The country was steadily drifting toward war, and Clara Barton felt the danger of it. Although she was convinced that slavery ought not to be extended further, she was not yet an abolitionist, and she felt that violent agitators were taking upon themselves a serious risk in bringing the Nation to the very brink of bloodshed. She did not approve of the John Brown raid, and she was greatly concerned about the meetings that were held that seemed to her calculated to induce riot. She had her convictions, and was never afraid to speak them boldly, but she said, “It will be a strange pass when the Bartons get fanatical, and cannot abide by and support the laws they live under.” A neighbor who had been with Stephen in Carolina was driven away on account of utterances that followed the John Brown raid. She wrote to her brother Stephen at this time--the letter is not dated--and gave the fullest account of her own feelings and convictions concerning the issues then before the country, having in special mind the duty of Northern people resident in the South to be considerate of the conditions under which Southern people had to live. It is a very interesting letter, and the author of this volume could wish that it had been in his possession while Clara Barton was living, that he might have asked her to what extent her views changed in the years that followed: I have not seen Mr. Seaver since his return, and regret exceedingly that there should have been any necessity for such a termination to his residence in the South. I should not have supposed that he would have felt it his _duty_ to uphold such a cause as “Harper’s Ferry,” and if he _did_ not, it is a pity he had the misfortune to make it appear so. Of course I could not for a moment believe him a dangerous man, hostile to either human life, rights, or interests, or antagonistic to the community among whom he resided, but if _they_ felt him to be so, I do not by any means blame them for the course they took. Situated as they are, they have a _right_ to be cautious, and adopt any measures for safety and quiet which their own judgment may suggest. They have a right even to be _afraid_, and it is not for the North, who in no way share in the danger, to brand them as cowards; they are the same that people the world over are and would be under the circumstances. Unorganized men _everywhere_ are timid, easy and quick to take alarm. It is only when bodies of men are organized and disciplined, and prepared to defend themselves against _expected_ dangers, that they stand firm and unshrinking, and face death unmoved. Occasionally we hear that _you_ have been or will be requested to leave--this _amuses me_. It would be singular, indeed, if in all this time your Southern friends had not learned _you_ well enough to tolerate you. It will be a strange pass when the _Bartons_ get fanatical, and cannot abide by and support the laws they live under,