APRIL 10th, 1865.—General Lee has surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia. Oh, I wish we were all dead! It is as if the very earth had crumbled beneath our feet. In our minds all is chaos and confusion and yet, outwardly there is no difference. The skies are just as blue, the flowers just as bright; the mockingbirds are flitting in and out teaching their young ones how to fly and tonight they will be singing just as gayly as if this crushing sorrow had not come to us.
Father walked the floor all night long, I do not know if Mother slept but I know that not one of us went to bed, though I fell asleep for a little while but Father’s ceaseless tramp followed me even when I slept and he is still walking to and fro, from the front door to the back. He does not say a word and I can see Mother feels very uneasy. She is coming now with a cup of coffee and I am wondering if she can get him to take it. Father was so sure we would succeed.
