"I know. You would deny to us what you exact for yourselves,--the right
of self-government."

"No, Sir," I remarked. "We would deny you no natural right. But we think
Union essential to peace; and, Mr. Davis, _could_ two people, with the
same language, separated by only an imaginary line, live at peace with
each other? Would not disputes constantly arise, and cause almost
constant war between them?"

"Undoubtedly,--with this generation. You have sown such bitterness at
the South, you have put such an ocean of blood between the two sections,
that I despair of seeing any harmony in my time. Our children may forget
this war, but _we_ cannot."

"I think the bitterness you speak of, Sir," said the Colonel, "does not
really exist. _We_ meet and talk here as friends; our soldiers meet and
fraternize with each other; and I feel sure, that, if the Union were
restored, a more friendly feeling would arise between us than has ever
existed. The war has made us know and respect each other better than
before. This is the view of very many Southern men; I have had it from
many of them,--your leading citizens."

"They are mistaken," replied Mr. Davis. "They do not understand Southern
sentiment. How can we feel anything but bitterness towards men who deny
us our rights? If you enter my house and drive me out of it, am I not
your natural enemy?"

"You put the case too strongly. But we cannot fight forever; the war
must end at some time; we must finally agree upon something; can we not
agree now, and stop this frightful carnage? We are both Christian men,
Mr. Davis. Can _you_, as a Christian man, leave untried any means that
may lead to peace?"

"No, I cannot. I desire peace as much as you do. I deplore bloodshed as
much as you do; but I feel that not one drop of the blood shed in this
war is on _my_ hands,--I can look up to my God and say this. I tried all
in my power to avert this war. I saw it coming, and for twelve years I
worked night and day to prevent it, but I could not. The North was mad
and blind; it would not let us govern ourselves; and so the war came,
and now it must go on till the last man of this generation falls in his
tracks, and his children seize his musket and fight his battle, _unless
you acknowledge our right to self-government_. We are not fighting for
slavery. We are fighting for Independence,--and that, or extermination,
we _will_ have."

"And there are, at least, four and a half millions of us left; so yo