om between
the pillars, there was loud applause. The county was largely Whig,
honestly longing--having put on record what it thought of the present
mischief and the makers of it--for a peaceful solution of all troubles.
As for the army, county and State were proud of the army, and proud of
the Virginians within it. It was amid cheering that Fauquier Cary left
the portico. At the head of the steps, however, there came a question.
"One moment, Major Cary! What if the North declines to evacuate Fort
Sumter? What if she attempts to reinforce it? What if she declares for a
_compulsory_ Union?"

Cary paused a moment. "She will not, she will not! There are politicians
in the North whom I'll not defend! But the people--the people--the
people are neither fools nor knaves! They were born North and we were
born South and that is the chief difference between us! A _Compulsory_
Union! That is a contradiction in terms. Individuals and States,
harmoniously minded, unite for the sweetness of Union and for the
furtherance of common interests. When the minds are discordant, and the
interests opposed, one may be bound to another by Conquest--not
otherwise! What said Hamilton? _To coerce a State would be one of the
maddest projects ever devised!_" He descended the court house steps to
the grassy, crowded yard. Here acquaintances claimed him, and here, at
last, the surge of the crowd brought him within a yard of Allan Gold and
his companion. The latter spoke. "Major Cary, you don't remember me. I'm
Hairston Breckinridge, sir, and I've been once or twice to Greenwood
with Edward. I was there Christmas before last, when you came home
wounded--"

The older man put out a ready hand. "Yes, yes, I do remember! We had a
merry Christmas! I am glad to meet you again, Mr. Breckinridge. Is this
your brother?"

"No, sir. It's Allan Gold, from Thunder Run."

"I am pleased to meet you, sir," said Allan. "You have been saying what
I should like to have been able to say myself."

"I am pleased that you are pleased. Are you, too, from the university?"

"No, sir. I couldn't go. I teach the school on Thunder Run."

"Allan knows more," said Hairston Breckinridge, "than many of us who are
at the university. But we mustn't keep you, sir."

In effect they could do so no longer. Major Cary was swept away by
acquaintances and connections. The day was declining, the final speaker
drawing to an end, the throng beginning to shiver in the deepening cold.
The