There came in this period the slow approach, and finally the
declaration, of war between the North and the South, attended with so
much excitement that almost all current minds were notably colored by
it. It was terrific. Then came meetings, public and stirring, and riots;
the incident of John Brown's body; the arrival of Lincoln, the great
commoner, on his way from Springfield, Illinois, to Washington via
Philadelphia, to take the oath of office; the battle of Bull Run; the
battle of Vicksburg; the battle of Gettysburg, and so on. Cowperwood was
only twenty-five at the time, a cool, determined youth, who thought the
slave agitation might be well founded in human rights--no doubt was--but
exceedingly dangerous to trade. He hoped the North would win; but it
might go hard with him personally and other financiers. He did not
care to fight. That seemed silly for the individual man to do. Others
might--there were many poor, thin-minded, half-baked creatures who would
put themselves up to be shot; but they were only fit to be commanded or
shot down. As for him, his life was sacred to himself and his family and
his personal interests. He recalled seeing, one day, in one of the quiet
side streets, as the working-men were coming home from their work, a
small enlisting squad of soldiers in blue marching enthusiastically
along, the Union flag flying, the drummers drumming, the fifes blowing,
the idea being, of course, to so impress the hitherto indifferent or
wavering citizen, to exalt him to such a pitch, that he would lose
his sense of proportion, of self-interest, and, forgetting all--wife,
parents, home, and children--and seeing only the great need of the
country, fall in behind and enlist. He saw one workingman swinging his
pail, and evidently not contemplating any such denouement to his day's
work, pause, listen as the squad approached, hesitate as it drew close,
and as it passed, with a peculiar look of uncertainty or wonder in his
eyes, fall in behind and march solemnly away to the enlisting quarters.
What was it that had caught this man, Frank asked himself. How was he