Harry in these days wondered that so little seemed to happen in the
North. His strong connections and his own good manners had made him a
favorite in Charleston. He went everywhere, perhaps most often to the
office of the Mercury, controlled by the powerful Rhett family, among
the most fiery of the Southern leaders. Exchanges still came there from
the northern cities, but he read little in them about preparations for
war. Many attacked Buchanan, the present President, for weakness,
and few expected anything better from the uncouth western figure,
Lincoln, who would soon succeed him.

Meanwhile the Confederate convention at Montgomery was acting. In those
days apathy and delay seemed to be characteristic of the North, courage
and energy of the South. The new government was being formed with speed
and decision. Jefferson Davis, it was said, would be President, and
Stephens of Georgia would be Vice-President.

The time for departure to Montgomery drew near. Harry and Arthur were
in fine gray uniforms as members of the Palmetto Guards. Arthur, light,
volatile, was full of pleased excitement. Harry also felt the thrill
of curiosity and anticipation, but he had been in Charleston nearly six
weeks now, and while six weeks are short, they had been long enough
in such a tense time to make vital changes in his character. He was
growing older fast. He was more of a man, and he weighed and measured
things more. He recognized that Charleston, while the second city of
the South in size and the first in leadership, was only Charleston,
after all, far inferior in weight and numbers to the great cities of
the North. Often he looked toward the North over the vast, intervening
space and tried to reckon what forces lay there.

The evening before their departure they sat on the wide piazza that