Read Heaven and Hell for Free Online Page A

now."
    "Family is one of the few balms for pain," Hampton murmured.
    He drank again. "Now tell me how you really are."
    "As I said, General, surviving. No one's raised the issue of my parentage, so I'm spared having to deal with that."
    She looked at him as she spoke, wanting to test him. Hampton's ruddy outdoorsman's face remained calm. "Of course I heard about it.
    It makes no difference."
    "Thank you."
    "Madeline, in addition to asking about Charles, I called to make an offer. We all face difficult circumstances, but you face them alone.
    There are unscrupulous men of both races wandering the roads of this state. Should you need refuge from that at any time, or if the struggle grows too hard for any reason and you want a short respite, come to Columbia. My home and Mary's is yours always."
    "That's very kind," she said. "Don't you think the chaos in South Carolina will end soon?"
    "No, not soon. But we can hasten the day by taking a stand for what's right."
    Lost Causes 27
    She sighed. "What is that?"
    He gazed at the sun-flecked river. "In Charleston, some gentlemen offered me command of an expedition to found a colony in Brazil. A slaveholding colony. I refused it. I said this was my home and I would Page 30

    no longer think of North and South; only of America. We fought, we lost, the issue of a separate nation on the continent is resolved. Nevertheless, in South Carolina we confront the very large problem of the Negro. His status is changed. How should we behave? Well, he was faithful to us as a slave, so I believe we ought to treat him fairly as a free man. Guarantee him justice in our courts. Give him the franchise if he's qualified, exactly as we give it to white men. If we do that, the wandering crowds will disband and the Negro will again take up Carolina as his home, and the white man as his friend."
    "Do you really believe that, General?"
    A slight frown appeared, perhaps of annoyance. "I do. Only full justice and compassion will alleviate the plight of this state."
    "I must say you're more generous to the blacks than most."
    "Well, they present us with a practical issue as well as a moral one. Our lands are destroyed, our homes are burned, our money and bonds are worthless, and soldiers are quartered on our doorsteps. Should we make matters worse by pretending that our cause is not lost? That it somehow might prevail even yet? I think it was lost from the start. I stayed away from the i860 special convention because I thought secession an impossible folly. Are we to start living our illusions all over again? Are we to invite reprisal by resisting an honorable effort to restore the Union?"
    "A great many people want to resist," she said.
    "And if gentlemen such as Mr. Stevens and Mr. Sumner try to force me into social equality with Negroes, I will resist. Beyond that, however, if Washington is reasonable, and we are reasonable, we can rebuild. If our people cling to their old follies, they'll only start a new kind of war."
    Again she sighed. "I hope common sense prevails. I'm not certain it will.'"
    Hampton rose and clasped her hands between his. "Don't forget my offer. Sanctuary, if you ever need it."
    Impulsively, she kissed his cheek. "You're a kind man, General.
    °od bless you."
    Away he went on his fine stallion, disappearing where the half- mile lane of splendid trees joined the river road.
    At sunset, Madeline walked through the fallow rice square, ponln8
    Hampton's remarks. For a proud and defeated man, he had a Page 31

    28 HEAVEN AND HELL
    remarkably generous outlook. He was also right about the plight of South Carolina. If the state, and the South, returned to old ways, the Radical Republicans would surely be goaded to retaliate.
    Something on the ground jabbed the sandal she'd fashioned from scrap leather and rope. Digging down in the sandy soil, she uncovered a rock about the size of her two hands. She and the Shermans had found many similar ones while cultivating the four planted squares, and had