'That it is,' Longstreet agreed. 'Still, he fell in action, as he no doubt would have wished to do, and we have avenged and shall avenge ourselves upon the Apaches manyfold for his assassination.' But nothing, not even the death of a friend of many years, could derail Longstreet's train of thought for long. 'Believe me, General, I am glad you share my views on the integrity of our nation.'
'I do indeed,' Jackson said. On the other hand, Abraham Lincoln had not intended the United States to be torn asunder, either.
But Longstreet, almost as if in response to Jackson 's thought, went on, 'And I shall not allow Hampton and his fellows any opportunity to do us mischief, either. I shall steal their thunder. Easter has come and gone; the end of April approaches. Still Blaine delays and delays and delays. He shall delay no more. Is the army gathered by the Potomac in readiness?'
'You know it is, Your Excellency,' Jackson replied, as if he had been insulted.
'Of course I do,' the president said soothingly. 'Still, the question had to be asked. At today's session with the Yankees, you and Minister Benjamin are to tell them the war will resume in forty-eight hours unless we, the British Empire, and France have the full acquiescence of the United States to all demands made against them before that time shall have expired.'
'Yes, sir!' Jackson 's voice bubbled with enthusiasm. 'We shall punish them as they deserve.' He thought for a moment. 'And, in so doing, we make Hampton and his complaints into smaller matters than they would be otherwise.'
'Just so,' James Longstreet said. 'I have told you before, I believe, that you are, or you can be, more astute in matters political than one might suppose.'
'You natter me beyond my deserts, sir,' Jackson said. 'Like you, my son had no trouble ciphering out the reason on account of which Senator Hampton paid me a call, though I did not realize what it was until he made himself unmistakably plain.'
'Jonathan's a clever lad,' Longstreet said, smiling. 'Remember, the United States are to have forty-eight hours from the moment you deliver the ultimatum. Make careful note of the time, that we may not unduly delay their punishment should its infliction prove necessary.'
'I shall carry out your orders in every particular, Mr. President,' Jackson said. 'You may rest assured on that score.'
'I do, General, believe me.' Longstreet got to his feet. 'And now Lieutenant Latham will take you to Mr. Benjamin. I leave to the two of you the manner in which you present the ultimatum to the United States. I am confident that, between your ingenuity and his, you will devise a plan more likely to meet our needs than any my poor wits might conceive.'
' I am confident I know a man hiding his light under a bushel when I see one,' Jackson said. Ignoring Longstreet's modest little wave, he went on, 'I also have great faith in Mr. Benjamin's ingenuity.' He rose and followed the young officer to the room where the Confederate minister to the USA waited.
'Ah, General Jackson!' Judah P. Benjamin exclaimed in delight, or an artful counterfeit thereof. 'The president has told you of his intention?'
'He has.' Jackson knew how abrupt his nod was. Benjamin's round, smiling, Semitic face, framed by hair and beard dyed a black that defied and denied his years, never failed to make the Confederate general-in-chief nervous. The statesman was too openly successful, too openly clever a Jew to suit Jackson 's stern Christianity.
'My view, General, is that you should be the one to deliver the ultimatum,' Benjamin said now. 'Coming from your lips, it will possess an aura of authority I could never give it. Were I to present it to Hay and Rosecrans, they would the more readily assume it to be negotiable.'
'So they would,' Jackson agreed. Benjamin's smile never wavered. Jackson did not think to wonder if he had insulted the Jew by assuming him to be flexible in all circumstances. Drawing out his pocket watch, he said, 'The Yankees should be here in a few minutes.'
Another young Confederate lieutenant escorted the U.S. representatives into the room. After polite greetings, John Hay said, 'I should like to bring to your attention a new proposal President Blaine has authorized me to-'
'No,' Jackson interrupted.
'I beg your pardon?' the U.S. minister to the Confederate States said.
'No,' Jackson repeated. 'The time for proposals from President Blaine has passed. He is in no position to offer them. He has, in fact, but one choice left: peace on our terms or war.' He delivered Longstreet's ultimatum in tones as fierce as he could muster. Having done so, he noted down the time on a scrap of paper: twenty-seven minutes past ten in the morning.
Hay and Rosecrans both stared at him, the one with something like horror on his handsome face, the other in a sort of weary resignation. Rosecrans found his tongue first: 'And what happens if President Blaine makes no reply, saying neither yes nor no?'
'That is a well he has drunk dry: it will be construed as rejecting the ultimatum,' Jackson replied. 'If we do not hear that he has accepted our terms within the space of forty-eight hours, now less'-he looked at the watch again-'two minutes, the war shall begin again, and where it shall end is known but to God.'
'General, this is a brutal and most unreasonable way of forcing your will upon us,' John Hay said.
'Yes, it is, isn't it?' Jackson agreed placidly. He said no more than that, leaving the U.S. minister to the Confederate States nothing on which he could hang a further protest.
Judah P. Benjamin spoke for the first time: 'Gentlemen, I would suggest that, in view of the present circumstances, you might be well advised to communicate this ultimatum to President Blaine as soon as is practicable, to give him the greatest possible amount of time in which he can decide.'
Under his breath, General Rosecrans muttered, ' Blaine 's had months to decide. What the devil difference will two more days make?'
Jackson and Benjamin both started to speak at the same time. The Confederate minister to the USA caught Jackson 's eye. Benjamin's own eyes, dark and all but fathomless, glinted. Jackson inclined his head, allowing his clever companion to say whatever he intended. Turning another of his woundingly bland smiles on the U.S. representatives, Benjamin remarked, 'I believe it was Samuel Johnson, gentlemen, who observed, 'When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.' '
Hay winced. Rosecrans muttered again, this time unintelligibly. Gathering himself, Hay said, 'I hope you will permit us an adjournment, then, to wire your demands to our president.'
Now Judah Benjamin nodded to Jackson. 'I not only permit it,' the Confederate general-in-chief said, '1 require it.'
Rosecrans' comments to himself sounded sulfurous, even if Jackson could not make them out in detail. With a sigh, Hay asked, 'May we have a written copy of the ultimatum, to be sure it is communicated accurately to President Blaine?'
Jackson shook his head. 'No, for I have not got one. The terms are of the simplest, however: either your government shall yield within forty-eight hours less… thirteen minutes now, or there will be renewed war.'
'War a I'outrance' Benjamin added. Rosecrans, who plainly did not understand the French phrase, glared at him. Hay, who plainly did, also glared, in a different, more nearly desperate way. The two U.S. representatives rose, shook hands again with their Confederate counterparts, and took their leave.
'From now on, sir, these talks will be in your hands alone, I expect,' Jackson said to Benjamin. 'I shall shortly travel north to the Potomac, to take charge of operations against the United States in that region.'
'In my opinion, General, you need not be overhasty,' the minister to the United States replied.
'I dare not take the chance of your being mistaken,' Jackson said.
'However you like.' Benjamin habitually looked amused. At the moment, he looked more amused than usual. 'Whether we do go to war or not, though, the president has effectively spiked Senator Hampton's guns, would you not agree?'
'You know about Senator Hampton?' Jackson blurted, and then felt extraordinarily foolish: whatever went on in the Confederate States without Judah P. Benjamin's knowledge could not be worth knowing.
Benjamin's laugh made his big belly shake. 'Oh, yes, General, I know about Senator Hampton. A great many people know about Senator Hampton. That you did not until last night speaks well of your devotion to duty.'
The Jew was indeed a statesman, Jackson thought; he had never been called blind more politely. In musing tones, he asked, 'Could he have raised a revolution with my help?'
'With your help, General, anything would be possible,' Judah Benjamin answered. 'Without it, he is bound to
