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THE VICTIM

A Romance of the Real Jefferson Davis

by

THOMAS DIXON

Illustrated by J. N. Marchand






  BOOKS BY THOMAS DIXON

  The Victim
  The Southerner
  The Sins of the Father
  The Leopard's Spots
  The Clansman
  The Traitor
  The One Woman
  Comrades
  The Root of Evil
  The Life Worth Living




[Illustration: "The man in front gave a short laugh and advanced
on the girl" [Page 300]]




THE VICTIM



"_A majestic soul has passed_"--Charles A. Dana


[Illustration: Colophon]



New York and London
D. Appleton and Company
1914
Copyright, 1914, by
Thomas Dixon
All rights reserved, including that of translation into all
foreign languages, including the Scandinavian
Printed in the United States of America




  TO
  THE BRAVE WHO DIED
  FOR WHAT THEY BELIEVED
  TO BE RIGHT




  _Fold up the banners! Smelt the guns!
  Love rules. Her gentle purpose runs.
  A mighty mother turns in tears
  The pages of her battle years
  Lamenting all her fallen sons!_

  THOMPSON




TO THE READER


_In the historical romance which I have woven of the dramatic events of
the life of Jefferson Davis I have drawn his real character unobscured
by passion or prejudice. Forced by his people to lead their cause, his
genius created an engine of war so terrible in its power that through it
five million Southerners, without money, without a market, without
credit, withstood for four years the shock of twenty million men of
their own blood and of equal daring, backed by boundless resources._

_The achievement is without a parallel in history, and adds new glory to
the records of our race._

_The scenes have all been drawn from authentic records in my possession.
I have not at any point taken a liberty with an essential detail of
history._

Thomas Dixon.




CONTENTS




PROLOGUE


        I The Curtain Rises
       II The Parting
      III A Midnight Session
       IV A Friendly Warning
        V Boy and Girl
       VI God's Will
      VII The Best Man Wins
     VIII The Storm Center
       IX The Old Regime
        X The Gauge of Battle
       XI Jennie's Vision
      XII A Little Cloud
     XIII The Closing of the Ranks
      XIV Richmond in Gala Dress
       XV The House on Church Hill
      XVI The Flower-Decked Tent
     XVII The Fatal Victory
    XVIII The Aftermath
      XIX Socola's Problem
       XX The Anaconda
      XXI Gathering Clouds
     XXII Jennie's Recruit
    XXIII The Fatal Blunder
     XXIV The Sleeping Lioness
      XXV The Bombardment
     XXVI The Irreparable Loss
    XXVII The Light that Failed
   XXVIII The Snare of the Fowler
     XXIX The Panic in Richmond
      XXX The Deliverance
     XXXI Love and War
    XXXII The Path of Glory
   XXXIII The Accusation
    XXXIV The Turn of the Tide
     XXXV Suspicion
    XXXVI The Fatal Deed
   XXXVII The Raiders
  XXXV