It was indeed said (but I think in a strain of slander) that Mr.
Beauregard looked with an air of great condescension on our noble
Treasury building, and promised his fighting followers a share of
its contents as soon as it came into his master's possession. Indeed
it was said that Mr. Beauregard promised his men that when they got
Washington they should have luxuries for rations, and fight with
their pockets filled with silver and gold. And with their
expectations firmly fixed on a specie basis, who could doubt as to
what the result would be? This was the golden prize Mr. Davis hoped
to win with Washington. And with it he saw, or rather thought he
saw, England extending to him the right hand of fellowship, and the
Emperor of France making him one of his very best bows, and thanking
him for the liberty he had taken with the freedom of a people.
These, then, my son, are some of the reasons why we concluded to
close the gates of Washington against Mr. Davis and his rebellious
people, and to keep them closed by raising a cordon of strong forts
around the city.
CHAPTER III.
CONCERNING THE DISTINGUISHED OFFICER WHO BUILT THE FORTS.
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