CHAPTER XXXVI

A little mother with a laughing boy two years old and baby in her armswas awaiting at a crowded hotel in Washington the coming of her fatherfrom the Western plains. Her men were going in opposite directions inthese tragic¹ days that were trying the souls of men. Colonel PhillipSt. George Cooke was a Virginian. Lieutenant² J. E. B. Stuart was aVirginian. The soul of the little mother was worn out with the questionthat had no answer. Why should her lover-husband and her fine old daddyfight each other?
She stood appalled³ before such a conflict. She had written to her fathera letter so gentle, so full of tender appeal, he could not resist itscall. She had asked that he come to see her babies and her husband and,face to face, say the things that were in his heart.
Her own sympathies were with her husband. He had breathed his soul intohers. She thought as he thought and felt as he felt. But her dear olddaddy must have deep reasons for refusing to follow Virginia, if sheshould go with the South in Secession. She must hear these reasons.
Stuart must hear them. If he could convince them, they would go withhim.
In her girl's soul she didn't care which way they went, as long as theydid not fight each other. She had watched the shadow of this war deepenwith growing anguish⁴. If her father should meet her husband in battleand one should kill the other! How could she live? The thought was toohorrible to frame in, words, but it haunted her dreams. She couldn'tshake it off.
That her rollicking soldier man would come out alive she felt suresomehow. No other thought was possible. To think that he might be killedin the pride and glory of his youth was nonsense. Her mind refused nowto dwell on the idea. She dismissed it with a laugh. He was so vital.
He lived to his finger tips. His voice rang with the joy of living.
The spirit of eternal youth danced in his blue eyes. He was justtwenty-eight years old. He was the father of a darling boy who bore hisname and a baby that nestled in her arms to whom they had given hers.
Life in its morning of glory was his--wife, babies, love, youth, health,strength, clean living and high thinking. No, it was the thought of harmto her father that was eating her heart out. He has passed the noon-tideof life. His slender, graceful⁵ form lacked the sturdy power of youth.
His chances were not so good.
The thing that sickened her was the certainty that both these men,father and husband, would organize the cavalry⁶ service and fight onhorseback. They had spent their honeymoon⁷ on the plains. She had riddenover them with her joyous⁸ lover.
He would be a cavalry commander. She knew that he would be a general.
Her father was a master of cavalry tactics and was at work on the Manuelfor the United States Army.
The two men were born under the same skies. Their tastes were similar.
Their clean habits of life were alike. Their ideals were equally highand noble. How could two such men fight each other to the death over anissue of politics when some wife or sister or mother must look on a deadface when the smoke has cleared?
Her soul rose in rebellion against it all. She summoned every power ofher mind to the struggle with her father.
She brought them together at last in the room with her babies, asleep intheir cradles. She sat down between the two and held a hand in each ofhers.
"Now, daddy dear, you must tell me why you're going to fight Virginia ifshe secedes⁹ from the union."The gentle face smiled sadly.
"How can I make you understand, dear baby? It's foolish to argue suchthings. We follow our hearts--that's all.""But you must tell me," she pleaded.
"There's nothing to tell, child. We must each decide these big things oflife for himself. I'll never draw my sword against the union. My fatherscreated it. I've fought for it. I've lived for it. And I've got to diefor it, if must be, that's all--"He paused, withdrew his hand from hers, rose and put it on Stuart'sshoulder.
"You've chosen a fine boy for your husband, my daughter. I love him. I'mproud of him. I shall always be proud that your children bear his name.
He must fight this battle of his allegiance in his own soul and answerto God, not to me. I would not dare to try to influence him."Stuart rose and grasped the Colonel's hand. His eyes were moist.
"Thank you, Colonel. I shall always remember this hour with you andmy Flora¹⁰. And I shall always love and respect you, in life or death,success or failure."The older man held Stuart's hand in a strong grip.
"It grieves me to feel that you may fight the union, my son. I have seenthe end in a vision already. The union is indissoluble. The stars intheir courses have said it.""It may be, sir," Stuart slowly answered. "Who knows? We must do eachwhat we believe to be right, as God gives us to see the right."The little mother was softly crying. Her hopes had faded. There was thenote of finality in each word her men had uttered. She was crushed.
For an hour she talked in tender commonplaces. She tried to be cheerfulfor her father's sake. She saw that he was suffering cruelly at thethought of saying a goodbye that might be the last.
She broke down in a flood of bitter tears. The father took her into hisarms and soothed¹¹ her with tender words. But something deep and strangehad stirred in the mother heart within her.
She drew away from his arms and cried in anguish.
"It's wrong. It's wrong. It's all wrong--this feud¹² of blood! And Godwill yet save the world from it. I must believe that or I'd go mad!"The two men looked at each other in wonder for a moment and then at themother's convulsed face. Into the older man's features slowly crept alook of awe¹³, as if he had heard that voice before somewhere in the stillhours of his soul.
Stuart bent¹⁴ and kissed her tenderly.
"There, dear, you're overwrought. Don't worry. Your work God has givenyou in these cradles.""Yes, that's why I feel this way," she whispered on his breast.

1 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

2 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

3 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

5 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

6 cavalry   

n.骑兵；轻装甲部队

参考例句：

• We were taken in flank by a troop of cavalry. 我们翼侧受到一队骑兵的袭击。
• The enemy cavalry rode our men down. 敌人的骑兵撞倒了我们的人。

7 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

8 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

9 secedes   

v.脱离，退出( secede的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

10 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。

11 soothed   

v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦

参考例句：

• The music soothed her for a while. 音乐让她稍微安静了一会儿。
• The soft modulation of her voice soothed the infant. 她柔和的声调使婴儿安静了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 feud   

n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇

参考例句：

• How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
• The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

13 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

14 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。