Fort Lafayette | Page 8

upturned,
smiling face, and then, pushing back the black tresses, he touched her
white forehead with his lips.
Arthur Wayne was looking out from his lattice above, and his eye
chanced to turn that way at the moment of the meeting. He started as if
struck with a sudden pang, and his cheek, always pale, became of an
ashen hue. Long he gazed with labored breath upon the pair, as if
unable to realize what he had seen; then, with a suppressed moan, he
sank into a chair, and leaned his brow heavily upon his hand. Thus for
half an hour he remained motionless; it was only after a second
summons that he roused himself and descended to the morning meal.
At the breakfast table Oriana was in high spirits, and failed to observe
that Arthur was more sad than usual. Her brother, however, was
preoccupied and thoughtful, and even Harold, although happy in the
society of one he loved, could not refrain from moments of abstraction.
Of course the adventure of the preceding night was concealed from
Oriana, but it yet furnished the young men with matter for reflection;
and, coupled with the exciting intelligence from South Carolina, it
suggested, to Harold especially, a vision of an unhappy future. It was
natural that the thought should obtrude itself of how soon a barrier

might be placed between friends and loved ones, and the most sacred
ties sundered, perhaps forever.
Miss Randolph, Oriana's aunt, usually reserved and silent, seemed on
this occasion the most inquisitive and talkative of the party. Her interest
in the momentous turn that affairs had taken was naturally aroused, and
she questioned the young men closely as to their view of the probable
consequences.
"Surely," she remarked, "a nation of Christian people will choose some
alternative other than the sword to adjust their differences."
"Why, aunt," replied Oriana, with spirit, "what better weapon than the
sword for the oppressed?"
"I fear there is treason lurking in that little heart of yours," said Harold,
with a pensive smile.
"I am a true Southerner, Mr. Hare; and if I were a man, I would take
down my father's rifle and march into General Beauregard's camp. We
have been too long anathematized as the vilest of God's creatures,
because we will not turn over to the world's cold charity the helpless
beings that were bequeathed into our charge by our fathers. I would
protect my slave against Northern fanaticism as firmly as I would guard
my children from the interference of a stranger, were I a mother."
"The government against which you would rebel," said Harold,
"contemplates no interference with your slaves."
"Why, Mr. Hare," rejoined Oriana, warmly, "we of the South can see
the spirit of abolitionism sitting in the executive chair, as plainly as we
see the sunshine on an unclouded summer day. As well might we
change places with our bondmen, as submit to this deliberate crusade
against our institutions. Mr. Wayne, you are a man not prone to
prejudice, I sincerely believe. Would you from your heart assert that
this government is not hostile to Southern slavery?"
"I believe you are, on both sides, too sensitive upon the unhappy

subject. You are breeding danger, and perhaps ruin, out of abstract
ideas, and civil war will have laid the country waste before either party
will have awakened to a knowledge that no actual cause of contention
exists."
"Perhaps," said Beverly, "the mere fact that the two sections are hostile
in sentiment, is the best reason why they should be hostile in deed, if a
separation can only be accomplished by force of arms."
"And do you really fancy," said Harold, sharply, "that a separation is
possible, in the face of the opposition of twenty millions of loyal
citizens?"
"Yes," interrupted Oriana, "in the face of the opposing world. We
established our right to self-government in 1776; and in 1861 we are
prepared to prove our power to sustain that right."
"You are a young enthusiast," said Harold, smiling. "This rebellion will
be crushed before the flowers in that garden shall be touched with the
earliest frost."
"I think you have formed a false estimate of the movement," remarked
Beverly, gravely; "or rather, you have not fully considered of the
subject."
"Harold," said Arthur, sadly, "I regret, and perhaps censure, equally
with yourself, the precipitancy of our Carolinian brothers; but this is
not an age, nor a country, where six millions of freeborn people can be
controlled by bayonets and cannon."
They were about rising from the table, when a servant announced that
some gentlemen desired to speak with Mr. Weems in private. He
passed into the drawing-room, and found himself in the presence of
three men, two of whom he recognized as small farmers of the
neighborhood, and