"Please, Dick—don't—"
"Yes," he insisted, "I want to talk about it and you must hear me—won't you?"
"Of course, if you wish it," she answered tenderly.
"You see I don't hate these Yankee soldiers any more—anyhow. I saw too many of them die from the Wilderness to Petersburg—brave manly fellows. The fire of battle has burned the hate out of me. Now I just want you to be happy, Jennie dear, that's all—good-by—"
His hand slipped from hers and in a moment his spirit had passed.
CHAPTER XLII
THE CAPTURE
At midnight on the day of the evacuation the President and his Cabinet left Richmond for Danville. He still believed that Lee might cut his way through Grant's lines and join his army with Johnston's in North Carolina. Lee had restored Johnston to command of the small army that yet survived in opposition to Sherman. He had hopes that Johnston's personal popularity with the soldiers might in a measure restore their spirits.