"I find it fascinating, but ultimately, what will God ask of me and of all those brilliant scholars when we stand before Him?"

"I don't follow you," Judah said.

"Will God ask of me, 'Samuel, did you study Talmud?' or will He ask, 'Samuel, were you a good man and did you honor God?'

'Too many of my friends, great thinkers, become caught in the arguments of the Talmud, forgetting that ultimately the question God will put to us is, 'Are you a good man, did you honor God, and did you lead a righteous life?'

"The same is true of the causes of this war. Right or wrong, the complexities of the Constitution, the issues of States' Rights, the wishes and desires of the Founding Fathers, the legality of secession, all of it is moot compared to the more fundamental question, 'Is this morally right and is it good for the common man?' All the other arguments are like the Talmud when compared to that most basic question of all. For, my friend, the founding of America is based upon that, the dream that it is a nation for the common man."

No one spoke for a moment.

"Whether Lincoln's proclamation is a fraud or not," Samuel continued, "whether it is sleight of hand, whether he believes in it or not, though honestly I am convinced he does believe in it, Lincoln has seized the moral initiative of this war. He is now asking his own countrymen, does the founding document, the Declaration of Independence that we all hold sacred, have meaning? Do Jefferson's, and for that matter Locke's, immortal words about the equality of man carry with them a fundamental truth?

"I remember one of Lincoln's speeches before the war, and I will confess it stirred me. He raised the question as to what the words 'all men are created equal' actually meant. He then reasoned that if we, in America, created exceptions, by saying that all men are created equal, except for Negroes, then what was to prevent us from saying that all men are created equal except for Irish, Catholics, or Jews. Lincoln asserted that if such was the case, he would rather go to Russia, where he could breathe the air of tyranny free of the taint of hypocrisy."

"Words when compared to the reality of what Lincoln has forced us to, the devastation he has wrought against hundreds of thousands of common men of the South," Judah replied sharply.

"Words are weapons in war, just as the bayonet or gun. It is with such words that Lincoln will bring hundreds of thousands of men of color into the ranks of his legions, while the South continues to bleed itself dry."

"So, to cut to the core of this," Judah replied. "You are actually proposing our own Emancipation Proclamation."

"Exactly. Do that, gentlemen, and you will have cut out the props from under Lincoln. You will have a profound impact on foreign intervention, and you will bring to your ranks hundreds of thousands of men of color, who will see that here is their chance for honorable freedom and a future in the South as equal citizens. You could mobilize hundreds of thousands of fresh troops within months. That answers then the other point, the one of numbers.

"I daresay, gentlemen, it would bond the men of the South, black and white, into a bond of blood that will forever change the social dynamic of your newly freed country. When men bleed side by side on the battlefield, they become brothers in peace."

Lee sat silent, gaze fixed on Judah. Till this moment he had never considered the issue in this light. For a brief instant he let his imagination run with it; a hundred thousand fresh troops, even fifty thousand at this moment, would most certainly tip the scale once and for all to his side. But the barriers… and as quickly as his mind turned to those realities, the dream flickered and died. Davis and the Confederate Congress back in Richmond would never agree.

"Let me finish quickly, my friends, for I know the hour is late," Samuel said. "I asked my servant to take some coffee and biscuits out to your guards, but I can imagine those young lads are weary and would like to return to their rest, so I shall try to keep it short"

Lee looked out the window and saw that his troop of cavalry escorts were, indeed, enjoying coffee served on fine china, while out in the street a small crowd of the curious had gathered.

"Thank you for seeing to my men," Lee said. "Such kind treatment will be remembered by them and by me. I must add now, sir, that I am posting several of them here for the next few days, just in case our visit should cause subsequent problems."

"If it was only myself, I would insist against it, but I know Sarah was worried about this, so I thank you, sir."

Samuel sighed. 'Tragic isn't it that we must take such precautions in these times?"

"I hope soon that we will not," Lee said with a smile.

"I will raise another point that stops us," Judah interjected. "The slave owners themselves. They are a minority in our country but a powerful one. I do not see them readily agreeing to this."

"I've thought of that as well," Samuel replied. "First off, ask them to speak to the slave owners in what is now territory occupied by the Union. They have lost what they held forever. That tidal wave is coming down upon the rest of the South, a storm that cannot be stopped. So I would argue that now, before it is too late, you should offer them compensation."

"With what?" Judah asked. "We are bankrupt as it is."

"Think creatively, Judah. I daresay you might even be able to get foreign funds for such a venture; the liberals of England would rejoice at such a pronouncement, perhaps even be willing to fund some of it. Your economy is stagnant because of the blockade. After such a proclamation France will undoubtedly come in, and, I think, England as well. Trade will generate some of the funds necessary."

"This stays here," Judah replied, "but I think we will see that anyhow."

Samuel sniffed and shook his head.

'Too little, too late. France? Their only concern is expanding their empire in Mexico and doing what damage they can to both of us, North and South, to prevent our intervention after our own war is over. The impact of France, at best, would be limited.

"It is England you want, and as long as you embrace slavery, nothing you achieve on the battlefield will bring them to your side. Besides, I think they see that as long as Lincoln stands firm, the war will continue. No, shake Lincoln with your offer of freedom. England will see the Union cause tottering and at that moment, they just might consider breaking the blockade. If for no other reason than to win your gratitude once the war was over.

"The sale of the tens of millions of dollars in cotton rotting on our wharves could be used to help offset the temporary financial loss of the slaveholders and keep them in your ranks.

"The South must make some hard decisions within the next few weeks if it is to survive," Samuel said, pressing his argument. "Perhaps, if both sides have declared for emancipation, then what the North now claims is one of the fundamental issues of the war has been resolved. Doing it now, at a moment of strength, on the coattails of victory, will add even more weight, rather than to do so as a final act of desperation.

"You can then argue that there is no longer any point to the war. Lincoln altered the terms; you have agreed to those terms; the issue is settled. I daresay that the will to continue the fight on the side of the North, to venture yet another battle with your army now reinforced with tens of thousands of black soldiers, will evaporate."

Samuel spoke now with open enthusiasm, as if his proposal could actually become a reality if the three of them sitting about the table would agree.

"Our government will never accept it," Judah replied, "more so even now because victory seems all but assured."

"You mean President Davis will not accept it"