"Well, Louis, I think that we are coming to that. No, I cannot feel that
all this baptism of fire and blood through which we have passed has been
in vain. Slavery, as an institution, has been destroyed. Slavery, as an
idea, still lives, but I believe that we shall outgrow this spirit of
caste and proscription which still tarnishes our civilization, both
North and South."




Chapter XVIII


After spending a few weeks with Camilla, Louis resolved to settle in the
town of L----n, and as soon as he had chosen his home and made
arrangements for the future, he sent for Ellen, and in a few days she
joined her dear children, as she called Louis and Minnie. Very pleasant
were the relations between Minnie and the newly freed people.

She had found her work, and they had found their friend. She did not
content herself with teaching them mere knowledge of books. She felt
that if the race would grow in the right direction, it must plant the
roots of progress under the hearthstone. She had learned from Anna those
womanly arts that give beauty, strength and grace to the fireside, and
it was her earnest desire to teach them how to make their homes bright
and happy.

Louis, too, with his practical turn of mind, used his influence in
teaching them to be saving and industrious, and to turn their attention