manner was grave or frivolous, he knew that these were good friends
of his, and he sincerely hoped that he would meet them again. Madame
Delaunay spoke to him almost as if he had been a son of hers, and there
was dew in his eyes, because he could never forget her kindness to the
lad who had been a stranger.

He resumed his civilian clothing and put his gray uniform, fine and new,
of which he was so proud, in his saddle bags. Kentucky had declared
herself neutral ground, warning the armies of both North and South to
keep off her sacred soil, and he did not wish to invite undue attention.
He intended, moreover, to leave the train when he neared Pendleton,
at the same little station at which he had taken it when he started
south.

It was a different Harry who started home late in April. Four months
had made great changes. He bore himself more like a man. His manner
was much more considered and grave. He had seen great things and he had
done his share of them. He gazed upon a world full of responsibilities
and perils.

But he looked back at Charleston the gay, the volatile and the beautiful,
with real affection. It was almost buried now in flowers and foliage.
Spring was at the full, every breeze was sharply sweet with grassy
flavors. The very triumph and joy of living penetrated his soul.
Youth swept aside the terrors of war. He was going home after victory.
He soon left Charleston out of sight. A last roof or steeple glittered
for a moment in the sun and then was gone. Before him lay the uplands
and the ridges, and in another day he would be in another land.

He crossed the low mountains, passed through Nashville again, although
he did not stop there, his train making immediate connection, and once
more and with a thrill, entered his own state. He learned from casual
talk on the trains that affairs in Kentucky were very hot. The special
session of the Legislature, called by Governor Magoffin, was to meet at
Frankfort early in May. The women of the state had already prepared an
appeal to the Legislature to save them from the horrors of civil war.

Harry saw that he had not left active life behind him when he came away
from Charleston. The feeling of strife had spread over a vast area.
The atmosphere of Kentucky, like that of South Carolina, was surcharged
with intensity and passion, but it had a difference. All the winds
blew in the same direction in South Carolina and they sang one song of
triumph,