Much of the region was yet dead and brown from the touch of winter, but in the valleys the green was appearing.

Spring was in the air, and the spirits of the Palmetto Guards, nearly all of whom were very young, were rising with it.
The train drew into Montgomery, the little city that stood on the high banks of the Alabama River.

Here they were in the very heart of the new Confederacy, and Harry and Arthur were eager to see the many famous Southern men who were gathered there to welcome the new President.
Jefferson Davis was expected on the morrow, and would be inaugurated on the day following.

They heard that his coming was already a triumphal progress.

Vast crowds held his train at many points, merely to see him and listen to a few words.