape afforded her, and the intense
joy wMch her own freedom inspired, a brief retro
spect is necessary ; one, which shall place you in pos-

200 eye-witness.
session of the events which followed her house being
taken forcible possession of by Ralph Bierce and his-
armed followers.
News had come, through Dr. HaU, that Mr. Wea
sel, though dangerously shot by the guard at Salis
bury, stUl lived. Mrs. Weasel's resolution was at
once taken ; and, under her assumed name. Fay, 'she
bent her untiring energies to the fulfilment of her
project, to reach and aid him. The hour had come,
which was to see her once more a wanderer ; a pU-
grira, whose Mecca was the couch of her husband ;
that husband, -a raan who would suffer torture, yes,
death, but not infamy ; who feared to live a traitor,
but dared to bless his country and die as only brave
men can.
Pomp, who had safely carried the boy, Percy, to
the McGowans for protection, had returned from the
long day's ride, and now waited at the edge of the
wood with his master's fleet horse, for the mother.
"Back 'fore de sun's up, and Massa Ralph know
nothin' 'bout dis yer night's work," chuckled the hon
est soul, as he patted the neck of his horse.
There was no moon, no starlight to guide the trav
ellers ; but the keen slave needed none, — ' ' senses
always told him when things went wrong." Already
had he waited the few moraents which Aunt Lizzie
said were necessary for final fixings, but there was no
sound of approaching steps. Pomp, though the most
patient of human beings, grew restless as the minutes
grew longer and longer ; he walked to the road, from
the road to the buggy, and back again, but no foot-
faU, save his own, broke the stillness of the night.
He gazed at the house. " Trouble up dar, sartain,"
he said. Then he remembered ff anything occurred

eye-witness. 201
to mar their arrangements, a light was to be placed
in the hall- window. With a sigh he turned again to
his horse, and was patting his soft, silky coat, when
a glimmer through the trees lit up the darkness of
the woods, and kindled the silver mountings of the
pet's gear. In a moment more. Pomp, with flying
leaps, was nearing the house.
" You are nervous," said Maggie, as she helped
her friend draw on her gloves. " Have no more
fear ; everything has worked charmingly. Lizzie tells
me our jailer has gone to his room, and Pomp waits
up the road."
Mrs. Fay, white as the cap, which was drawn
snugly about her face, laid her head upon Maggie's.
shoulder, and, in that tearful embrace, thanked God
that, in her, her chUdren and herself had found such
a friend. " No thanks are due me," said Maggie, struggling
to subdue her own emotion, " except that, with paint
and gray hair, I have made you such a nice-looking
grandmamma. Now mind," she added, shaking her
finger threateningly, " do not rub your eyes, if car-
dust and cinders threaten to put your eyes out ; for
one brush of your handkerchief would quite efface
these perfect wrinkles. Remember, too, to forget to
blush, if complimented upon your green old age, for
red cheeks and wrinkles are at variance ; and, lastly,
cough violently if questioned, for you cannot dis-.
guise your voice ; But, beyond Raleigh, you are safe.
Then toss cap, paint, and cough to the winds. There
are other changes of dress packed in the valise ; in
them you wUl be so completely disguised, no one but
your own dear husband wiU recognize you."
' ' I doubt nauch ff he would recognize me even in

202 eye-witness.
my own garb, for I feel I have changed sadly since
we were parted."
' ' You have lost nothing but what his presence will
restore, I ara confident. But hark ! there is Lizzie
at the door." Maggie drew the bolt ; " Softly, Liz
zie, softly," she whispered, " Ralph is a light sleeper."
" But wakes, Margaret, to counterplot ! "
The unlooked-for appearance of her cousin made
the brave girl quail for a moment ; but, regaining
her composure, and holding the door-knob in her
hand, she said : ' ' May I ask what occasions this in
trusion at so unreasonable an hour ? "
' ' I would see the lady who shares your private
apartment," he made answer, pushing the door rudely
open, and entering the room.
At the sound of his voice, with instinctive quick
ness, Mrs. Fay had shut off the gas, but had uncon
sciously dropped the valise. Over it the intruder
tripped, and fell heavily upon the floor ; and, before
he had regained his feet, the door was closed and
locked behind the retreating figures of Maggie and
her friend. "What have we done?" cried Mrs.
Fay, quickly checking the smothered laughter, the
thought of the fouler trapped had aroused.
' ' Done ! why turned the tables handsomely upon
my gentlemanly cousin, and made him my captive,
untU he promises more decorous deportment ! " and a
merry, ringing laugh followed Maggie's words.
' ' But Mr. Whedden ! he is in the adjoining room ;
his light wUl attract your cousin's notice."
Thought of the danger which threatened Mr. Whed
den at first seemed to paralyze Maggie ; but, shortly
regaining in some degree her stricken faculties, she
sprung to the bell-rope, and pulled it violently. As

EYE-WITN-ESS. 203
no servant appeared to her repeated summons, she
coolly and deliberately turned to her companion, say
ing ; "I see it all now. Ralph thought to have his
own way ; to cut rae off frora aid, and then compel
me to have my room searched. I must think for a
moment, and then act."
Maggie possessed a quick, comprehensive mind, —
one which could easily and effectively call into play
whatever resources the emergency of a case might find
within reach ; and now, when such fearful peril
threatened her friends and herself, her powers of per
ception seemed doubly quickened, and the project
conceived found her with ready means for its execu
tion. "Mrs. Fay," she said, " you must not delay your
departure longer than is absolutely necessary. I
know Ralph would not undertake to use force here
¦without assistance. As he has disposed of my ser
vants, I must myself reconnoitre ; if I find the way
clear to the road, you must run to the woods. Pomp
wUl soon be here ; if anything should prevent his re
turn, you must drive yourself to Weltown. But
stay here," she added, throwing open the library door,
" I shall make but a short delay."
The light in the haU-window being placed as a
signal for Pomp, the intrepid mistress commenced
her search about the grounds ; and not ten minutes
had elapsed ere she had regained her friend's side.
" There are two men on the lawn, on the watch,
probably," she said; " and, although they are white
men. Pomp and I are a match for them."
"There may be even more; what can you and
Pomp do if it should prove so ? "
' ' Fight ! " and the word came strong and clear.

204 EYE-WITNESS.
" Maggie, I cannot go, and leave you in such
perU." "But you raust, Mrs. Fay," Maggie said, reso-
olutely; and, firmly but kindly checking further en
treaties, she gave her fuU directions to gain the road
by way of the garden. " With no horse but Harry's
would I trust you. Nise knows the way ; give her
the reins, and she will carry you swiftly and safely.
When in Weltown, cut her loose ; she wUl find her .
way back. Here is gold," she added, thrusting a
heavy purse into her hand ; ' ' buy what you wUl
need In Raleigh, but for your life do not stop before
reaching there.''
One short erabrace, and the friends parted. Oyer-
shadowed by the wings of Mercy, her feet bound
with Faith's golden sandals, wliich made rough places
smooth, and lighted up the valley of distrust and
foreboding, the fearless raother stepped boldly into
perU's track, and challenged the foe. Here for the
present we must leave her, for our narrative leads us
to Maggie and her household.
' ' Ralph has deprived rae of ray servants ; now he
shall try a hand at fighting his battles alone," she
said, as, having secured the outer doors, she turned
to a richly-inlaid cabinet, and drew therefrom three
heavy pistol-cases. The pistols were ready cocked,
and, putting one into her belt, and grasping the
other deterralnately, she walked calmly to her cham
ber door. As she passed the window, she heard
heavy steps~upon the walk. "Pomp!" "Yes,
missis." " To the west veranda ! " she cries.
He is safely in, and the door made fast behind
hira. Of him, Maggie leai-ns that two men and a
negro were on his steps ; that he saw their faces dis-

EYE-WXTNESS. 205
tinctly by the haU light, but escaped them by dodg
ing under the east veranda, and creeping under the
house to the west front.
" Go to the hall. Pomp; take the pistol I have
laid there for you ; then follow rae. We will avoid
bloodshed if possible, but one thing is sure ; Mr.
Whedden must be saved at any cost."
Maggie and her powerful ally mounted the broad
staircase, and, at the door of that front room, they
stopped. " Stand here. Pomp ! let no one pass except Mr.
Whedden ; if Ralph attempts it, and threatens force,
fire, but not without ; we must keep him here, untU
Mr. Whedden has made good his escape to the gar
den." As she spoke, she drew from her pocket a
key, and, fitting it to the lock, turned it and entered
the chamber. The room was well lighted, and in an
arm-chair, in a raanner indicative of perfect repose,
Ralph Bierce reclined, reading the evening paper.
He glanced carelessly up to the pale, determined
faee which met his look, and, as his eye fell upon the
weapon she held in her hand, and upon the other in
her girdle, he smiled ironically, and resumed his
reading. The half-open door of the adjoining room caught
Maggie's attention. She advanced, and threw it
wide open. The gas was burning, but the window
which opened upon a balcony was thrown up, — her
friend gone !
' ' A very pretty cage, Margaret ; but the bird ia
beyond your call."
Ralph's words In some degree aroused the faiUng
senses of the stricken girl. Turning toward him,
she said : — 18

206 EYE-WITNESS.
"Ralph Bierce, tell me what you have done with
Richard Whedden."
" I invaded the sanctity of your private apartment,
Margaret, to find a woman; but, in her place, a
sweetheart turns up."
"Ralph, answer rae! you have a desperate
woraan to deal with ; speak truly and quickly, or — "
' 'You wUl shoot me through the head. You have
a fine weapon, a six-barrel revolver, by my life !
Shoot away ; a woraan never hits ! " '*
' ' Does n't she ? " A bat had flown in at the open
window, and was wheeling in circles over their heads.
As Maggie spoke, she raised her weapon ; a sharp
report followed, and the bat fell dead upon the news
paper, which Ralph held carelessly.
' ' By Jove ! Margaret, practice wiU make you a
killing shot."
The report brought Pomp Into the roora. He was
a powerful negro, and powerfully arraed, and no
friend of Ralph's ; that, the latter well knew. He
¦glanced frora the savage look of the athletic slave, to
the mistress ; her face, where beauty, purity, and dig
nity were so happily blended, was white as marble,
and her eyes flashed intense indignation and stern re
solve. Ralph was unarmed ; and, seeing that there was
no way of escape, he said quietly, " Sit down, Mar
garet. I have to thank you for this timely discov-

* It may not be generally known that, at the commencement of
this civil strife, the ladies of all ranks, and even children, prac
tised, with pistols and revolvers, at marks, for the purpose, at
first, of protection against their slaves, who became so saucy and
impudent, it was hard to control them, — afterwards, it became a
protection from insults from guerillas. — Editoe.

EYE-WITNESS. 207
ery, and will improve the present moment for doing
so." To her indignant response, he replied — " I found
a raan in yonder roora ; he said his narae was Whed
den, and I dropped him over the railing to my men
below. If they have n't swung the scamp, he 's — "
"Pomp, quick! follow these men, — there are
but two, and you are a raatch for thera. , Save that
raan's life, and — " Maggie spoke in a sharp, quick
voice, with her eye fixed on her cousin.
"Move one foot, nigger," burst In Ralph, but
Maggie was too quick for him ; she reached the door
first. "Lock it!" she cried. The bolt sUpped,
and Pomp was safe without.
" Stand back ! " Ralph shouted, but Maggie stood
defiant and resolute. He looked at her, doubly
arraed, roused, as he afterward said, to perfect despera
tion ; at the heavy door, securely bolted ; at the open
window, where he had so uncereraoniously dropped
a raan crippled by a fearful wound ; then, as no
other alternative offered, he quietly walked back to
his chair, and resumed his reading. An hour passed,
and stUl another, and no sound broke the silence of
the room, save the ticking of the clock on the mantel,
and the monotonous turning of the leaves of the book,
which Ralph held.
"Margaret," he said at length, "you have the
spirit of a martyr," and, as he spoke, he turned and
looked upon his captor. As no notice was taken of
his remark, and he noted that her face had assumed
a sternness, which showed that, in her nature, there
was a strength of purpose not easily overcome, he
spoke again ; this time his voice was more gentle,
almost persuasive.

208 EYE-WITNESS.
" Yes, Ralph, you are in my power for this night,
at least. By this time. Pomp has secured Mr.
Whedden, and they have made good their escape, or
he Is in- the hands of the military authorities. I wiU
now release you on one condition."
"Name it."
"Swear, that you will not molest my servants
furthe;r ; that you will leave my house, and never set
foot in it again."
" That, I cannot ; for it is by order of the VigUant
Committee I am here."
" Then confine yourself to the lower rooms, untU
the order is revoked."
" I can promise that, my spirited cousin."
' ' And you wUl leave my^ servants unraolested ? "
"Yes." " Then go." Rising, she placed her revolver to
the lock, and shattered it.
"For such clemency," Ralph said, as she flung
¦wide the door, " I will tell you that, with you alone,
rests the exposure of this most disgraceful affair.
My men beUeve that this Whedden was found and
brought here by rayself. They wUl know nothing
more, for I shall see to it that you are placed in the
way of no further temptation. My word permits
your having your servants ; they wUl be under my
surveUlance, however. I would suggest rest," he
added; "you look worn and pale; then, with a
kindlier look than Maggie had ever seen on that stem
face, he bowed, and left the room.
The following day, Maggie's servants were re
turned to her. Of thera she learned that, the night
of Mrs. Fay's flight, they had been called Into Ralph's
room ; Ann first, when, finding she did not work

EYE-WITNESS. 209
rapidly enough, — a revolver was to be cleaned ; he
might want it, he said, — he called In Lizzie. The
evident reluctance of both to work did not escape his
observation ; so, on leaving his room, he turned the
key upon thera. He was pacing the hall into which
Maggie's door opened, doubtless to assure himself
that, although the hour for the flight ripened, the
night wanderer had not come forth, when the slip
ping of a bolt attracted his attention. Before the
door was opened, he was before it, confronting his
cousin, and heard her softly whispered caution, which
so painfully precipitated unlooked-for events.
" All is plain now, Lizzie. I could not under
stand why Ralph should attempt violence, without
some weapon about him. Had we followed you out,
we should have escaped him, as you say you met him
at the door of his roora."
"But 'pears like, missis, gettin' out of de house
was runnin' slam inter de vUe critters on de outside.
De Lord's ways is right ; it am all his fixin' dat de
woman should 'scape, 'case she hab chi'd'en ; and de
man taken, 'case he hab nobody ter fret for him."
" It may indeed be so, Lizzie ; but my conscience
tortures me with thoughts of what I raight have
done." -
Hours lengthened Into days, days into weeks, and
Maggie watched in vain for Pomp's return. Had he
been killed, or had he secured the prisoner and escaped
were the questions which she asked herself many
times during the day. Of Mrs. Fay she could get
no clue ; that she had reached Weltown safely, she
was confident, as she saw the horse she drove, at the
gate, the morning subsequent to her ffight ; but had
18*

210 EYE-WITNESS.
she succeeded in eluding the wUes of the merciless
foe which tracked her ?
" Lizzie," said her mistress, during one of those
long days of unrest, " I feel strangely nervous ; sit
by rae, and sing one of those hyimns which please me,
' I 'm going horae,' I like it, — sing that." Lizzie
had a soft, pleasing voice, and always felt '"proud
like," when her mistress would be amused or com
forted, by her singing. Promptly she made the at
tempt to do Maggie's bidding, but ' ' I'ra going " was
all that would corae ; she raade a second effort, but
with no better success. " O, pray, missis," she
cried at length, "can't sing dat," and, tossing her
apron over her head, in agony of grief she threw her
self upon the floor at Maggie's feet.
Maggie was startled ; her first thought was that
some new calamity had come down upon her doomed
house. Was Harry dead? it was but yesterday she
had received word that he was alive.. Was she to be
arraigned before the Vigilant Committee as a Yankee
sympathizer? the thought made her face white, but
her spirit was bold.
Not long, and her gentle, persuasive words eased
the throbbing aches of Lizzie's great, warm heart,
and her sad tale of treachery and death was fully dis
closed. This is her story : Jake, her husband, whom
Lizzie loved with her whole heart, whose freedom
she had purchased with her mistress' money, and Into
whose ear she had poured aU the troubles and trials
of those dark days, was the traitor ! He, it was,-
who had sought out Ralph Bierce, and told him what
daUy transpired beneath the mistress' roof, with the
hope of ultimately obtaining the reward offered for

EYE-WITNESS. 211
the apprehension of the woman who had shot BiU
White. She had told Jake that some one was under
her mistress' protection ; but, as she had promised,
had never even whispered names, although Jake was
always at her to do so. Pomp had never liked Jake,
because he was a free nigger, and daily told him to
go along back to the city, and not to be sneaking
about there. He had been to Lizzie, and tbld her
Jake was a no-account nigger, and he meant to tell
his mistress, and was only deterred' from doing so by
her saying, if he made one complaint about Jake, she
would burn his cabin down ; but, after what Pomp
had said, she kept her eye on Jake, and held her
tongue, which so provoked him that he swore he
would get another wife, and run off North. The
night Pomp was to carry Mrs. Fay away, Jake
dogged Lizzie's steps as she went to the stable to give
Pomp orders, and he heard enough to convince him
self that some work was to be done that night in the
big house, and the exact hour. He tried to bribe
Ann to teU him what it was ; but she called him a
fool, and told him to get out, — that he didn't know
what he was talking about. Jake told Ralph what
he had heard, and, as his assistants were out on a
scout, he was sent to the city for aid. In attempting
to overtake the cart which bore the raan Ralph had
dropped from a window to his men, Jake was over
taken by Pomp ; he knew him, and swore he was at
the bottom of the fuss, and should smart for it. Jake
knew Pomp would keep his word, and therefore fired
upon him. Porap returned the fire, and Jake fell.
At that moment some one sprung frora the side of
the road- and caUed Pomp. The two talked a few
moments; then struck off up the road together. Jake

212 EYE-WITNESS.
was picked up by Ralph's raen the following morn
ing, and, at his (Ralph's) orders, carried to Pomp's
cabin. He knew he should not live long, and begged
to see his wife ; but that was refused hira. One day
Lizzie heard the guard say, " That's a mighty nice
cabin where that nigger is, but he'll have no use for
it many raore days." She thought it must be Pomp
who was dying, and set her heart on reaching him.
She did so by treating the guard freely to . whiskey,
and found, not Porap, but Jake, sick unto death.
He told her what he had done, and wanted her to
tell her mistress it was for money to get off North,
which had raade him so wicked. He wanted her to
sing, " I'm going home to die no more." WhUe she
was singing, he fell asleep ; and for fear of detection
she returned to the house. The next day, when
Ralph returned from the city, she heard the guard
say to him, " The sick nigger is dead; " she saw
him throw them money, and heard him say, " See to
it he Is decently buried ! "

CHAPTER XXX.
UNEXPECTED FRIEND.
" I SAW the Yankee prisoners," said Helen Bierce,
while on a brief visit to her cousin Maggie, after a
somewhat lengthy visit in Newbern.
' ' Those that were wrecked off Beaufort during the
late gale, NeUie ? "
"Yes; I saw thera as they inarched frora the
depot to the jail, and I must add, though a very
mean-looking set of men, they walked manfully, yes,
defiantly amid the crowd, which abused them roundly ;
afterward, through the kindness of Dr. PUl, I visited
the jaU, or rather, saw all I wished to of them from
without the door."
"Dr. Pill?" said Maggie, with unaffected amaze ;
' ' How carae he in Newbern ? "
" That, I cannot teU you ; I only laiow that he is
there, and in attendance upon the prisoners, sorae of
whom sustained fractures in buffeting the waves. He
is a man every way worthy of such a trust, I shoiUd
judge, from what -I have heard Ralph say of hira, and,
where there are so raany traitors, — we know our
city is full of them, — too much precaution cannot be
exercised in securing responsible persons for such po
sitions. To think of our jail being broken open the
day of the Butler panic, by some of these same

214 EYE-WITNESS.
shameless creatures, and Mr. Whedden, the arch-
traitor liberated ! I knew, Maggie, he was no com
mon man ; the few raoraents I saw hira here con
vinced rae of that. It is inexplicable how a person,
endowed with the highest order of talent, can be so
recklessly indifferent to the sacredness of truth, and
be guilty of the most heinous of aU sins, — that of
counselling his feUow-men to the betrayal of their
country ! "
' ' Have your Newbern friends quite recovered from
the Butler panic?" asked Maggie, wishing to avoid
further conversation upon Mr. Whedden's escape.
" Yes, quite so, and, as you may well believe, are
extremely sensitive upon that topic. What is in
tolerable to me is, that the men cast the odium which
is heaped upon runaways upon woman's ever-con
venient shoulders. Not one of them, but will teU you
that their wives and little ones were their first care ;
and, safe abodes secured for them, with the first
weapon at hand, they made all haste home to drive
back the foe. But it is an incontestable fact that
not a raan was seen in citizen's dress in Newbern's
streets, untU square, street, and alley resounded with
the martial tread of soldiers frora Virginia."
"Missis is wanted," said Lizzie, approaching;
' ' and the raan says he has 'tickler business, and can't
wait." " Stay, dear NeU, tiU I return."
An hour later, and we wUl venture to look in upon
the mistress of the house and the new comer, and we
hear : —
" Are any of the prisoners very sick, Harry? "
"Dr. PUl, madam! " said the person addressed,
with a frightful shake of the head.

EYE-WITNESS. 215
" My third offense," laughed Maggie ; "but I am
so happy, so very happy,. Dr. Pill, you must forget
to scold. You can never deceive me again, never,"
she added emphatically ; "if yomnake yourself ten
times more hideous than you are now, and wear two
wooden arras instead of one. And to think that it
was through your agency that Ralph and his corapany
were cut off from a retreat to the boats, and met the
fate they deserved on the surrender of the forts. Dear,
dear Harry ! never did a heavier weight of trouble
and dread fall from mortal shoulders, than from mine,
when, on the list of Hatteras prisoners, I read Ralph's
narae. But teU now the particulars of your flight
from the field, and your subsequent adventures."
" Not now, dearest, for my time is too limited for
so long a tale ; " then, glancing at his watch, ' ' only
a half-hour to the time for the evening train."
... o
To Maggie's earnest entreaty, he resumed : ^—
" Let it suffice you, for the present, to know, that
ha-ving heard through a brother-officer of the treat
ment you had been subjected to through Ralph's
agency, I left my regiment at Manassas, and, having.
secured a complete disguise, returned here with the
determination to dislodge the scoundrel. What my
plans were to secure his person, and Uberate Richard
Whedden, I cannot now divulge ; but the timely ar
rival of the Yankees upon our coast brought my
project to an earlier culmination than my most san
guine hopes could have anticipated."
' ' Was it you, Harry, who haUed Pomp the night
of Mr. Whedden's arrest ? "
" Truly, it was none other, and it was my shot
which sent that rascal, Jake, to his final account.
Of Pomp, I learned of Mrs. Weasel's ffight, and I

216" EYE-WITNESS.
despatched him to her assistance ; and, as the long-
looked-for time had not come, when I could safely,
that is, consistently with all our interests, make rayself
known to j^ou, I lent my entire energies to Mr.
W^hedden's demands. Through Dr. HaU's aid, who
alone of my friends knew of my return, I had se
cured means for his escape from prison- waUs, when
that, to us, glorious Butler panic dispensed with
further intrigue, and numbered Dr. PUl and friend
araong the ghostly throng which westward pressed."
" Well do I reraember that memorable morning."
" And Miss Helen does, also, I reckon."
"Why, Helen? She, I was told, was the only
lady in town that did not leave In the panic."
Then followed the particulars of the freak of his
mule before her door, and his gaining the possession
of his own horse, Nise, from her stable. Recover
ing her composure, which Harry's exploit had for a
time completely overthrown, Maggie said : —
" Now tell rae of your patients, the prisoners ; are
they very great sufferers ? "
'.' Sufferers ! Maggie, no. A raore deterralned, un
equivocal set of raen cannot be found on God's foot
stool. Brandy and wholesome food are what they
want to set them on their feet again. I am wrong,
however, in saying they are all mending ; there is
one who is ' heavily under the weather.' He is a
stranger to the others ; they tell me, the first night of
the blow an object was seen bearing down upon them,
which proved to be a dismantled craft. No Uving
thing was seen on her ; and we think this man raust
be a survivor of the wreck, for he was picked up only
a few hundred yards from the spot where the surf
washed the others ashore. He has sustained some

EYE-WITNESS. 217
internal injury, I fear. Dr. Sharpy has my pass
during my absence, and I depend upon his being able
to help the poor fellow. Maggie," he added, feel
ingly, "I would not exchange the satisfaction of giv
ing an encouraging word to these brave Yankees', for
aught earth can offer ; and, if I live, I wUl yet free
every one of them, and you must aid me."
"I, Harry?"
"Yes. Newbern must be your horae while it is
mine ; for I not only need your coolness and judg
ment to aid me in perfecting my plans, but I feel it
is not safe^ for you to be longer here without a pro
tector. The recent caU for men for local defence as
sures me that not long, and our most sanguine hopes
may be realized."
' ' You mean the advance of the Yankees into our
State?" " Yes ; and God grant that the work they have to
do here may be unflinchingly and thoroughly done !
But what have you there, a letter ? "
"Yes, from my dear young friend, Annie Mc
Gowan ; it was handed to me as I passed through
the haU."
" Read it aloud, Maggie. Her father is as true a
Union man as we have in the State."
' ' You knew his son was in prison ? "
"Yes, in Salisbury. I saw him there; he bears
his captivity like a martyr."
" What talismanic charm opened those doors for
you. Dr. PUl?"
" I got in, then got out again," said Harry, laugh
ing at Maggie's evident astonishment at his ubiquity.
' ' No more questions now, love, for I am anxious to
hear the letter. I see in the papers, when the draft
19

218 EYE-WITNESS.
came off In Whiteville, there was considerable trouble ;
several arrests were made."
' ' When does the draft corae off here ? " asked
Maggie, breaking the seal of her letter, and shaking
the finely- written sheets Into her lap.
" To-raorrow."
" WUl you escape the draft? "
"^Of course, by being one of the medical board.
Read now."
Maggie read : —
" My heart is almost broken. I shall feel better
ifi write, for, while I do so, I can hide my face from
mararaa. She is an angel, or she could not bear
trouble such as ours, so heroically; while I —
You shall hear what has befallen us ; then you will
pity, not blame.
" Poor, dear papa has been cruelly Imprisoned;
W"hat will be done next ? My heart shudders to think
to what fearful extremities men like Calvin Hicks
carry their malignity. I know I should die if I could
not see papa. I go daily by the jail window ; from
behind those horrid bars, he looks out, and smiles so
kindly, as if to say, — ' be patient, Annie.' I feel
my heart has grown strangely cold and hard, and,
only when I ain practising with my pistol, Frank's
last gift, do I lose the throbbing ache which sickens
my soul. There is something in the smeU of powder,
in the sharp report, in the sight of the wood where I
have buried ray ball, which teUs rae, small girl that
I am, I have power.
" Maggie, I have sent you ray Diary for the past
week ; read it, dear friend, then come to comfort
marama.

EYE-WITNESS. 219
" Dec. 1. Rode out with Mr. WUson. We
went to the camps ; the entire town was there to see
two Yankees, captured on the coast, then on their
way to SaUsbury. Secesh acted hatefully ; but the
Yankees appeared unconcerned, as if ' calculating' the
chances of escape. Examined the Testament wliich
saved the iffe of one of the prisoners ; it was directly
over his heart; the ball pierced the Book, but
glanced off at the words, ' Who delivered us from so
great a death, and doth deliver ; in whom we trust
that He wUl yet deliver us.' * The man escaped
without a scratch, -f Percy, after looking at the Book
attentively, saiA : ' Miss Annie, God loves that
Yankee, doesn't he?'
"I caused one of the prisoners to look at me, by
whipping my pony to a dance amid the crowd. He
caught my whip, which I flung at him, and, when it
was handed back to me, the paper I had wound
around it was in the Yankee's hand. He read it ;
our eyes met, and we both smUed ; he will know
Frank now when they meet. On our ride home, we
met fifty of our own soldiers marching to town, hand
cuffed. Oh, such a fearful sight ! Fathers, broth
ers, sons, bareheaded, wan, and haggard, driven on
m irons, to be shot, perhaps, or, what is less merci
ful, left to starve in prison. They were deserters, —
nine months' raen, who had served their time, and
refused to re-enUst, and, to avoid being compeUed to
do so, run off.
" Dec. 2. Thirty of the prisoners, respectable
men from our county, and many of whom papa knew,
* 2 Cor. i. 10.
t This fact was given the writer by the surgeon who examined
the prisoner.

220 EYE-AVITNESS.
slept in our barn last night ; sent to papa to feed, be
cause a Union man. Sarah gave the guard whiskey,
and, when they were completely stupefied, mamma
and I went to the sufferers ; we gave them brandy,
and had their blistered feet washed. Mamma en
couraged and prayed for them ; I could only coun
sel them to take the arras I offered, and dispatch the
guard. At sunrise, the men formed into line ;
' March I ' shouted the captain, and they passed
from sight down the dusty road. I dare not write
how I felt when I thought of the agonized hearts
from which they had been torn by their savage
keepers. " Dec. 3. The day of the draft ! Percy and I
sat at the window to watch the people that thronged
the streets. Blustering Secesh rides furiously up to
the Court House; men, unconditional Unionists,
walk erect and firm ; ' If I am drafted, I won't
go," can be plainly read on their faces. Scarey men,
who want to save what they own, who are troubled
to know which side is the strongest, which. In the long
run, wUl hold out best, in great trepidation draw
near to^e boy with the box, who bawls out, ' Who's
got to face the fire ? '
' ' The crowd thickened, so did the dust ; and
Percy and I left our point of observation for the gar
den, to attend to the flowers and pets. A great
noise came up from the Court House ; we listened,
it came again ; It came so often, we at length forgot
to notice it, — forgot everything but the vast im
provements we were making in mamma's garden-beds.
The sun set, then we watched for papa's steps ; he
said he should not dine with us, but early t'wllight
would find him at home. Night came, and no papa ;

EYE-WITNESS. 221
supper was spread, but remained untasted. My
heart whispered, ' patience ! Calvin Hicks is away ;
no harm can come to papa.' Another hour passed,
then a step was heard upon the walk. Mamma,
Percy, and I were at the door ; a negro was there.
He handed mamma a note ; she read it by the hall-
light, then fell insensible. We restored conscious
ness ; she bade me go to bed, and said in the morn
ing I should know what troubled her. She looked
so sad and sick, I could offer no remonstrance. After
Percy fell asleep, I wrapt myself in a shawl, con
cealed my pistol in its folds, and stole noiselessly
from the house to search for papa. I well knew
where to tum my steps ; for I read ' jaU ' in mamma's
face. The jaUer I knew to be a good man, and a
Unionist. I reached his house ; he received me
kindly, but resisted aU my entreaties to be admitted
into om' loved one's ceU. With the promise that he
would give him a note, that before many days I
should go to him, I grew calm ; but would not re
turn home until I had heard what occasioned papa's
arrest. " ' And it was Calvin Hicks that did it,' I cried.
" ' Col. Hicks has no doubt helped this matter
along, but, for many months, John McGowan's Ufe
and his friends' have been threatened. In such
sorry times, you must be thankful nothing worse was
done than shutting them up here, where. In my mind,
they are safer than if in their own beds.'
" ' They are irresponsible men, and may make it
worse any time.'
" He made no reply, but I heard him mutter Cal
vin Hicks's name with an oath ; he told me of the
19*

222 EYE-WITNESS.
draft, — that those shouts which we heard were
raised by Union men when Secesh were drawn.
' ' ' The Lord's hand was in it, ISliss Annie, for, of
all the names drawn, Secesh outnumbered Union
men, five to one. A row followed ; the Unionists
would have corae off best, for the Rebs were just
about ' done gone,' when Hicks and his squad rode
up. He had a warrant to arrest John McGowan,
Robert Wilson, Frank Graves, and some six others.
This settled the fuss ; the draft was declared unfair,
and another is to come off next week.'
"I wrote ray note, and left the house. I stood
upon the door-step, and looked up to those gloomy
walls, which shut firom sight papa, and all those good
men whose names the jaUer had given me. Their
wives and children must watch and wait ; their hearts
ache, as mamma's and mine, and must keep on ach
ing until the Yankees come. Frank's words came to
me : ' A woman armed Is raore formidable to meet
than a man, when the sanctity of her home Is in
vaded.' ' Frank is right,' I thought ; ' women,
nowadays, must study something beside patience ;
they, must fight, and they can do it to save their
loved ones from cruel deaths. Who,' I thought,
'^had brought down upon us such misery? Who
had sworn never to rest until Jane McGowan had
drank to the dregs the bitter draught his malignity
had concocted ? You, Calvin Hicks ! ' I involun
tarily shouted. I had gone to the gate ; so shaken
was I by the hateful thoughts, which tortured me, I
had not noticed the approach of a horseman. At the
sound of ray voice, he drew rein, then walked his
horse by the fence on which I leaned. The newly-
risen raoon shone fully on his face, so hideous, so

EYE-WITNESS. 223
sinister ; my implacable enemy was approaching me !
I did not feel in the least agitated ; from the moment
he told me of Frank's arrest, and I saw the triumph
in his evil eyes, a violent wish seized me to avenge
our wrongs. Now, when sraarting from a blow
heavier than the first, my mercUess foe appeared be
fore me. I knew I was in the shadow of the house ;
that, if seen, I could not be recognized ; I felt those hor
rid eyes glare upon rae, and I seeraed to hear the
glad chuckle hiss from his teeth, that another Mc
Gowan was in his grasp, and that victim my papa !
The thought maddened me ; I drew my pistol from
the folds of my shawl, raised it, and took deliberate
aim. As ray finger pressed the trigger, he leaned
towards me, and I heard, 'Is that you, Sal?' I
heard no other sound ; but I saw the tall man reel in
his saddle, then strike the ground.
^ "I reached horae. , I spent the long night In the
garden ; I woke my pets, and fed thera ; I picked
flowers for the vases, and, with ray apron full, walked
up and down the shadowy paths untU morning broke ;
then I went to the house, to my own Uttle room, and
prepared for breakfast. As I write, I ara calm. I
shall meet mararaa at the breakfast-table ; will she
remark my quietness, and read in my eyes what ray
hand has done?
^' Night. The house isstiU; I can ¦write now of
this eventful day, then go to ray watch. Mamma
did not go down to breakfast ; she was too ill. Sarah
told rae at the table that Col. Hicks had been shot
dead by a negro, during the night. She said every
body In town was glad of it. I sent for John ; he,
too, said Col. Hicks had been shot. I asked him
where ? ' Near the jaU,' he said ; ' the guard heard the

224 EYE-WITNESS.
report of a pistol, and reached the spot where the Col
onel lay, in time to see a negro running down the road.
The raan was not dead, but dying,' John said, and I
disralssed hira. Mamma called me to her room, and
handed me the note which she had received the night
before. I read it, but so calmly, she pressed me to
her, saying : —
" 'My daughter does not distress me by her usual
violent expressions ; now read,' she added, ' this
note, which has just been sent in.'
' ' I took the note ; it was from the friend, who had
sent news of papa's arrest. Therein I read of the
mortal wound Calvin Hicks had received during the
night, ¦ — supposed to have been inflicted by one of
his negroes, who had once before attempted his mas
ter's life.
' ' I could not speak ; I bowed my face in ray hands,
and knelt down by raamma's bedside. ' Annie,' she
said, ' whUe we raay rejoice that God has removed
frora our path so violent an eneray, we must pray
that he raay be awakened to a sense of his own wick
edness ; that his last moments raay be spent in raak-
ing his peace with his Creator.' I raade no reply,
but kissed mararaa, and left the roora. I went to the
jail ; papa was at the window. He had read ray
note, — I saw it in his face. The jailer told rae Col.
Hicks had been shot down at his gate, not a half-
hour after I left his house.
"'WUl he die?' I asked.
' ' ' The chances are ten to one that he does ; the
wound has been probed, but, they tell me, the ball
cannot be extracted. Ah ! Miss Annie, you should
hear how your papa and all the Union men rejoice
that such a devU has been cleared from their path.

EYE-WITNESS. 225
Mark ray words ; they will be free in less than ten
days. 'Twas that raan. Hicks, who kept the county
in such a stir about them ; and, I can teU you now,
he swore he would have every one of them shot, or
In Salisbury, before the week was out ; and he would
have raade his threat good, if the Lord had n't put
hira'outof the way.' To-morrow, he said, I should
see papa; that, now Hicks was dispatched, there
was not a man Uving he feared.
" The day has passed. As I kissed mamma ' good
night,' I told her I was to watch with a sick person.
She either did not hear, or was too engrossed with
her own thoughts to heed my remark ; for she smiled
when I spoke, but did not question me. She Is sleep
ing now ; so is Percy, and I lay down my diary to
go to duty as nurse.
" Dec. 5. Last night I watched with the sick
man ; no one comes to Calvin Hicks's couch, no one
speaks of him but in terms of reproach ; even the
doctor looks in upon him as if he wished it might be
his last caU. Wbat a dreadful misfortune to Uve,
hated of all men ! but what a terrible thing to die
without raising one prayer for forgiveness ! Through
out the night, I sat by his couch, and bathed his
head, and cooled his swoUen lips ; whUe my ears
were fiUed with the groans which his agony ¦wrung
from him. I knelt down at his side, and prayed that
my sin might not be ¦visited upon those I loved ; that
one short hour of consciousness might be allowed the
sinking man for repentance. For myself I could not
pray ; I felt no contrition, no grief; I simply felt
glad that Calvin Hicks, the guerilla chief, the wife-
murderer, the fiendish captor of my father and broth- '
er, was powerless to commit further crimes, and, in

226 EYE-WITNESS.
his own body, suffering the torments he loved to in
flict upon others. No suspicion of the deed would
rest upon me, but I knew God's eye saw my heart,
and from Him I felt my sentence must come. I left
the house when day broke. I left him alone, for his
servants, after robbing their master of everything
valuable, had taken to the swamps ; but, whUe he
lives, mararaa and I wUl see that he does not suffer
for nursing.
" I go to the jaU at ten o'clock. Oh ! the joy, the
delight, of being locked in papa's arms again ! I
shaU teU him aU."
Here the diary closed. Upon a sUp of paper, in
serted, was written : —
" The jail was empty ! Papa gone, without one
kiss, one embrace, one look ! I can have no rest,
no peace, untU I track the murderers, and know —
what would I know ? — -if papa is among the Uving.
Maggie, I send you my diary by John ; in merCy to
poor mamma come back with him ; she and Percy
watch for you. I fold and send this .with a Idss ; be
fore it reaches you I shaU know somewhat of papa.
" Annie."
' ' Dear Maggie : —
" Annie has left me with friends. She seeks news
of her father. Return with my servant if you can ;
your syrapathy may ease my heart, wrung with un
utterable woe.
"Jane McGowan."

CHAPTER XXXI.
SCENES IN NE-WBERN. — THE WINTER OF 1862.
The season which followed the Satteras alarm was
the gayest ever recorded of the city of  . Mar
tial strains and martial sights filled the streets, and
the lofty consciousness of " irresistible might," and
duty unflinchingly met, the hearts which beat en mili-
taire, and the raore tender ones under calico and"
horaespun. What though the blockade banished rich
viands and Eastern luxuries ? The giiest was no less
welcorae at the hospitable board, and regaled with
delicious decoctions of parched rye and sweet potato,
which, sipped frora china and silver, was pronounced
more than a fair substitute for Java and Mocha.
What though the salad was crude and unsavory, the
light laugh and bewitching grace with which it was
tendered, made the otherwise unpalatable bitter, sweet
ness. What though the hand which rested upon the
gay cavalier was gloveless, how proudly it was
pressed ! Is it a marvel that .the warm blush kin
dled, as upon the raanly form at her side, the de
voted maiden recognizes the suit which her own hand
had woven, with its warp of gray cotton and woof
of silk, — the very silk which once adorned that
petite figure, cut, ravelled, carded, and woven by
the hand which now, in happy confidence, is laid

228 EYE-WITNESS.
upon the arm, upraised in defence of Southern rights
and Southern glory.*
At the height of the winter's fesfivltles, a sound of
warning came, which caused the reveUers to lose the
measure, the camp-weary to move as if there were
fight and glory ahead, and the triste to look bold and
defiant, — all, eager for the fray, if, to their shores,
the prows of the " invincible armada," which had
left Hampton Roads, should be turned.
"Formidable, invincible, indeed!" laughed the
young Confederacy : ' ' what had Southern braves to
fear from a set of sniveUing pettffoggers, pedlers, cob
blers, and colliers, such as New England had turned
out to equip Burnside's expedition, — the nine-days'
wonder." A hearty laugh is contagious ; and the mere sug
gestion of this " far-famed expedition" caUed forth
such commentaries upon New England Yankees, —
which, in Secesh parlance, can be raore becomingly
imagined than repeated here, — that convulsive cach-
ination was universal.
Poor, deluded chivalry ! even whUe maniacly you
hurl defiance at Liberty's own, their foot is on your
shore. Back to your cotton-bags creep ! Strip
patch after patch, pile bale upon bale until their snowy
crests pierce the clouds ; cry aloud. Cotton is king I
Cotton is mighty to save ! — but hark ! the up-
springing breeze brings to your ears the thunder
which heralds the Conqueror come !
Through the smoke of the black-mouthed cannon,
* a fact, that old black silk, cut in shreds, then carded, spun,
and woven with cotton warp, -vrill make a pepper and salt col
ored cloth, quite handsome. I have helped make this cloth, and
know the suits have been worn. — Authoe.

EYE-WITNESS. 229
faces, glowing with the indomitable confidence of
power, look forth and shout ; ' ' Come with us !
Come with us ! Though your hands are defiled with
blood, and your fingers with iniquity ; your lips have
spoken lies, and your tongue uttered treason ; sheathe
the sword ! Take once more for your watchword,
' Liberty and Nationality ; ' then, " though your sins
be as scarlet," they shaU be forgiven you ; " though
they be red like crimson," they shaU be washed white !
My people had eyes, but they would not see ; they
had ears, but they would not hear; but they ^/< the
blows which struck Roanoke from their hands.
Transfixed as with lances, they, gaping, stood, and
beheld the " cobblers pegging," then broke, with
the cry, ' ' Abe's tigers are on us ! "
Oh ! the direful confusion, the unmitigated terror,
the splenetic rage of the luckless ones who heard the
waU : —
" The bars are down ! The Yankees hold the
State ! Westward ! "
And westward it was by night and day. Pack-
mules, horses, ringed-boned, spavined, bUnd, and
lame, with their Uving freight, filled the forests, and
crowded the human stream which pressed on for mid
dle Carolina. Mothers, ¦with infants in their arms,
plied the oar In leaky boats, under pelting rains, and
suns which blistered little bare heads ; for, in that
terrible flight, hats and caps were forgotten.
The road by day, and the midnight escape, were
alike Ulumined by the 'cotton conflagration ; whUethe
more vivid light of burning turpentine discovered the
thoughtful servant looking after massa's effects.
"Run, missis, run! I'se lookin' arter things,
and, quick as a wink, '11 catch up."
20

230 EYE-WITNESS.
Mistresses ran ; so did the AbigaUs, but in oppo
site directions ! White hands, empty, — black and
cunning ones, overflowing !
Newbern, intrenched behind iier ' ' impregnable
forts," heard the rout, and paled, not with fear, but
with anger, at the second laying-on of Yankee hands
upon Carolina's soil. Among the fugitives which
crowd the streets, we recognize raany acquaintances
frora forsaken cities and towns on the coast. Not
the least gay is Mr. Francis Bierce's household ; not
the least happy, Maggie Blout's teraporary home,
which is daily enlivened by Dr. Pill's jovial presence.
A bright March morning sees Francis Bierce pac
ing his office with agitated steps. His usual placidity
of expression has vanished, and now heavy forebod
ing darkens his brow, and sets deep lines about his
mouth. A friend breaks in upon his revery, exclaim
ing, "That was a capital speech of yours, Bierce,
last night. Your patriotism wUl cost you something,
sure." " Not a cent," said the one addressed, drawing up
his chair to his friend's side ; ' ' don't think I'm such
an ass as to go down with this d — d Confederacy.
I've secured a plank which will survive the wreck,
and I reckon you are with me there, Dunn."
" Why, yes, ray cotton I sold some weeks. ago
down in Georgia ; but you told me, certainly not
more than a week ago, you had some thousand bales
on hand."
-" Exactly ! but I've sold it to a bale."
' ' And your turpentine ? "
" Not a barrel of it in the State."
" That's neat for you ; but, tell me, how did you
bring about such sales ? "

EYE-WITNESS. 231
" I have friends in Congress, who do not mean to
see themselves, or their supporters, brought quite to
the wall ; they initiate rae into the ways and means
of laying in for a ¦v^et day. This making a bonfire
of property may be fun for Jeff's agents, but Fll be
 , they shan't set match to mine ! "
"Things are looking bad for us, Bierce, mighty
bad ; it's hard telling what we are coming to."
" To my mind, Dunn, it is as plain as day that
we are coming to h — 1, every soul of us, through the
perverseness and incompetency of that tyrant and
fool, Jeff Davis. Why was our garrison crippled at
Roanoke, just as the Yankees were on us ? Why our
own brave boys caUed out of the State, and South
Carolina's sneaking d — Is sent here for our defence ?
What does Jeff care if our State is overrun with
Northern Vandals, ff he, and his army in Virginia,
can fatten on our bacon, and fight from behind the
ramparts which our boys' guns afford ? "
' ' We are getting it ! We are getting it ! No
doubt about that, and it comes of our letting the iron
cool before we struck. Kentucky and Missouri brag
' their flags were flying, before the bunting of ours
was woven. Jeff calls us a ' drag,' and, now that
we have been twice whipped on our own soil, every
State in the Confederacy cries, ' Cowards ! ' "
" Hang rae ! Dunn, if I woiUd n't like to see Davis
and his Confederacy sunk ! Ah ! how are you,
Green? Glad to see you. Mr. Dunn, Judge Green.
Any news for us to-day from your way ? " asked Mr.
Bierce, handing the new comer a chair.
" The « Yanks' have fired our town.'
"That's bad, Green."
" I'U be blessed If I care a fig if they have razed
it to the ground. I've lost everything ! "

232 EYE-WITNESS.
" Everything, Green? Not so."
" But it is so. Every nigger, every bale of cotton
is gone ! and, as for my wife and chUdren, they
might as well be in another planet for all I know of
them ; " and a heavy groan from the pennUess, wid
owed boaster of the " Home," followed.
Again the door opened. ' ' Bierce," said a bustling
man entering, ' ' could n't leave the city without teU
ing you what a heap of good your speech, last night,
did me. I agree with you heartily, that a man is as
much a traitor to his country, as a Yankee abolition
ist, who refuses to put the brand to his cotton and
turpentine. I'm off now to follow your example ; if
I have n't as many cotton bales by a hundred, I'm a
little ahead of you in turpentine, I reckon. Our
President, our cause, need just such men as you to
keep us sharp to the mark. Publish your speech,
Bierce ; publish it in all the papers, and the Yanks
may hunt the Confederacy through for a pound of
cotton, or a gill of turpentine, to gloat over."

On the evening of the same day. Miss Helen
Bierce's parlors were brUliantly lighted; for there,
were assembled the grave, young and gay, who, with
pleasing rivalry, vied with each other in the sprightly
sally, and patriotic song, to drown the humUiatIng
consciousness of the enormity of the disaster which
had befallen their State. The presence of Gen. Runn
and staff added much to the eclat of the occasion.
" General," said Helen, turning from the piano,
where her brilliant execution of the ' ' Manassas
Rout," — the most popular piece of the day, — had
elicited the warmest encomiums ; ' ' how many weeks

EYE-WITNESS. 233
have we to enjoy the imdisturbed possession of this,
our adopted city ? "
"My dear young lady," was the reply; "you,
like raany others, and, I may add, the press univer-
saUy, give the Yankees credit for a display of prow
ess they by no means deserve. Araong the Yankee
pioneers of the West, we may expect to find pluck
and dogged obstinacy, naturally the result of the wild
life they lead, which may give us some trouble to
overcome ; but Burnside's raen are mostly New Eng
land Yankees, and, my word for it, not one in ten
araong them can handle a musket soldierly, if they
can distinguish the breech from the muzzle."
"But you must aUow, General," said Helen,
" that they gained a decided advantage over us at
Roanoke." " Yes, some little advantage; all owing to their
great superiority in numbers, however. Let them
foUow the ' ignis fatuus' which has led thera on thus
far, and they will find Newbern a bog from which
there is no escape."
Respect, paid to the opinion of superior officers,
sUenced further remark upon the subject of Yankee
capacity. Glances, however, were exchanged araid
the crowd of eager listeners, and more than one eye
flashed saucUy, as if something might be said to the
contrary, if to disagree with so wise a General was
not unpardonably discourteous.
" Then we are free from all alarm here," Helen
said, glancing mischievously upon the group around ;
" this leaving home in a panic is distressingly un
sightly, to say the least."
" Laugh at us, Helen, ff it so please you; we all
know your courage, and the fact, also, that it was
2Q*

234 EYE-'SyiTNESS.
only at the command of your father, you left. As
for rayself, I am not ashamed to own I was araong
the foremost to run from home at the Butler scare,
nor to avow that, at the present time, I feel quite in
the mood for ruralizing, although the season for the
country has not begun."
To a remark of one of. his staff. Gen, Runn re
plied : —
" Certainly, certainly, the possession of our inland
seas is of sorae advantage to our enemies, but not, as
many think, an irreparable loss to ourselves. With
the force assigned me, I feel confident we shall sus
tain no further loss, and shall ultimately drive the
invaders from the State."
" I have never seen a Yankee, and hope I never
may, was whispered, as the General, bowing, moved
away ; " but I must believe them brave, for our sol
diers, those that escaped from Roanoke Island, say
that of them."
" Who have you seen from there. Miss JennU?"
claraored a dozen voices.
"Richard Sraith, one of Gen. Winder's staff; and
you may believe it or not, but he says the Yankees
marched up to our batteries, as if rations, not grape
and canister, awaited them. To use his own words,
' Burnside's boys are no cowards ; the very music
they step out is, " Clear out : those guns>are ours." ' "
"What you repeat may be substantiaUy true;
coming from such a reliable source, we raust give
sorae credence to it ; but, when opposing forces were
so fearfully disproportionate, we raust not mistake
strength for valor."
Said -another of the group, " The Yankees have

EYE-WITNESS. 235
not shown themselves the proletarians we thought
them. Here comes the Captain Selden ; he is hon
est and outspoken ; we will hear his opinion of the
invaders." " What is it," asked that officer, drawing to the
side of the young lady who beckoned his approach ;
and, to her question, replied : —
' ' Donelson and Roanoke afford fair proof of some
abUity, surely."
" But that does not satisfy us, Captain. We wish
to know, if man to man the North and South should
meet, which do you think would come off victorious?"
" Miss Jennil, I have never met our enemy in the
field ; untU I have, I cannot give you a fair opinion."
" Nor never will, so long as your company is sta
tioned here." n
" It is by no means unlikely that your city wUl be
attacked." "Burnside is too prudent a general to lead his
men upon such fortifications."
"It may prove so; but say, ladies, to look the
matter full in the face, are you prepared for any
emergency which may arise in case Newbern is at
tacked ! "
' ' You surely do not raean to insinuate there is fur
ther flight for us. Captain? " said the startled JennU.
All present, in fact, the entire State, knew that,
frora the first incursions of the Yankees under But
ler, by unremitting toU and at enormous expense,
Newbern had been rendered, to use the popular word,
" impregnable." " For," said the press, " If the fall of Hatteras,
and, more recently, the surrender of Roanoke Island,
should be followed by the loss of Newbern, a great

236 EYE-WITNESS.
portion of the State, embracing the most valuable
lands, wealth, and, at least, one third of the slave
population, would then be in possession of the eneray."
So, by every scheme which human ingenuity could
devise, the channel of the Neuse was blocked, that
the approach to the city might not be made by gun
boats ; and water batteries and field fortifications
reared a threatening front for miles around. The
idea, therefore, of Newbern's falling into' the hands of
the foe, was simply absurd ; and the Captain's sug
gestion of a thing so improbable elicited general and
hearty laughter. The quick eye of Miss JennU, how
ever, caught the slightly significant smUe which the
Captain cast upon the ladies, ere he turned away.
It was too transient to admit of comment ; but how
forcibly it came back, when that ride of forty mUes
to Kinston found her fleeing from shot and shell, —
the ravishing flames of her own home lighting her
ffight ! But this is anticipating.
A glad cry drew the attention of the tlironged par
lors to the hall. Through the open door their radi
antly beautiful hostess appeared, leaning on the arm
of a tall, dark stranger. A second glance assures us
we are right, and, with the crowd, we exclaira,
' ' Ralph Bierce ! " The exchanged Hatteras prisoner
was returned.

w
M
2;ow
oa5
mo<;
ooi?J<

CHAPTER XXXn.
the RAILROAD BRIDGE SET ON FIRE.
Ne"wbekn is situated at the confluence of the Neuse
and Trent rivers. The latter is spanned by a rail
road bridge, the most extensive and, by far, the
most costly structure of the kind in the State. It
was the prevaUing opinion that Beaufort, a pleasant
seaport town, not many mUes from Newbern, would
be the next place attacked by the invaders ; and, as
this bridge afforded transit for troops and army sup
plies for that town, as well as the chain of forts above
and below, it was necessary that great caution should"
be exercised to preserve it intact. It follows, there
fore, that a strong guard and heavy ordnance de
fended its several approaches.
We have left the briUiant coterie at Mr. Bierce's
dweUing ; and, as the midnight bell is arousing dis
tant echoes, we stand upon the shore of the dark
Trent, watching a skiff which, with muffled oars,
drops sUently down its unruffled waters. The small
boat hugs the east shore, and, in the friendly shadow
of the overhanging trees, escapes the tell-tale beams
of the moon, which, now in her first quarter^ hangs
low in the west.
The boat nears the bridge, and, for a moment, the
oarsman Ufts his paddle : but no sound save, " Who
cooks, who cooks," from an owl on the woody shore,
breaks the night's stUlness.
The watch sleep on their post !

238 EYE-WITNESS.
The wary adventurer strikes the water once, twice,
thrice ; still, no sound comes from the sound sleepers,
which the slanting moonbeams display stretched upon
the earth, or, with heavy heads hung low, studying
repose with arras locked about rauskets, as if danger
threatened them, not the proud superstructure which
bridged those placid waters. The boat now glides
boldly out ; but is soon lost to sight in the shadow of
the raiddle pier.
A half-hour passed, and the sentinel upon the city
shore stops his measured tread to gaze upon his com
rade. Over his face, which his hand supports, (for
the soldier had thrown himself upon a pile of timber
near,) a bluish light plays. It lights up the grass,
trees, and, even now, is reflected from the taU spires
and windows of the city.
The guard leap to their feet, and, upon the night
air, rings out sharp and shrill, "Fire! fire! The
bridge ! the bridge ! " Wildly ring the bells ; fire
men spring to their engines, to find the hose punc
tured and wholly useless ! and the wind is rising !
By the flames, which spread slowly, a surging mass
of beings, appalled by the overwhelming ruui which
the destruction of the bridge threatens, is seen near
ing the shore. And now, above the clamor of the
crowd, the crackling flames, and rushing -wind, rises
the startied cry, " The Yankees are on us."
Eyes, distended with fear, see Yankee gunboats
adown the river, and ears are horrified by screechino-
shell from out the iron monsters. Mute, terror-smit
ten, the tide of human life sways back to the city.
Horsemen with fixed bayonets dispute the way. " To
the bridge, fools ! Cut down the cowards ! " cries a
bold raan, charging his horse upon the foremost of

EYE-WITNESS. 239
the struggling mass ; "to the bridge, or ¦we are lost !
Not a d — d Yankee in sight 1 "
The crowd part before the intrepid dragoon ; his
fiery words, his mad gallop to the scene of action,
staggers them; they waver, they turn, and now, at
double quick, rush to the shore.
One glance is flashed down the Trent, glowing in
the rioting flames of the burning bridge ; grim phan
toms have vanished !
Daybreak sees the flames mastered ; and men,
faint, scorched, smoked beyond recognition, but ex
ultant, that then- efforts have saved the bridge, move
down the city's streets, homeward. Maggie Blout
had passed a sleepless night. From her window, she
had been a calm observer of the burning bridge ; as
the last flame died out, she hid her face in her hands ,
exclaiming, " All is lost ! " and the low droop of her
head spoke of great despondency, almost utter de
spair. In the morning paper she read of the unpar
alleled audacity of the midnight incendiary ; that, had
he accomplished his fiendish deed, the forts below and
their garrisons would have fallen, without a struggle,
into the power of a merciless foe ; that it was Yan
kee sympathizers, and the city swarmed ¦with them,
who had disabled the engines, raised the cry of
" Yankees," and freed the teeming prison.
Farther down, her eye caught a narae which caused
her breath to come quick and short ; and a whiteness
overspread her face as she read : ' ' To the self-pos
session and keen sagacity of Ralph Bierce, one of the
returned Hatteras prisoners, who came in the even
ing train, is our city indebted for its rescue from the
overwhelming ruin which threatened it in the loss of
the railroad bridge. Well-mounted, he dashed his

240 EYE-WITNi;^S.
horse from the shore, when the cry of ' ' Yankees"
paralyzed the crowd, and, with the prison guard,
that had secured horses from a stable near, met our
frightened citizens, and, by his effective threats and
noble example, calmed their frenzy, and turned them
back to their duty."
That day, and for a M^eek, a vigorous search was
instituted for the perpetrator of the diabolical act of
firing the bridge. The result of the search was a
boat, picked up a mile down the river ; but the com
bustible fluids, the tarred rope, and a weU-worn straw
hat, found therein, told no tales.

CHAPTER
MAGGIE IN PRISON ; FINTJS A SICK SOLDIER.
In a low, comfortless room, where, through chinks
in the Ul-matched boards which barred the window,
dusty sunbeams wandered, we next meet Maggie
Blout. She, too, was a victim of the relentless per
secution which inaugurated Ralph Bierce's reign as
Provost Marshal.
Men of law, letters, and religion, had been rudely
seized, and, without the slightest investigation of the
charges brought against them, cast into prison; it
was enough that suspicion marked them as Yankee
sympathizers. In the loathsome cell, on the straw
pallet, dividing the coarse food, which was thrown
at them as if they. were indeed kennelled dogs ; bear
ing aU things, hoping all things, these brave souls,
with unflinching spirit, sustained the torments ef the
day ; for the light, which led on advancing columns,
pierced prison gloom, and awoke in them that heroic
endurance which bears witness of the ' ' Godlike that
is in man."
Maggie had heard of her many friends who had
been forced to exchange the felicitous delights of the
home circle, for the suspense and incurable aches of
prison-Ufe ; and, when her sumraons carae, she was
ready. Throughout her interview with Ralph, she sus-

242 EYE-WITNESS.
tained her usual quiet and becoming dignity, cooUy
parrying his questions where she, herself, was con
cerned, and resolutely refusing to utter one word,
when commanded to disclose ¦what she knew of the
" spy," Dr. PiU.
' "Yes, Margaret," he said, that Dr. PiU was a
Yankee spy, and the villain, or one of his accom
plices, who cut adrift the boat In which we were to
make good our retreat. In case Fort Hatteras surren
dered. A man, answering to his appearance, .was
seen by Helen on the day of the panic, making good
his escape after robbing our stable of Harry Blout's
mare ; he afterward came to this city, and, by the
most adroit duplicity, palmed himself off upon the
Vigilance Committee, as a surgeon disabled in the
Bull Run affair, and secured a pass to the Yankee
prisoners, as medical attendant. With them, he has
disappeared ; and there is no longer any reason to
doubt he -has accomplices in our midst, who drugged
the men detailed for sentinel duty the night of the
fire, and then cleared the way for his own and prison-
friends' escape. His coat and boots, which none
other but a Yankee clodhopper could wear, have been
found on your premises."
' ' The Yankees are reckoned a ' particular cute
nation,' " was Maggie's reply, in no way disconcerted
by the searching look which Ralph fixed upon her.
" Speak, Margaret, and tell rae what you know
of this Yankee spy, or your traitorous deeds shall
cost you your liberty, — your — " he stopped.
" Go on, Ralph," was the calm rejoinder; " you
would not hesitate to hang any of the men you have
arrested on suspicion of loyalty to the Federal Gov
ernment ; and can I, whora you know to be uncondi-

EYE-WITNESS. 243
tlonally loyal, expect clemency of you, who sunk to
the lowest depths of infamy when you swore fealty to
treason's instigators."
" The undisturbed seclusion of the apartments
which I have assigned you, and simple diet, may,
possibly, temper your bold speech, ]\Iargaret ; I will
see you again to-morrow."
He tapped for a subordinate, and that official fol
lowed Maggie to the carriage in waiting. " The
Whitney House, Elm St.," he shouted to the diiver,
and the carriage rolled away.
The third day of her imprisonment, which, Ralph
said on his last visit, promised to be a long one,
Maggie detained the negro keeper, and obtained the
foUowing information : —
' ' After a week's labor, the bridge would be pas
sable ; that everybody seemed to be In a mighty
hurry, as if something was going to happen ; that
raen on the street said, ' A week more, and, if at
tacked, we shall be able to give the Yankees particu
lar fits ; ' that several arrests had been made the past
two days, and sent off Kinston way ; and that the
man who groaned so in the next room was a sick
soldier frora Beaufort, who had been dying a long
time, and, as the money was all gone, he would be
nursed no longer."
Maggie watched that night with the sick man ;
and, as, by the dim light of a wretched "tallow
dip," she gazed pitifully down upon the ghastly face
of the sufferer, it seemed to her that every breath he
drew served to hasten dissolution.
"Poor man!" she exclaimed, as she moistened
his parched and shrunken lips ; ' ' such suffering as
yours must atone for the sin of treason." The first

244 EYE-WITNESS.
hours of the night, the soldier moaned and tossed, as
if in great pain : and, as Maggie had done all her
limited resources allowed for his relief, she sat down
upon the hard floor beside the pallet, and, to sustain
her o-wn fainting heart, sang a low chant.
The paroxysms of pain grew less violent, and, be
fore the strain was finished, tile soldier lay motion
less. At first, Maggie could not realize the magical
effect of her chant ; then it occurred to her that she
had read instances where music had been resorted
to to soothe the last agonies of the dying. On the
burden of her melody had that poor soul winged its
flight? She hoped so; but no, there was a feeble
pulse, and the chest moved lightly as in natural sleep.
' ' So sweet a sleep wUl prove a salutary remedy ;
the sick man may yet live to make glad some watch
ing, aching heart," she thought, and turned ^way.
Upon the roof the rain felbin torrents, and patter,
patter, came the drops upon the wretched floor. As
Maggie placed the saucer which held the ' ' feeble
dip," beyond the flow of the rivulets streaming from
the broken ceiling, the sick raan moved, and, as his
nurse bent over his pallet, " Sing," came faintly.
She sang sorae plaintive raelodies, sweet and low, so
low at last, it was as if an angel whispered. Mag
gie slept.
"Margaret!"
The watcher's sleep was broken ; she sprung to
her feet, exclalraing, ' ' Here ; " but, for the sweep
ing gusts without, she could scarce hear her own
voice. " Sorae one spoke my name," she thought;
' ' Harry is near ! "
The window, if she could have found it in the dark,
(for the sickly dip had succumbed to the rain-drops,)

EYE-WITNESS. 245
was too high for her to reach ; that had not escaped
her quick glance, on entering the room ; and, as
there was no other way of communicating with per
sons without, she contented herself with listening,
oh, so wistfully ! that the voice might sound again.
But it came no more.
The dreary silence, which dragged the hours of the
following morning, was broken by the thunder of ar
tUlery. " They are but trying their guns at the forts," the
watcher in the Whitney House sighed ; and her
hands, which she had clasped in an ecstasy of de
light, as the report, so loud, so near, brought her to
her feet, with the shout, " They have come at last ! "
dropped to her side, and again she sank upon the
floor. " Who have come, the Yankees?" ^
As Maggie turned to reply, she met the wild stare
of the soldier, who had been roused by the guns, and
was now supporting himself upon his elbow. The
Ught from the window fell full upon both faces ;
their eyes met. The sick man's, then unnaturally
briUiant, suddenly dUated ¦with irrepressible joy ; a
convulsive twitching of the lips followed ; then his
ontstretched, trerabling arms sank down, his eyes
closed, and he fell back upon his pallet.
" Poor creature ! " sighed Maggie, as she sprung
to his side, and looked down upon his face, stamped
with the rigidity of death ; ' ' can it be there is life
and hope for you, in the coming of the Yankees ? "
As she spoke, sorae sudden thought made her scan
closely the white, gaunt face before her.
"It is the Yankee soldier," she cried; the one
21*

246 EYE-'WITNESS.
Harry said must die ; but how could so benevolent a
heart perrait this poor soul to be so neglected ? "
The door of the room was, at this raoment, swung
open violently. " Quick, missis, quick ! " her keep
er shouted ; " them's Yankee guns. Hear 'em bust !
Gol-ee, what a big one ! "
-Before Maggie could offer any remonstrance to the
movement, she was thrust into -the apartment as
signed her ; she saw that her daily food was spread,
and she knew that the closing door raust debar her,
for another long day, from Intercourse from without.
Quickly she drew, from the folds of her dress, her
watch, and shook it before her excited keeper. As
if struck "nith a magician's wand, the door .stood wide
open. " Dat kr is a real beauty, sure. AVhat does missis
want for dat ? "
" A doctor, medicines, and some clothes, for the
sick soldier, Dinah, and it is yours. See, these are
diamonds ; sorae one will buy the watch of you, and
give you a handsome sum for it."
Dinah held out her black, bony hand ; while her
hideously ugly face glowed with the exultant joy
which the possession of such a trinket could alone ex
cite. "The doctor and medicines, first, Dinah."
The eager hands fell, and a scowl heightened the
habitual repulsiveness of that brutal face ; while, in
the deep gutturals of her race, she muttered : ' ' Now,
dis minit ! White folks tink niggers cheat."
" You, Dinah, do as I bid you."
The tone and the resolute eye, which denoted the
custom to command, had the desired effect.
"Yees, missis, Ise off;" and the heavy door
banged to behind her.

CHAPTER XXXIV.
13TH MARCH, STORMING THE FORTS. — liTH, FALL
OF NEWBERN.
All through the day, to the music of shrieking
shells, raen forraed, and ready stood for the conflict.
Night came, and there was no attack. Couriers from
the forts brought to the city, deserted by all but
women and children, the news that the foe were draw
ing back, staggered by the formidable barriers which
disputed their appi'oach ; and a general feeling of
disappointment prevaUed.
Hatteras Inlet and Roanoke Island had fallen into
Yankee hands, because of criminal delay on the part
of somebody, — that universal author of aU mischief.
But now, when all things were ready, " with their
backs to Dixie, the foe fled."
It was a bloodless victory ; the proud city stood
unscathed by shot or shell ! " No prisoners, no tro
phies," and the crowd, which had thronged from town
and country to see the fight, sighed heavily.
Our attention is particularly attracted to an old
man, who had seated liimself upon a fallen door-step.
Two hundred miles from horae he had wandered, to
see the Yankees, and their " terrorscopic (telescopic)
guns, which brought Dixie boys slam, up to the
rauzzle, and dropped 'era dead without makin' a
noise." And as, with sunset, the firing ceased, the

248 EYE-WITNESS.
last hope died out ; and a tear dropped down the pU-
grim's cheek, for the thought, that the tale to be told
the loved mate, watching afar, of " Yankees caught,
and the particular new gun," was as dry as the hoe-
cake in the bucket by his side.
With the rising sun came the din of battle, loud,
fierce, and terrific. High noon saw Newbern a city
of prodigious confusion, and of ¦wUd turraoU ; in
broken ranks, and bleeding colurans, her men line
the shore, crowd the bridge, and flee the city's streets,
in that unparalleled flight to Kinston.
From the stifling smoke of a burning house, Liz
zie has drawn her mistress. Partially revived, she
lays in her servant's arms, but wholly bewUdered by
the strange sounds, and burning sights, around.
Lizzie points to the house from which they had
just made their escape, exclaiming: "See, missis,
it's all fiery ; it's goin'. Tank de Lord you ain't
thar, nor nobody." With a look at the burning
house, full consciousness returned, and Maggie
sprung to her feet.
' ' There's a soldier there ! He must not die ; fol
low me ! "
" Hain't nobody thar," and Maggie was held back
by strong arms.
With a violent effort, the frantic girl tore herself
from her servant's grasp, and turned towards the
Whitney House, but her flight was impeded by the
soldier's cot, which lay directly in her path.
" Me left nobody in dat ar house, to be burnt up,
missis." " Thank God, Lizzie ; but is he dead? " and she
bent down to the pallet.
" Only stuffed wid smoke, missis.

EYE-WITNESS. 249
^ "Take him home, Lizzie ; for the city wUl soon
be completely consumed. Go quickly, and you wUl
reach the shore road before the Yankees come up.
See ! the bridge is already in a light blaze ; fortu
nately the wind blows from the house."
" Missis ain't got no home ; 'tis burnt ! " and tears
washed the dusky face, which, with her concluding
words, she hid in the soldier's blanket.
"Burnt!" was the startled reply; but, even as
Maggie spake, the color came back to her cheek, and
a triumphant smile lighted her face, as, pointing to
the square, where the " stars and stripes" had just
been flung to the breeze, she cried : —
" That sight is more than the wealth of the whole
world to me I "
" All's gone, missis, but de kitchen," Lizzie said,
raising her head, and gazing wonderingly at the new
flag, — the flag which raade her ralstress smile, when
she had not where to lay her head.
" Take him there, then ; I wUl follow directly."
The sight of the black heavens, and the sweeping
flaraes, bursting from every quarter of the flred city ;
the flight of a tyrannic host, commingling with the
thundering shouts of victorious bands, which swept
up the Trent's shores, was, to the lone watcher on
the church's steps, supremely, awfully grand. Awe,
adoration, and intense joy filled her soul ; while ec
static rapture burst from her lips, as, araid the sraoke
and battling flames, her eye again caught sight of the
nation's ensign tossing high Its broad folds, where,
an hour before, treason's flag flaunted defiantly.
Imminent danger from cinders and falling rafters
warned Maggie that she must not longer tarry. With
a celerity of which she was herself unconscious, she

250 EYE-WITNESS.
sped down the river road, hoping to gaui a woody
bank ere hemmed in by Yankee soldiers, to whom
the burning bridge was no barrier ; for they were
fast putting off In boats from the opposite shore.
The bank is near ; Maggie has reached it, and so
has another, — a bleeding soldier, struggling with
death. Her woman's nature is at once aroused ; and, f(3r-
getting all personal danger and discomfort, from blaz
ing bridge-beams falling near, she stays her speed,
and bends down pityingly over the sufferer.
With a start of surprise, she raised his wounded
head, and tenderly wiped the blood from his pain-dis
torted features, but no other emotion escaped her,
as, plainly, she recognized the famUIar lineaments of
her bitterest eneray, — Ralph Bierce. One glance
assured her that his life was fast ebbing from a gun
shot wound in the neck ; one arm was gone, and his
clothes, torn and shotted, were stem reminders of the
in^vinclble spirit, which still ¦wrestled in the flesh.
Knowing that her strength was not sufficient to
secure for her charge, who, though fully conscious,
was unable to aid himself, the protection of a totter
ing shed which was near, she concealed him behind
a clump of cedars of low growth, and knelt down by
his side to watch the triumphant approach of the bat
tle-worn, blue-coated victors, as on, and on they
came, inaking the welkin ring with pseans of victory.
A groan, which the tortured raan could not wholly
suppress, met Maggie's ear ; and her heart, whose
wild pulse-beats were clapping a voiceless welcome to
her country's defenders, melted at once to pity.
Her resolution was taken. A soldier had left the
press, and, slackening his speed, was walking within

EYE-WITNESS. 251
a few yards of the secreted ones. " Ralph, if your
enemy is as humane as brave, he wiU not refuse you
aid ; for rayself, I have no fear ; a valiant soul can
not be ¦without honor." As she spoke, she stepped
within sight, and motioned the straggler to approach.
He sprang to her side.
" Soldier, — " she stopped abruptly ; then grasped
rapturously the extended hand ; for, reader, this sol
dier, so buoyantly happy with the day's victory, was
none other than Charles Coxe.
To Maggie's earnest inquiries concerning the friends
who had escaped with him, she learned of their safety
among unionists under Federal protection.
" Harry Blout, what of him?" she eagerly asked.
" He is here to answer for himself," shouted a
voice from behind.
Maggie's start of delight, when turning she recog
nized Harry, and the warmth of their greeting showed
how strong was their mutual affection.

CHAPTER XXXV.
THE FLIGHT FROM NEWBERN TO KINSTON.
" By my life, sir, those are particular loud guns,"
and so all the crovvd thought, which thronged Kin
ston depot the morning of the 14th of March.
" A mistake, certainly, to think the Yankees could
be frightened away by sight of our forts ; they are
trying them, it seems."
' ' Have you any boys in the fight ? " asked a gen
tleman approaching the speaker.
" I hope so."
' ' How many ? " cried out a watcher down the road.
" Four, as particular brave boys as you. can find
the Confederacy through."
' ' In what forts ? "
" Two in Dixie, and two in Lane ; they 're hav
ing some sport this morning, I reckon ; its what
they have been mad after, and now I hope they 'U
&x the things up hand iumely. "Have you seen our
forts below ? " questioned the proud father, compla
cently rubbing his bearded chin.
" I am a stranger In these parts."
" Going down with us, next train, to see the dogs
kennelled, eh?"
" It is my purpose to go to Newbern. What hour
does the train leave ? "
" Four o'clock. She's due here now In ten mln-

EYE-WITNESS. 253
utes. Shall have glorious news by her ! — glori
ous ! "
' ' What force is Burnside supposed to have be
low?" "Forty-thousand, not a man less."
"And we?"
' ' Why our forts are worth to us double that num
ber of men ; and, sir, if the Yankees have been fool
hardy enough to attack them, overwhelming defeat
will be the result."
' ' To judge by sound alone the Yankees have made
something of a stand."
" Shelling the woods, shelling the woods to cover
their retreat. It takes a raighty sight of such music
to set thera up for a fight, and a heap more to call
them back to the black devUs."
" Then yesterday's cannonading was shelling to
protect the landing- of the troops ? "
" Exactly ; we about here thought the attack had
been raade and given up ; it was a raistake, however."
' ' Burnside seems to be a cautious general ; he
moves slowly enough, certainly."
' ' Thexe 's not much fight in the man anyhow ;
he 's got a fair office and fair pay, and he can't very
weU help fighting 'so, so,' when we give him so-
good a chance as we did, at Roanoke. You 've
heard what the boys -say of him ? "
" I see by the State papers he treats his prisoners
handsomely, and in one of them, I think, I saw stated
that he gave a dinner party, where -our boys and the
Yankees mingled promiscuously ; and that, to some
of our officers he remarked, ' he had no heart for
such an unchristian war ; that Massachusetts and
South Carolina had kicked up the row and should
'22

254 EYE-WITNESS.
fight it out among themselves.' That, however. Is
newspaper trash ; I dont believe a word of it."
' ' Don't believe it ? sir, — I 've seen the man,
who heard him say it."
" Just so. I, also, have seen several who indulge
in very extravagant talk; the taller the story, the
bigger the hero, usually. I would like to know if
Burnside was graduated at West Point or no ? "
"A West Point graduate! — no. Like 'Brute
Butler' he was a down-east lawyer, second-rate at
that.'" "But we must acknowledge, as General com
manding, his first strike was n't a bad one for him."
" Circumstances were not in our favor at Roanoke,
certainly, but let me tell you, Newbern is a shoal for
"Burnside and his raen, which wrecks the whole of
thera ! "
' ' I see we differ essentially In our estimate of
Burnside's ability. I wiU acknowledge, that his
success at Roanoke led rae to infer Newbern might
succumb to his creditable skUl and energy ; and at
the risk of being taken." '
"What, sir, what! Newbern taken! Newbern,
the Gibraltar of the Atlantic coast, captured by these
Yankee marauders ! By my life, sir, the idea is — "
The speaker checked himself, and, drawing up to the
stranger, took him by the buttonhole, saying, "You
told me you were unacquainted in these parts. I be
lieve it, sir ; I believe it. We go down together in
the evening train, and it wUl give me infinite satis
faction to show you some of our works below, built
without regar* to expense or labor; then, sir, you
wUl acknowledge that they are impregnable ! " Rais
ing his head, and drawing himself up to his fuU

EYE-WITNESS. 255
height, he added : " Show me the general, show me
the men, who can raze one stone of that city yonder,
(pouiting in the direction of Newbern,) and I wUl
prove — "
The sentence was unfortunately lost, and the whis
tle of the approaching train effectually silenced further
conversation. The train swept up, — and on ! at a rate of speed
quite as unprecedented, on that road, as the event of
Kinston. being overlooked as a way-station. Cries
that the engineer was mad, or drunk, burst from the
now terribly earnest throng, and a general rush was
made to the telegraphic office, to notffy the stations
ahead, of the coming train. After an hour of fear
ful suspense, a second train appeared. The shrieks
of women, the groans of wounded soldiers, and the
bitter, bitter lamentations of panic-stricken fugitives,
heralded the fall of Newbern !
Had the heavens been rent in twain, had the sev
enth trumpet sounded the end of all things earthly,
more appalling consternation could not have congealed
the blood, and set the features of the lookers-on rigid
as death, than did the cry, " The Yankees are in New
bern ! "
A young soldier, lively and pert, sprung from the
cars, shouting —
" Newbern's done, gone ! Yanks hold Newbern !
No need of a scare, women and chUdren ; it's an
hour yet 'fore they'U be here!" then, clapping his
hands into his pockets, he struck for town, whistling
" Dixie," vehemently.
"My son!"
' ' How d'y, old man ? " and the happy father of
the morning pressed to his heart one of his ' ' four
arave boys."

256 EYE-WITNESS.
" Newbern's done, old man."
" God's wrath is on us," groaned the trembling
parent, supporting himself by placing both hands
upon the boy's shoulders ; " but where's Hal, Dick,
and Johnny ? "
" You see there was a mighty long run 'fore us,
and, as I'm reckoned a fast one in the chase, I out
stripped our brigade to a man, and got to the cars In
the nick of time."
' ' The Yankees are pusliing on this way ? " was
the trembling query.
' ' I reckon they are that ; but don't be so scary ; you
are as shaky as them women yonder. There's no
way of escape now but to take the next train for —
for — ^ I'm beat to know where a fellow can crawl,
where ' Yanks' can't worry him ! It's prodigious fits
they've givin' us to-day ; that's^so."
" Where's your gun, boots, cap, boy? " asked the
father of the panting heart, who, rejoicing in pants
and shirt, thought a whole skin, a fan- exchange for
supernumeraries left on the wind.
" It's particular little use such traps are, to a fel
low who looks to Ills legs for his life. I tell you
what, there's mighty spoil for the ' Yanks,' on the
road between here and the forts ! "
A prolonged shout down the road was at this rao
ment heard, which caused the pulse of Kinston to
stand still ; while eyes, distended with horror, vainly
strove to pierce the heavy dust-cloud which marked
the approach of coming horsemen. It lifts at length,
and, not Burnside and. his unconquerable legions ap-
pear, but Gen. Runn, his staff, and a goodly number
of men, on bleeding, foam-flecked horses, in the mad
gallop for life !

CHAPTER XXXVI.
ANNIE M'GOWAN'S LETTER.  A FRIEND IS FOUND.
Annie McGowan's letter to her mother at Salis
bury : — " Ne-wbern, May 1.
"Cousin Hany — he insists upon my claiming
that relationship — leaves here with a flag of truce,
to-morrow, for Secessia. He goes to seek a dear
friend, a Mr. Whedden, whom he concealed, some
where in the western part of the State, from the
rage of the Rebels. He says, ' write what you please,
and as much,' that no eye but your own shall see it,
mamma, for he gives it into your own hand. ",
"Dear, dear mamma, not an hour in the day but
your image fUls my heart, and I dream of you night
ly, ever watching for one glimpse of papa and Frank
from behind prison doors. But, raarama, our peo
ple wiU soon look up, and be free ! for Burnside is
coming .' he is ! he is ! You, and Percy's mararaa,
must whisper the glorious news to loved, imprisoned
ones, and to aU hearts faint with watching and wait
ing for him.
' ' They teU me I am to6 sanguine ; that it will take
time, and a greater army than Burnside has here, to
reach Salisbury. I cannot I will not believe it,
for did not the General say to-day, — when some
22*

258 EYE-WITNESS.
Newbern ladies sought permission of him to accom
pany the flag, which goes to Kinston to-morrow, —
' Patience, ladles. I can promise you the escort of
my army as far as Raleigh, in a few days.'
' ' One of the party said she made answer : ' If
we wait for you and your army to escort us to our
kin-people, we shall be palsied with age, and lep
rous frora contact with creatures purgatory^ would re
fuse to hold.' Harry tells rae no such reply was
made ; that one lady with a saucy toss of her head,
said —
" ' What right, Gen. Burnside, have you and
your army here ? debarring us — '
" ' The right of conquest, madam,' said the Gen
eral, Interrupting ; and, with a motion of his hand,
he intimated that the interview was over.
' ' Harry declares he shall go on with Burnside and
his army ; and that no hand but his own shall knock
the bolts frora the Bastile at Salisbury, and bid loyal
souls corae forth to welcorae the old flag and its
plucky defenders. He is to plant the flag which I
have made upon the smoking stones of the prison ;
for it is to be burnt to the ground, and not one stone
is to be left upon another, to prate of the suffering
braves once shut out from the living world by so
fiendish a clique of Guy Fawkeses as are now strug
gling for unlimited power.
" And now you shall hear Maggie's secret, — ' that
one thing secured, which makes her happiness com
plete.' This it Is ; Captain Carver, whose acquaint
ance Frank and I raade while North, is here ! and owes
his life, he says, to Maggie, to whom he was be
trothed some years ago !
" Thus the conjectures of the world, that the de-

EYE-WITNESS. 259
votlon of the cousins would result in ultimate union,
are dissipated by the reappearance of the one long
mourned as dead. And, if the astounding discovery,
that the Yankee prisoner was none other than Cap
tain Carver, jMaggie's fianci, whom, report said had
paid the terrible debt to fate, while cruising on the
African shore, has robbed Harry's heart of a dearly
cherished hope, no act, no word of his will publish
it, further than what he said to me, when speaking
of this most unlooked-for event. ' Maggie's happi
ness is ray happiness ; and if in hers the chain is
broken, which raight have fettered ray soul in the
performance of my vow to, aid in crushing this terri
ble ReheUion, it is my duty cheerfully to submit.'
' ' And, mararaa, what better proof can we have of
his truly sincere and noble nature, than is shown in
his entire devotedness to Captain Carver, and his
pure, unselfish participation in Maggie's joy, that
her heart's first love is restored.
" The Captain was overjoyed to see me, and spoke
so confidently of being himself soon, under such
nurses as Harry, IMaggie, and myself, that he has
made me as hopeful of his ultimate recovery as he
is himself. " At his request, I told him aU that had occurred
since we parted in PhUadelphia. Harry had already
Informed him of Frank's imprisonment for saying
' the war was unjust and wholly unnecessary ; ' and,
as I concluded, he drew me down to his side, say-
mg —
" ' You have indeed told me a sad, sad tale, and
shown me, that even a little hand like this can crip
ple the wolf, which twice broke into the fold.'
Color came into his sunken cheeks, and his eyes were

260 EYE-WITNESS.
unnaturally bright as he added, ' this state of tilings
cannot last long, for you have Burnside and his
"boys " on your soU, Annie. Would to God every
State in the Confederacy could say as yours, ' our
saviours have crossed the tlireshold — the portals
beyond must unclose at their bidding.'
" What he told me of his last cruise, — he was a
captain in the U. S. Navy, — and of his overwh^m-
ing surprise and regret on his return, to find his coun
try in a state of civU feud, and no less agreeable news
awaiting him on reaching his native State, — that of
being numbered araong the dead, (a brother-officer
of the sarae name had sickened and died in the trop
ics,) I have not time to detaU now ; and so wUl only
repeat the disasters which followed his embarking for
active service. South. These are his words : • — •
" ' The ship, in which I saUed from New York,
was wrecked off this coast last October, and, with
the survivors of another wreck, I was brought to this
town. Exposure and subsequent imprisonment
brought on fever ; but, through the untiring exertions
of a Dr. Pill, ray own and comrades' sufferings were
not only mitigated, but our escape effected on the
night preceding the day which was to see us removed
to Salisbury. An attack upon this city was then
daUy expected ; and the jailer said, "Old prisoners
must be sent off to make room for new ones." I was
too weak to be removed far, and, after that first night,
was entrusted to the care of a free negro. From the
hour of our escape, I have not seen Dr. PiU ; and
that other friend who occasionaUy visited the prison,
but once, — the day he brought the nurse to my cot,
and told her I was a sick raan sent up frora Beaufort.
He proraised to pay her weU If she did her duty faith-

EYE-WITNESS. 261
fully, and said, on leaving, he should caU daUy. He
never came again.
" ' The Provost Marshal had use for the house
which we occupied, and had us removed into a dilapi
dated building in the heart of the city. The removal
•«'as made in the midst of a drenching rain, and, tak
ing a severe cold, a relapse of fever followed. For
days I was unconscious ; once it seeraed as if I lay
on the battle-field, dying of thirst, so hidden from
sight as to escape the observation of the ambulance
corps. The flitting of the death-angel, whose icy
touch had chUled to endless rest thousands on the
same bloody plain, drew near. A vague sensation
of some loved presence at ray side made me turn from
the stern figure bending over me, and I heard a voice
which thrUled my inmost being. I knew it, Annie ;
it was not unlike your own. I was spellbound.
Once the voice ceased, and again came the flutter of
those dark wings ; but the song, which was to me
the elixir of Iffe, rose up anew. The deUghtful
trance, which followed, I cannot describe satisfacto-
rUy ; a beautiful being seemed ever to be leading me
on by her bewitching notes, by silvery streams, up
beauteous banks, through fields redolent with nature's
blooms. On and on we went, she ever turned from
me, ever eluding my grasp. By a lirapld pool, she
lingered a moment, and, in its placid waters", I saw
her face reflected. It was my own dear Maggie ! I
shouted her narae ; she was gone ! only a tiny ripple
told me where the wavelets closed over her. I tried
to foUow, but my feet clung to the ground ; then —
But no matter, Annie ; I was but dreaming. Burnside's
guns aroused me ; the first peal brought me upright,
and there was my own lost Maggie by my side ! '

262 EYE-WITNESS.
" ' How did she discover you? ' I asked, burning
with impatience to hear the denouement.
" 'I could not wait to be found out ; I said " Mar
garet," when she had finished tying up my head, the
morning following the Newbern battle.'
' ' ' Oh ! what did -she say ? '
, " ' Ask her ; here she comes,' was the smUing re
joinder ; and the glance, which welcomed Maggie to
his side, almost raade me envious of her happiness.
" 1 asked Harry about Maggie's imprisonment.
He said, '-She never alludes to it, It was fraught with
so much suffering to Horace ; her faithful servant,
Lizzie, had tracked her mistress, and rescued her,
Capt. Carver, and several others, froitr the burning
house where they were imprisoned ; that he came up
with Burnside's army, and raet Maggie on the shore
road, protecting the alraost lifeless body of Ralph
Bierce ; he was carried to a house near, and nursed
by Maggie untU he breathed his4ast ; he left papers
in her charge for his sister Helen, requesting her to
read before delivering thera.'
" The Bierce family, Harry thinks, must have left
in the panic, and, although letters have been written
by several ' flags,' no news, as yet, has come from
them. Harry is very confident he shall find them
during his sojourn in Secessia.
" I was pleased to hear, in your last letter to me,
that Carrie was married to her dear Captain. But
what can be Sallie Prue's feelings, now her ' hero' is
dead? She, that exacted such a promise from him
before he left, to bring her trophies of the enemies ;
that looks to the days of Indian warfare for example.
His sufferings must have been intense. To think of
his lying on the battle-field three days and nights, —

EYE-WITNESS. 263
and died before reaching the hospital. How sad !
She never saw him again after he made that vow to
her, that meraorable night of the ball.
"Now, raamma, agreeably to ray promise, you
shall have the particulars of my trip here ; every in
cident, as it transpired, I put upon paper on the spot,
and here you have them, strung in as straight a line
as the parlor chairs when Lucy ' rights up to order.'
" From Salisbury to Kinston, long faces, dust,
and universal coramotion at any unusual sound ; but
no surprise, and Kinston was reached in safety. A
delay there of a few days ; multitudinous questions
asked, and answered or parried as suited us best ; at
last, came the official announcement : ' The flag was
ready, and the ambulance approaching the hotel.'
' ' With a bounding heart, I bade uncle good by,
and sent, a kiss back to you, and the dear imprisoned
ones. " Hear now what a novel kind of a vehicle a Se
cesh ambulance Is ; a very large milk-cart, minus
cans, with seats like an omnibus, made of hard pine,
only rendered comfortable by sitting on one's satchel ;
wheels immense, — just such ones as Noah would
have fashioned for his ark, If, on land, it had been
ordained to trundle during that long "night of merited
punishment. I can sincerely say the felicity of rising
gently up and falling as quietly down of carriage mo
tion, can never be^fuUy appreciated until one has en
dured the compound jolting of a springless ambulance
wagon on one of our ' particular bad roads,' during
the long hours of a day, and not a few of the night
also. But all discomfort was swallowed up in the
enjoyment afforded me by my travelling compan
ions' grievous complaints of what their folly had

264 EYE-WITNESS.
brought upon themselves. There were six ladles and
myself in the ambulance ; and, with the exception of
one, from their conversation, I should judge they
were on ' their journey home.' Two of them were
wives of officers taken in a recent skirmish on the
road we were travelling, then on their way to the
Yankees, hoping to be allowed to go North to share
their husbands' captivity. The other four were in
search of effects left behind, and, ff permission were
granted thera, to reraain within Federal lines. All
were bitter Secessionists, and it is certainly not un-
becoraing in me to avow that, from my heart, I
wished that those whora they so umnercffuUy re"vUed,
might refuse them every petition they made. Sorae
little idea of their conversation may be gathered from
the foUowing, which, if not jVery courteously worded,
was certainly expressive of decidedly ruffled feelings.
(Young lady left behind in the Newbern panic) —
" ' It is, indeed, too true that the conductor, and not
the terrified passengers, who put liim up to disobey
orders, is the special object of our gallant General's
wrath. He has avowed his determination to have
him strung up when caught. There is but Uttle fear
of his threat being carried into execution, ff it hap
pens he is as good at running as our General himself.'
(My neighbor) — "'Why speak so disrespect
fully of Gen. Runn? He certainly did aU a man
could do on that disastrous day. The mUitia loould
rim, and a panic followed.'
(Her vis-a-vis') —
" ' In all the trade of war, there is no feat
So noble as a brave retreat.'

EYE-WITNESS. 265
" ' Gen. Runn led this rout In person, and, for the
deed so nobly done, his name should be written upon
the brightest page of American history ! '
(Strange lady) — ' ' ' Ladies, you labor under a gross
mistake if you attribute the defeat at Newbern, and
that most disgraceful rout, to mismanagement on the
part of Gen. Runn. He was not, to my certain
knowledge. General commanding. Upon Gen. De-
Leigh rests the entire responsibility.'
(Lady No. 4) — " ' Gen. DeLeigh? No, madam,
that cannot be ; for, at the time of the battle, he was
at Goldsborough, unfit for service.'
(Stranger) — " ' Report says he was beastly intoxi
cated ; be that as it may, he was not on the field, al
though he had orders from the Commander-in-chief
to—' (First speaker, interrupting) — " ' That is the way
blunders are tossed from shoulder to shoulder. Gen.
Runn may be a worthy citizen, and a fair politician,
but a general he is not ! '
(^Vis-a-vis, with a mocking laugh) — " ' There is
an aroma about run-down politicians, particularly
gratefiU to the olfactories of our Incomparable Presi
dent.' (My neighbor) • — " ' Well, ladies, we are fortu
nate, and we may congratulate ourselves that we are
so, — that affairs for us are no worse. Had the
Yankees foUowed up their successes, Goldsborough,
Raleigh, and who doubts but the entire State, would
have faUen into their hands ; for, so far as I can
learn, the late rout extended, not only throughout
eastern, but middle Carolina. To whom Is such un
paralleled cowardice chargeable? Certainly, not to
23

266 EYE-WITNESS.
our soldiers, but to the lack of ability, and criminal
neglect, of the officers who command them.'
(Stranger, sharply) — " ' If, in your censure,
you include Gen. Runn, you malign a character you
know nothing of. He is fully exonerated from the
blame of the late defeat, which was, at first, attached
to hira. If not convinced of the truth of my asser
tion, I, his sister, have a letter from headquarters,
which, on perusal, wUl satisfy the most prejudiced
among you.'
' ' An unbroken silence followed the speaker's em
phatic words ; perhaps the ladles felt some compunc
tions of conscience for their free speech; ff so, they
expressed none.
" Our escort, consisting of twenty horsemen, were
finely mounted ; a turn in the road would conceal
them from view, and another would fully display the
prancing horses and their unarmed riders, the white
flag being their only shield from the foe, which one
of the ladies declared, in great trepidation, she saw
dodging behind the oaks, pines, and alders, which
lined the road on either side.
" I knew we were not within Yankee lines, and,
although greatly excited myself, as every moment
brought us nearer the '• blue-coats,' I laughed im
moderately at the fears of the others, when, as was of
ten the case, the escort was quite out of sight ; which
occasioned the remark, ' I appeared as merry as if on
a picnic, instead of approaching a den of robbers
and murderers.'
' ' With night shadows the escort surrounded the
ambulance, the flag-bearer keeping a few yards in
advance, which occasioned a livelier conversation
than had hitherto prevailed. It was, however, start-

EYE-WITNESS. 267
lingly interrupted by a volley of musketry, fearfully
near. ' ' ' Halt ! ' from our Captain foUowed.
"'We shall go no farther to-night, ladies,' was
his remark as he cantered up with his company, after
a reconnoisance down the road. ' Our pickets have
been driven in by an attacking party, how formidable
we cannot ascertain. A short ride farther,' he added,
' would have brought us to a well-furnished but de
serted house ; unfortunately, the enemy are much
nearer than we expected, which circumstance will
constrain you to accept such accomraodations for the
night as the forest alone will afford.'
' ' The descent from the wagon was slow and pain
ful ; sorae of its occupants shook violently, and the
officer's hand which lifted rae from my high perch,
was, I remarked, exceedingly tremulous.
" Around the bivouac fire we gathered, and al
though the laugh and jest were forced, they were re
sorted to as the only means avaUable to curtain from
sight the phantom army which the fitful blaze dis
closed, now at the right, then at the left of the fear-
smitten ones, cowering under the white fluttering en
sign, — their only defence. To beguile the long
hours of that anxious night, the suggestion ' that
the pines should be dressed in white, and that a gen
eral Uluraination should announce to the hovering
marauders that the legitimate owners of the soil
deigned to hold parley with them,' was heartily
acted upon. Soon, huge piles of light-wood blaze lit
up far-reaching vistas ; and the white drapery wliich
the trunks supplied, floating frora bough and pine-
top, brought the comforting thought of protecting
angels. Intense excitement kept all eyes open, but

268 EY'E-WITNTESS.
no alarm sounded ; and, at daybreak, ' guardian an
gels ' were packed up, fires stamped out, and flag-
bearer, escort, and ambulance forraed into line.
" ' We have all seen Yankees,' said my neighbor,
as the falling back of the horsemen intimated that
the prospect was fair those we sought were near.
" 'I never have,' I whispered, for, raarama, that
terra rightly belongs to New Englanders, and I was
sure I had never seen any of them. What followed
was too low for my ear to catch, except,. ' thin lips,
infallible sign of cupidity and insensibiUty ; for per
sonal appearance, iraagine a shoat playing the dandy,
and, with aU the egotistical obtruslveness of the race,
knocking one's feet from under if one dares dispute
the right of way. The monsters ! (spoken more
loudly) one would demean one's self to look at
thera; I never wUl.'
" 'Nor I, nor no lady or miss would,' said my
vis-a-vis, bowing to me.
" ' Not less in the physique than in the soldierly
bearing of our escort wUl the comparison hold good.
See ! yonder they are ! ' cried Gen. Runn's sister,
Iffting her finger.
' ' A bend in the road, and the Yankees were be
fore us ! all blue, all fire, all pluck.
" Captain Guier took the flag and advanced to
meet the Yankee officer, who had dismounted and
was approaching us. I glanced at my companions,
and discovered that they were not only looking at
but returning the bold stare of the foe with haughty
insolence. Bright were their faces, dressed ' In an-
ger's^flush,' as the consciousness of their humiliating
position was thrust home by the self-satisfied smUe
which shone on the resolute, but awfully bearded
faces before us.

EYE-WITNESS. 269
" ' Pity they could not hide their base deeds, as
they do their hateful faces,' was whispered, and many
remarks of like nature went round, to which, how
ever, I paid no heed ; for I was intent in my scrutiny
to find one point of resemblance between the digni
fied bearing of the Northern officer, who stood . head
and shoulders above Captain Guier, and the dandy
grunter of the ditch.
".' You raust wait patiently,' said our gaUant Cap
tain, approaching, ' untU word comes from Gen.
Burnside whether the flag wUl be received.'
" The delay, which the others pronounced ' insup
portable ! monstrous ! ' I spent In watching, with un
bounded delight, these men, so hostUe to one another
under auspices other than the white flag, mingle pro
miscuously, exchanging papers, and, not infre
quently, jokes, which provoked hearty laughter.
Again I glanced at my compagnons du voyage ; each
held a book, but their disturbed faces showed that
their thoughts wandered. Perhaps the bearing of
the victors awoke in them the consciousness of hav
ing fanned the blaze which had showered the South
with clouds of blue cinders, which water could not
quench, nor fire nor smoke consume, which perished
their broad ^cres and smothered their homes !
' ' The flag was accepted ! and adieux to our little
band followed. Eyes, which brimmed as the white
flag fluttered from sight, flashed angrily at the chill
ing courtesy of the tall captain, who, with a slight
movement of his hand, motioned the ladies to enter
the carriage in waiting.
" ' No egotistical obtruslveness about that Yankee
officer,' I thought ; and I laughed inly that Secesh
was denied the opportunity of displaying the abhor-
29*

270 EYE-WITNESS.
rence which had been so nicely gotten up for the oc
casion. ' ' The officer's authoritative tone and manner re
minded me forcibly of the ' there, sit there ! ' of him
of the birchen rod, — a practical Ulustration of the
' set. down ' judiciously being omitted.
"The ride was silent and rapid. 'Blue-coats,
splendidly mounted, rode boldly ; while their horses,
elate, doubtless, with the consciousness of the power
they bore, bent every sinew in the mad gallop which
filled our eyes with dust, and completely settled the
fact, that Yankees could ride as well as fight.
Mamma, as I looked upon these men, and thought
of the resolute boldness and unflinching purpose
which armed them to wipe out the foul treachery,
which, ¦with the blackness of night, sullied the fairest
banner the earth ever hung out, this flighty little
heart of mine was awe-smitten ; and love and defer
ence unconsciously Increased to adoration, as a mis
hap to our carriage brought these soldiers about us,
and, for the first time, I stood with them face to face.
Not plainer was the eagle on their buttons than the
eagle light in their eyes, flashing the heroic ardor and
determination which animates them to achieve then-
lofty aim, — that of restoring unity and law.
" The damage to the carriage was slight, and
Newbern was reached at last. Did those hearts be
side me thrUl as mine, when the tented field, with
the ' Red, white, and blue ' sky flower, burst upon
our view ! that could not be ; for those who looked
out from canvas homes beneath were enemies ! The
burst of music which greeted our ears as we drove
into the city, must have melted the exUes to contri
tion, or turned them to stone. What they saw or

EYE-'WITNESS. 271
felt, I can only conjecture ; for my heart, overflow
ing with the full, glorious consciousness that I was
free, drowned ray eyes in tears.
" I left my letter;, last night, to answer Maggie's
caU to hear the letters which Ralph Bierce wished
her to reaS, and which Harry takes with him to de-
Uver to the famUy. ^The contents were mostly of
his brother WiUiam. Harry wUl teU you of the ef
forts of that brave AYIUIam Bierce to stand firm to
his country, to honor the true flag, and how he died.
His diary was found upon Ralph's person. On it
was written, ' For NeUie ; not to be read untU North
and South are one ! '
" Harry interrupts rae, crying —
"'No time for adieux! See, the white flag is
passing ! '
" It is indeed so, and I must not detain him, only
to enclose these last unspeakably happy words, — thfi
balm for every watching, aching heart —
' ' ' Burnside is coming ! ' "

CHAPTER XXXVn.
conclusion.
Twilight has deepened into dusk, and, through
the open casement, the raoon, bright, fuU, and radi
ant, falls upon the couch of a dying woraan. A fold
of cloth covers her face aU but her mouth, through
which her breath comes intermittent. Two watchers,
one on each side, alone are near her in her death
agony, — Helen Bierce, and poor sightless Vine.
' ' Lift rae. Vine, and place the cushion at my back ;
there, that will do ; now, Helen, you and Vine take
my hands ; I cannot see you, but I must feel you,
while I utter my last words."
The door opens, and a step Is heard. " Is that
yOu, Charles ? " and, as the one welcomed by an ex
pressive glance from Helen, drew near, and knelt
down, the sufferer resumed —
" You have all been kind to me. No act of mine,
but God's mercy, has made you so, and He wUl re
ward you, — He, who took from me my sight, but
let light into ray soul, black with sin, and revealed
to me blessed visions of a bright and living world,
after night here.
" Tell Francis, Helen, I forgive him ; he thought
me dead, or nearly so, or he would not have left me
as he did, in that terrible panic. It was for ray
jewels I re-entered the burning house; I got thera,
but lost all, save this faint spark of Ufe, which soon,

EYE-AVITNESS. 273
now, wUl expire. The beam fell across my face ;
Francis tried to lift It, but it was beyond his strength,
and he left me to get aid. The Yankees found me ;
they carried me ,to the hospital, and cared for me ten
derly ; they told me my burns were of such a nature
that I could not live. The torment, the torture, and
agony of those days, found relief at last. A soldier
was dying near rae ; a chaplain daily talked and
prayed with hira ; and, although ray stubborn heart
at first refused to adrait the truths he uttered, it
yielded, and finally craved them. I called the chap
lain to me ; he asked me ' if I ever prayed ? ' I told
him ' no ; ' he said ' it was tirae,' and requested me
to repeat after him the Lord'* Prayer. I did so, and
from that moment, all that, which was to me stern
and awful in religion, vanished ; for the ' peace which
passeth all understanding,' was mine.
" You found me, Helen, a burnt and sightless be
ing; you found Vine, also, and removed us here;
and, for your devotion to us both, God, who is ever
near, will bless you.
" Charles Coxe, I do not ask you how you discov
ered Helen through her disguise. I do not care to
know, so long,-as I ara sensible she has yielded to the
voice of truth'and passion. My legacy to you both,
is Vine, — poor sightless Vine, raade so by ray hand,
and, for which sin, I have passed through a fiery fur
nace, but found beyond ' the everlasting arms.'
" Vine, be to Helen what, for the last few months,
you have been to rae. You have been wicked ; I
made you so, and God has forgiven us both."
The sinking woman's voice failed her; and, as
slight spasms passed over her wasted frame, they
laid her tenderly down, and, with moist eyes, waited

274 EYE-WITNESS.
for the final struggle. It came at length. With a
convulsive raotion of the thin, white hands, and a
quiver of the lips, it passed.
An hour later, and Charles and Helen sat at the
open window. The soft, calm light, from without,
reveals traces of great and recent emotion upon Hel
en's face, and repeatedly, and fervently, she presses
her brother's diary to her lips as if it were, indeed, a
sentient thing. Lifting her streaming eyes to the
star-lit canopy above her, she breathed -^—
" Willie, your appeal is not in vara ; I will ' do
all to the glory of God.' Heaven grant that my
heart, once so cold with pride and self-will, raay
yield to be directed by. a zeal as ardent and endur
ing as your own."
She ceased to speak, and other thoughts, which she
cared not to utter, kept her eyes still bent upon the
distant heavens.
A moved, low voice at her side aroused her ; and,
yielding to the tender caress, which', as his affianced
bride, she had no wish to withhold, she murmured —
" Yes, Charley. To-morrow is Maggie's wed
ding-day. You will see her ; then tell her all."
' ' And my mother ! "
Helen turned, and pointing to the dead, said :
" Your promise is no longer binding." After a few
moments of increasing emotion, she sobbed : " Moth
er's death has taught me how easy a thing it is to die ;
but what a frightful thing it is to live, and not
rightly ! "
" To know the right, and nobly to live up to It,
is glorious," Charles said cheerfully : and, wishing to
divert her thoughts from the channel of bitter regret,
he resumed, laying his hand upon the papers, stUl in
her trembling grasp —

EYE-WITNESS. 275
" You do not ask me how I obtained these."
"The satisfaction of having them is complete;
there is no room for curiosity ; " with something of
her former animation in voice and raanner, she
added, " I saw Harry Blout in the hospital wards to
day ; and so overwhelming was my surprise, for I
thought him long since dead, that, involuntarily, his
name escaped me. He turned towards rae, but I
had recovered my composure, and, conscious that I
was not recognized, I ventured a remark about one
of the patients."
To Helen's infinite amazement, her companion re
lated to her Harry's motives for taking the field ; his
adventures under the assumed name of Dr. Pill, and
his long and unavailing search for her and her fath-
er's famUy, while In Secessia : " And, Helen, he re
turned but yesterday to Newbern, to be present at
his Cousin Maggie's wedding. Accompanying him,
were several Union friends ; among the number he
mentioned John McGowan, who, through the Influ
ence of powerful partisans, was recently released from
imprisonment, — his son Frank, having secured his
escape some two months since, from like suffering.
One other he alluded to raost feelingly, — a Mrs.
Weasel, whose husband died in Salisbury ; her chil
dren are 'those you have often seen with Maggie
Blout. Helen, dear Helen," he added most ear
nestly, ' ' you must see Harry before the next flag
leaves, — for he goes back to remain, he tells rae, —
and hear the account of his travels through the west-
em part of the State. There, Union men, escaped
from desolated homes, jails, and swamps, do congre
gate, armed with a determination to maintain their
rights, which sets dangers and tyranny at defiance.

276 EYE-WITNESS.
And who, think you, is their avowed and devoted
leader ? Richard Whedden !
" Harry found him, not only restored to sound
health, but the enthusiastic adrairatlon of the crowds
which throng to hear him. The raighty irapulses of
his soul have been stirred to achieve mighty ends ;
and, with his unbounded love for the Federal Gov
ernment, who that hears hira, and knows his cour
age, intrepidity, and unflinching purpose, can doubt
that, to its sovereignty, he will yet gloriously return
his adopted State."
"His field is yours, Charley. There, duty calls
us both."
"Be it so;" and the room, hitherto cold in the
moonlight and death-shadows, glows now in the sun
shine of ardent hope and lofty patriotism.