“Yes; the war has been hard for us, but far harder upon them.  I found our young friend in a very weak state.  I succeeded in getting permission to remove him to more comfortable quarters, and did so; but he lived scarcely two days after.”

“How very sad,” remarked Elsie, with emotion.  “Oh, what a terrible thing is war!”

“Especially civil war,” said the elder Mrs. Allison; “strife among brethren; its fruits are bitter, heart-rending.”

“And being all one people there was equal bravery, talent, and determination on both sides; which made the struggle a very desperate one,” said Harold.

“And the military tic-tacs were the same,” added Aunt Wealthy; “and then speaking the same language, and looking so much alike, foes were sometimes mistaken for friends, and versa-vice.”

“A brother-in-law of Louise’s was confined in Fort Delaware for some months,” said Adelaide, addressing her brother, “and wrote to me for some articles of clothing he needed badly, adding, ’If you could send me something to eat, it would be most thankfully received.’  I sent twice, but neither package ever reached him.”

“Too bad! too bad!” said Mr. Dinsmore; “yet very likely it was through no fault of the government.”

“No; I am satisfied that individuals—­selfish, unscrupulous men of whom there were far too many on both sides, were the real culprits, and that the government intended every prisoner should be made as comfortable as circumstances would permit,” said Mr. Allison.  “But there are men who made large fortunes by swindling the government and robbing our brave soldiers; men unworthy of the name! who would sell their own souls for gold!”

“You are right, sir!” said Mr. Travilla; “one who could take advantage of the necessities of his own country, to enrich himself by robbing her, is not worthy to be called a man.”

“And I esteem an officer who could rob the soldiers very little better,” said Daisy.  “Again and again canned fruits and other niceties, sent by ladies for the comfort of the sick and wounded men, were appropriated by officers who did not need them, and knew they were not given to them.”

“And the conclusion of the whole matter,” said Harold, with his placid, patient smile, “is that there were on both sides men who, loving and seeking their own interest above country, personal honor, or anything else, would bring disgrace upon any cause.  No, Mrs. Carrington, I have no bitter feeling towards the South.  My heart aches for her people in their bereavements, their losses, and all the difficulties of reconstruction and adapting themselves to the new order of things which is the result of the war.”

Elsie had several times expressed to her husband and father a deep anxiety to hear from Viamede, and had written to both Mr. Mason and Spriggs, inquiring about the people and the condition of the estate, yet with but slight hope of reply, as all communication with the place had been cut off for years, and it was more than likely that one or both had been driven, or drifted away from his post during the progress of the war.