bills" against the whole batch of us, for "Conspiracy and Murder!" They probably took up our cases in the gross, without looking at the names at all, as they reported one name, the owner of which is now quietly at home, never having been even arrested. The docket is all clear, and our cases come next. Hon. W. D. Porter,* our lawyer, has been indefatigable in our behalf; and, as he seems confident, I am determined "not to cross the bridge, before I come to it."

May 3d. Our Laurens C. H. delegation, of four, have only been in Charleston two days and two nights, when it was announced to us, this morning, that Judge Bond had decided to adjourn the court, and admit us all to bail in the sum of $5000 each!

Sweet has been the sympathy of friends, during these weary weeks of helplessness, and their unwearied kindness and attentions have deeply impressed our hearts; but now the cry is Liberty and Home.

Loud are the encomiums and thanks heaped upon my highly respected friend of happier days, the Hon. W. D. Porter; but, without saying any thing about it, I"see the hand of Joab" in all this, and my heart is welling with gratitude to the earlier friend of my halcyon days, my old classmate in Williams College, then called "Steve Field," but now, "the Hon. Stephen J. Field, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States."

* Mr Porter had no bill against me for professional services; but he has the life-long gratitude of many loving hearts.

But from the lowest depths of a heart, now almost dissolving in gratitude, come overwhelming thanksgiving and praise to that God "who ruleth in the affairs of men," and "who turneth the hearts of men even as the rivers of water are turned."

We were soon in procession for the court-house, to execute our bonds. There were some ladies with us, even at this early hour, and Mrs. Chapin was noticed to snap some implement in her pocket, which sounded like the loud clicking of the pistol-lock. Being asked what it meant, she replied, "just let one of those darkies on the opposite side of the street dare to hoot at these gentlemen, and I will show you what I will do!" They did not hoot however, and we had a quick and joyous march.

My good cousin Vedder had already prepared my bond, with Messrs. Robert Adger and J. A. Enslow as sureties, and I had only to step to the clerk's desk and sign, when I was once more free. But I stuck to my comrades till the last bond was signed; neither did it require much time, as the court-room was soon filled with willing securities.

I am now busy packing up for home, and jot down these last lines, in this strange, eventful story. I must call on friend Vedder, and "Miss Ammie," now under the same roof, and on George H. Walter, on my way to the railroad, and then

-!

Now, that it is over, I greatly prize this chapter in my history; for I have learned much I never knew before. Without affectation or cant, I have seen and tasted the goodness and loving-kindness of a covenant

God, always faithful to all his promises. I have experienced the transforming influence of his presence on all things and every scene, however dark and mysterious. From the beginning, and all through this strange episode in my life, I have felt a large share of that confidence which inspired David to write that precious Psalm, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." My body has been in the power of my persecutors, but the ME at which they seemed to aim was as far beyond their reach, and as safe, as the highest archangel in heaven; for I felt that I was protected by the same power, and comforted with the same love. The following lines express, very beautifully, my feelings, on closing this part of my Journal : Thy Presence has a wondrous power, The sharpest thorn becomes a flower, And yields a rich perfume. Whate'er looked dark and sad before, With happy light shines silvered o'er, There's no such thing as gloom!

66

Thou knowest I have a cross to bear,
The needed stroke thou wilt not spare,

To keep me near Thy side;

But when I see the chastening rod,

In Thy pierced hand my Lord, my God,

I feel so satisfied."

Over the joyous return home, the curtain must now drop, and the reader left to his own imagination. It will be noticed, that very little is said about home and its loved ones, in the foregoing pages. This has not been owing to any lack of materials, as a much larger collection could have been made from that

source. But these are among the sanctities of life, "wherewith the stranger intermeddleth not."

In this connection, a single allusion to a now sainted daughter-my daughter Rebecca—may be pardoned. She left us, not long afterwards, and her early death was, no doubt, hastened by the shock of my arrest, and the long weeks of anxiety and apprehension which followed. Her correspondence, during this trying time, is treasured as the choicest legacy she could have left us. The writer learned to reverence his own child, who taught him much of that "wisdom that cometh down from on high." Her rapid ripening for heaven was the theme of all who were brought in contact with her; and the writer can now thank God that she has been removed to "where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest."

During these five weeks, the exercises of the college had gone on without interruption, through the kind offices of the Rev. Mr. Riley, J. Wistar Simpson, Esq., S. R. Todd, Jr., W. W. Kennedy, and Miss Janie Kilgore, who, either together or in turn, had attended to the exercises of all the classes.

But an extra United States Court had been called for August, and every interest in that county was in such a chaotic condition, that the writer thought it due, both to himself and the college, for him to withdraw.

As to the United Stated Court, there had been silence the most profound, as to his case," ever since his discharge, under bail, in Charleston, May 3d, 1872.

1876.

CHAPTER ELEVENTH.

RECENT RECONSTRUCTION.

The details so far recorded, are those which grew out of the political persecution in Laurens County alone. In all the other counties where the writ of habeas corpus had been so arbitrarily suspended, the same reign of terror prevailed, and the trampling in the dust of all rights, social as well as civil.

In York County particularly, tales of horror are yet to be told, well calculated to mantle with shame. the brow of any honest supporter of the present Administration. There the brute Merrill, holding a commission in the United States army, and backed by bayonets, was allowed unrestricted license to bully, oppress and degrade a defenceless people for months together. An inordinate greed for money, and a Nero-like delight in human torture, were, too evidently, the predominating characteristics of this “Major in the United States Infantry." None of the sanctities of Home-Anglo-Saxon in its name and institution-none of the safeguards of character-unimpeachable for honor and integrity—not even the sacredness of the pulpit, were any obstacles to his petty tyranny. Of his two “ Assistant United States Marshals," it is enough to say, that one of them acted as Jack Ketch in the judicial murder of Mrs. Suratt, and the other was a congenial comrade of his.