"Daisy! you are - what is the matter? You are not well - you
are tired," - my guardian exclaimed anxiously, as he came back
to my side with one of the Garibaldi flower bunches.
"I am well - you are mistaken, Dr. Sandford," I made myself
say quietly.
"For which side are you so anxious?" he inquired. "You are
paler than you ought to be, at this moment, with a smile on
your lips. I got this for you - will you scorn it, or value
it?"
"You would not waste it upon me, if you thought I would scorn
it?" I said.
"I don't know. I am not infatuated about anybody. You may have
the bouquet, Daisy. Will you have it?"
I did not want to have it! I was not amusing myself, as many
and as Mrs. Sandford were doing; this was not an interesting
little bit of greens to me, but a handful of pain. I held it,
as one holds such handfuls; till the regiment, which had
halted a little while at Willard's, was ordered forward and
took the turning from Pennsylvania Avenue into the road
leading to Virginia. With that, the whole regiment burst into
song; I do not know what; a deep-voiced grave melody from a
thousand throats, cheering their advance into the quarter of
the enemy and of actual warfare. I forgot Dr. Sandford then,
whose watchful eyes I generally remembered; I ceased to see
the houses or the people before me; for my eyes grew dim with
tears it was impossible to keep back; and I listened to
nothing but that mellow, ominous, sweet, bitter, strain, till
the sound faded away in the distance. Then I found that my
cheeks were wet, and that Mrs. Sandford was wondering.
"This is what it is to have an ear for music!" she said.
"There is positively no possession which does not bring some
inconvenience on the possessor. My dear Daisy, you are in
pain; those were not tears of joy; what did that chant say to
your sensibilities? To mine it only sounded strength, and
victory. If the arms of those - what are they? - that
regiment, - if their arms are only constituted proportionately
to their throats, they must do good fighting. I should think
nothing would stand before them. Daisy, they will certainly
bear down all opposition. Are you afraid? Here is the Fourth,
and Washington safe yet, for all the Southern bluster."
"I do not think you had better try to go to the Capitol," the
doctor put in.
"What, to see the meeting of Congress? Oh, yes, we will. I am
not going to miss it."
"Daisy will not?" he asked.
But Daisy would. I would try every chance. I did not at the
moment care for Congress; my wish was to find Mr. Thorold. At
the review I knew I had little reason to hope for what I
wanted; at the Capitol - after all, what chance there? when
Mr. Thorold was drilling troops from morning till night;
unless he had been already sent out of Washington. But I would
go. If I had dared, I would have expressed a desire to see
some troops drilled. I did not dare.