Summer 1860  

Mother and I retreated to White Sulfur Springs to get away from all the 
talk of war and secession.  But  unfortunately things at the Spring were 
the same as in Richmond.  There was a military company from Richmond there, 
marching all day.  There was much speechmaking and music, even on Sunday. 
One old man with long white hair frightened me with his talk of killing 
Yankees, and taking Washington. He introduced himself as Edmund Ruffin of 
South Carolina. He reminded me of John Brown, he really believed in his 
cause of secession .  People are becoming more and more eager for secession.

Still here at the Springs.  A member of the Virginia State Senate took me 
into his confidence today.   He told me that there were men like himself, 
who feared to say what was in their hearts outloud, because there were many 
who would hang anyone who would speak out against slavery and secession.  I 
believed him, especially after what happened to Charles Sumner on the floor 
of the Senate.  Later I spoke with a member of the State Legislature of 
Virginia, who told me that anyone who speaks against the South "ought to be 
hung".

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End Note:

Charles Sumner was a United States Senator, from Massechusetts.  In May 1856, 
Sumner gave a speech condeming the proslavery movement among some of his fellow 
senators.  Three days later, while sitting at his desk in the senate chamber, 
he was approached by Preston Brooks a Representative from South Carolina.  
Brooks beat Sumner viciously about the head with his cane.  It was three years 
before Sumner recovered from his injuries.  Northern abolitionists viewed Sumner 
as a martyr for their cause, while Southerners saw Brooks as the hero.