is mount. At the church door he gave the horse
to a little negro boy to hold and went quietly inside.

The President and his family were in their pew and the minister was
speaking. Prescott paused a few moments at the entrance to the aisle. No
one paid any attention to him; soldiers were too common a sight to be
noticed. He felt in the inside pocket of his waistcoat and drew forth
the sealed envelope. Then he slipped softly down the aisle, leaned over
the President's pew and handed him the note with the whispered words, "A
message from General Lee."

Prescott, receiving no orders, quietly withdrew to a neighbouring vacant
pew and watched Mr. Davis as he opened the envelope and read the letter.
He saw a sudden gray pallor sweep over his face, a quick twitching of
the lips and then a return of the wonted calm.

The President of the Confederacy refolded the note and put it in his
pocket. Presently he rose and left the church and Prescott followed him.
An hour later Richmond was stricken into a momentary dumbness, soon
followed by the chattering of many voices. The city, the capital, was to
be given up. General Lee had written that the Southern army could no
longer defend it, and advised the immediate departure of the Government,
which was now packing up, ready to take flight by the Danville railroad.

Richmond, so long the inviolate, was to be abandoned. No one questioned
the wisdom of Lee, but they were struck down by the necessity. Panic ran
like fire in dry grass. The Yankees were coming at once, and they would
burn and slay! Their cavalry had already been seen on the outskirts of
the city. There was no time to lose if they were to escape to the
farther South.

The streets were filled with the confused crowd. The rumours grew; they
said everything, but of one thing the people were sure. The Government
was packing its papers and treasures in all haste, and the train was
waiting to take it southward. That they beheld with their own eyes.
Great numbers of the inhabitants, too, made ready for flight as best
they could, but they yet preserved most of their courage. They said they
would come back. General Lee, when he gathered new forces, would return
to the rescue of the city and they would come with him. The women and
the children often wept, but the men, though with gloomy faces, bade
them be of good cheer.

Prescott, still with no orders and knowing that none would come, walked
slowly through the crowd, his heart fu