There came a time when he, too, knew it only as a place of tombs. Just
now he knew it as the home of the Only Girl in the world, so--what was
the use? And then, Charleston is born into the blood of all her sons,
whether she recognizes them or not. It is better to be a door-keeper
in Charleston than to dwell in the most gorgeous tents of outside
barbarians. So he who was born to the Queen City would hang on to the
remotest hem of her trailing robe at the imminent risk of having his
brains dashed out on the cobble-stones as she swept along her royal
way, rather than sit comfortably upon velvet-cushioned thrones in a
place unknown to her regal presence. Simms came back to his native
city with her "unsociable houses which rose behind walls, shutting in
beautiful gardens that it would have been a sacrilege to let the
public enjoy."

Soon after his return he was admitted to the bar and proved his
forensic prowess by earning $600 in the first year of his practice, a
degree of success which enabled him to unite his destiny with that of
the Only Girl, and begin housekeeping in Summerville, a suburban
village where living was cheap. For, though "Love gives itself and is
not bought," there are other essentials of existence which are not so
lavish with themselves.

The pen-fever had seized upon Simms with great virulence and he
followed his fate. Soon after his return from Mississippi, General
Charles Coates Pinckney died and Simms wrote the memorial poem for
him. When LaFayette visited Charleston the pen of Simms was called
upon to do suitable honor to the great occasion. Such periodical
attacks naturally resulted in a chronic condition. Charleston was the
scene of his brief, though not wholly unsuccessful, career as a
play-wright. In Charleston he edited the _Daily Gazette_ in the