The Southerner

The Southerner, by Thomas
Dixon

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Title: The Southerner A Romance of the Real Lincoln
Author: Thomas Dixon
Illustrator: J. N. Marchand
Release Date: August 28, 2006 [EBook #19135]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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SOUTHERNER ***

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THE SOUTHERNER
A ROMANCE OF THE REAL LINCOLN
BY
THOMAS DIXON
"Have you never realized it, my friends, that Lincoln, though grafted on
the West, is essentially, in personnel and character, a Southern
contribution?"--WALT WHITMAN.
ILLUSTRATED BY J. N. MARCHAND
NEW YORK AND LONDON D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1913
COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THOMAS DIXON
All rights reserved, including that of translation into all foreign
languages, including the Scandinavian
Printed in the United States of America
* * * * * DEDICATED TO
OUR FIRST SOUTHERN-BORN PRESIDENT SINCE LINCOLN,
MY FRIEND AND COLLEGEMATE WOODROW WILSON
* * * * * THE SOUTHERNER
BOOKS BY MR. DIXON
The Southerner The Sins of the Father The Leopard's Spots The
Clansman The Traitor
***
The One Woman Comrades The Root of Evil

***
The Life Worth Living
[Illustration: "From a thousand throats rose the cry: 'Lee to the rear!'"]

TO THE READER
Lest my readers should feel that certain incidents of this story are
startling and improbable, I wish to say that every word in it relating to
the issues of our national life has been drawn from authentic records in
my possession. Nor have I at any point taken a liberty with an essential
detail in historical scenes.
THOMAS DIXON.

CONTENTS
PROLOGUE

CHAPTER
I.
THE MAN OF THE HOUR II. JANGLING VOICES III. IN BETTY'S
GARDEN IV. A PAIR OF YOUNG EYES V. THE FIRST SHOT VI.
THE PARTING OF THE WAYS VII. LOVE AND DUTY VIII. THE
TRIAL BY FIRE IX. VICTORY IN DEFEAT X. THE AWAKENING
XI. THE MAN ON HORSEBACK XII. LOVE AND PRIDE XIII.
THE SPIRES OF RICHMOND XIV. THE RETREAT XV.
TANGLED THREADS XVI. THE CHALLENGE XVII. THE DAY'S
WORK XVIII. DIPLOMACY XIX. THE REBEL XX. THE INSULT
XXI. THE BLOODIEST DAY XXII. BENEATH THE SKIN XXIII.

THE USURPER XXIV. THE CONSPIRACY XXV. THE TUG OF
WAR XXVI. THE REST HOUR XXVII. DEEPENING SHADOWS
XXVIII. THE MOONLIT RIVER XXIX. THE PANIC XXX.
SUNSHINE AND STORM XXXI. BETWEEN THE LINES XXXII.
THE WHIRLWIND XXXIII. THE BROTHERS MEET XXXIV.
LOVE'S PLEDGE XXXV. THE DARKEST HOUR XXXVI. THE
ASSASSIN XXXVII. MR. DAVIS SPEAKS XXXVIII. THE STOLEN
MARCH XXXIX. VICTORY XL. WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
"From a thousand throats rose the cry: 'Lee to the rear!'" Frontispiece.
"'Be a man among men, for your mother's sake--'"
"'Good-bye--Ned!' she breathed softly." "Betty glanced at the stolid, set
face and firm lips."
"'You're a brave man, Ned Vaughan.'"
"Waving his plumed hat ... he put himself at the head of his troops and
charged."

LEADING CHARACTERS OF THE STORY
1809-1818
Scene: A Cabin in the Woods
TOM, A Man of the Forest and Stream. NANCY, The Woman Who
Saw a Vision. THE BOY, Her Son. DENNIS, His Cousin. BONEY, A
Fighting Coon Dog.
1861-1865
Scene: The White House

SENATOR GILBERT WINTER, The Radical Leader. BETTY, His
Daughter. JOHN VAUGHAN, A Union Soldier. NED VAUGHAN,
His Brother, a Rebel. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, The President. MRS.
LINCOLN, His Wife. PHOEBE, Her Maid. JULIUS CÆSAR
THORNTON, Who Was Volunteered. COLONEL NICOLAY, The
President's Secretary. MAJOR JOHN HAY, Assistant Secretary.
WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN, Who Stole a March. GEORGE
B. MCCLELLAN, The Man on Horseback. ROBERT E. LEE, The
Southern Commander.

THE SOUTHERNER

PROLOGUE
I
Tom seated himself at the table and looked into his wife's face with a
smile:
"Nancy, it's a meal fit for a king!"
The supper over, he smoked his pipe before the cabin fire of blazing
logs, while she cleared the wooden dishes. He watched her get the
paper, goose-quill pen and ink as a prisoner sees the scaffold building
for his execution.
"Now we're all ready," she said cheerfully.
The man laid his pipe down with a helpless look. A brief respite flashed
through his mind. Maybe he could sidestep the lessons before she
pinned him down.
"Lord, Nancy, I forgot my gun. I must grease her right away," he cried.
He rose with a quick decisive movement and took his rifle from the
rack. She knew it was useless