But out of the sadness came a crystallizing of all the vague feelings that had struggled for expression almost from the very day she had arrived in the South. She felt now that her real sympathy had always been for the North and that she was glad that they had won. Not that she lacked sympathy and understanding for her rebel relatives. She had no preconceived prejudices to warp her judgment, but great principles had been involved in this war that was now practically ended, and Dorothea knew that they had been upheld by the North under the leadership of Mr. Lincoln. Indeed there was no rejoicing in the May household over the fact that the man who had beaten the Confederacy was dead. Mrs. May said openly and with truth that the South had lost her best friend. Even April expressed her indignation. “We are not murderers!” she exclaimed, and Dorothea was glad that her cousins, with all their strong Southern loyalty, had no excuses for so cowardly a deed. The days that followed brought a realizing sense to even the most hopeful Confederate that the war was over and that the South had lost; but Jefferson Davis still clung to the shadow of his position, and, though he was in flight from Virginia, there was talk of a new government being instituted in Texas, to which state he was then trying to make his way. During these days Dorothea waited anxiously for the return of Val Tracy. Lee Hendon’s actions were not quite clear to her and although she was glad the Union had won she could not hide from herself that this young man’s course did not always stir her admiration. Nevertheless she realized that he was in a perilous position and would have been glad to know he was safe. And then, in an unusual flutter even for them, Mrs. Stewart and Corinne arrived one Sunday with a momentous announcement. “Our dear President Davis is in Washington!” the elder lady cried as she met each of the family in turn. “He has honored our town as it has never been honored before in all history, except when Washington, the first Rebel president, visited it.” Dorothea was surprised to find that even April greeted this news with little enthusiasm. She had had hints from time to time that her relations were not always in sympathy with Mr. Davis and upon one occasion she had overheard Hal say, rather bitterly, “Our President is nothing but a politician!” But she was rather surprised at their indifference to his arrival in Washington. She, on the other hand, had a distinct curiosity to see this man who had been so prominent a figure during the four terrible years through which the United States had just passed, and when she learned from Mrs. Stewart that a reception was to be held in Mr. Davis’s honor that afternoon she did not conceal her desire to go.