do it in the name of the sacred past, when the ties of brotherhood were strong.  I counsel not humiliation nor submission, but conciliation.  I counsel it, not only as an expedient, but as a tribute to the affinities of almost a century.  I love the Union too well to be willing that its fate should be risked upon the uncertainties of war.  I believe in my conscience that the chances of its reconstruction depend rather upon negotiation than upon battles.  I may err, or you, as my opponent in opinion, may err; for while I assume not infallibility for myself, I deny it, with justice, to my neighbor.  But I think as my heart and intellect dictate, and my patriotism should not be questioned by one as liable to error as myself.  Should I yield my honest convictions upon a question of such vital importance as my country’s welfare, then indeed should I be a traitor to my country and myself.  But to accuse me of questionable patriotism for my independence of thought, is, in itself, treason against God and man.”

“I believe you sincere in your convictions, Arthur, not because touched by your argument, but because I have known you too long and well to believe you capable of an unworthy motive.  But what, in the name of common justice, would you have us do, when rebellion already thunders at the gates of our citadels with belching cannon?  Shall we sit by our firesides and nod to the music of their artillery?”

“I would have every American citizen, in this crisis, as in all others, divest himself of all prejudice and sectional feeling:  I would have him listen to and ponder upon the opinions of his fellow citizens, and, with the exercise of his best judgment, to discard the bad, and take counsel from the good; then, I would have him conclude for himself, not whether his flag has been insulted, or whether there are injuries to avenge, or criminals to be punished, but what is best and surest to be done for the welfare of his country.  If he believe the Union can only be preserved by war, let his voice be for war; if by peace, let him counsel peace, as I do, from my heart; if he remain in doubt, let him incline to peace, secure that in so doing he will best obey the teachings of Christianity, the laws of humanity, and the mighty voice that is speaking from the soul of enlightenment, pointing out the errors of the past, and disclosing the secret of human happiness for the future.”

Arthur’s eye kindled as he spoke, and the flush of excitement, to which he was habitually a stranger, colored his pale cheek.  Oriana had awakened with the vehemence of his language, and gazing with interest upon his now animated features, had been listening to his closing words.  Harold was about to answer, when suddenly the baying of a hound broke through the noise of the storm.

“That is a bloodhound!” exclaimed Harold with an accent of surprise.

“Oh, no,” said Oriana.  “There are no bloodhounds in this neighborhood, nor are they at all in use, I am sure, in Virginia.”