The Leopard's Spots (1902)
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Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?
The
Leopard's Spots
A Romance of the White Man's Burden—1865–1900
Illustrated by C. D. Williams
New York
Doubleday, Page & Co.
1902
by
Doubleday, Page & Co.
All rights reserved
Published, March 1, 1902
To
Harriet
Sweet-voiced daughter of the
old fashioned South
Historical Note
In answer to hundreds of letters, I wish to say that all the incidents used in Book I., which is properly the prologue of my story, were selected from authentic records, or came within my personal knowledge.
The only serious liberty I have taken with history is to tone down the facts to make them credible in fiction. The village of "Hambright" is my birthplace, and is located near the center of "Military District No. 2," comprising the Carolinas, which were destroyed as States by an Act of Congress in 1867. It will be a century yet before people outside the South can be made to believe a literal statement of the history of those times.
I tried to write this book with the utmost restraint.
Thomas Dixon, Jr.
May 9, 1902.
Elmington Manor,
Dixondale, Va.
List of illustrations
| "Two thousand men went mad" | Frontispiece | |
| Page | ||
| "You thief!" | 76 | |
| "Come on, boys!" | 124 | |
| "I'll kill the first nigger that crosses that line." | 132 | |
| "A dazzling vision of beauty" | 250 | |
| "This is my throne" | 270 | |
| Tom Camp. | 364 | |
| "I have resigned my church—to kill you" | 450 | |
Scene: The Foothills of North Carolina—Boston—New York Time: From 1865 to 1900
| Charles Gaston | Who dreams of a Governor's Mansion |
| Sallie Worth | A daughter of the old fashioned South |
| Gen. Daniel Worth | Her father |
| Mrs. Worth | Sallie's mother |
| The Rev. John Durham | A preacher who threw his life away |
| Mrs. Durham | Of the Southern Army that never surrendered |
| Tom Camp | A one-legged Confederate soldier |
| Flora | Tom's little daughter |
| Simon Legree | Ex-slave driver and Reconstruction leader |
| Allan McLeod | A Scalawag |
| Hon. Everett Lowell | Member of Congress from Boston |
| Helen Lowell | His daughter |
| Miss Susan Walker | A maiden of Boston |
| Major Stuart Dameron | Chief of the Ku Klux Klan |
| Hose Norman | A dare-devil poor white man |
| Nelse | A black hero of the old régime |
| Aunt Eve | His wife—"a respectable woman." |
| Hon. Tim Shelby | Political boss of the new era |
| Hon. Pete Sawyer | Sold seven times, got the money once |
| George Harris, Jr | An Educated Negro, son of Eliza |
| Dick | An unsolved riddle |
Contents
Book I
Legree's Regime
| Chapter | Page | |
| I. | A Hero Returns | 3 |
| II. | A Light Shining in Darkness | 19 |
| III. | Deepening Shadows | 30 |
| IV. | Mr. Lincoln's Dream | 34 |
| V. | The Old and the New Church | 38 |
| VI. | The Preacher and the Woman of Boston | 44 |
| VII. | The Heart of a Child | 52 |
| VIII. | An Experiment in Matrimony | 58 |
| IX. | A Master of Men | 63 |
| X. | The Man or Brute in Embryo | 72 |
| XI. | Simon Legree | 83 |
| XII. | Red Snow Drops | 93 |
| XIII. | Dick | 98 |
| XIV. | The Negro Uprising | 100 |
| XV. | The New Citizen King | 104 |
| XVI. | Legree Speaker of the House | 109 |
| XVII. | The Second Reign of Terror | 118 |
| XVIII. | The Red Flag of the Auctioneer | 130 |
| XIX. | The Rally of the Clansmen | 143 |
| XX. | How Civilisation Was Saved | 153 |
| XXI. | The Old and the New Negro | 163 |
| XXII. | The Danger of Playing With Fire | 165 |
| XXIII. | The Birth of a Scalawag | 171 |
| XXIV. | A Modern Miracle | 176 |
Book II
Love's Dream
| Chapter | Page | |
| I. | Blue Eyes and Black Hair | 187 |
| II. | The Voice of the Tempter | 193 |
| III. | Flora | 200 |
| IV. | The One Woman | 206 |
| V. | The Morning of Love | 213 |
| VI. | Beside Beautiful Waters | 221 |
| VII. | Dreams and Fears | 234 |
| VIII. | The Unsolved Riddle | 240 |
| IX. | The Rhythm of the Dance | 244 |
| X. | The Heart of a Villain | 256 |
| XI. | The Old Old Story | 265 |
| XII. | The Music of the Mills | 277 |
| XIII. | The First Kiss | 282 |
| XIV. | A Mysterious Letter | 286 |
| XV. | A Blow in the Dark | 290 |
| XVI. | The Mystery of Pain | 301 |
| XVII. | Is God Omnipotent? | 306 |
| XVIII. | The Ways of Boston | 310 |
| XIX. | The Shadow of a Doubt | 317 |
| XX. | A New Lesson in Love | 320 |
| XXI. | Why the Preacher Threw His Life Away | 328 |
| XXII. | The Flesh and the Spirit | 337 |
Book III
The Trial by Fire
| Chapter | Page | |
| I. | A Growl Beneath the Earth | 349 |
| II. | Face to Face With Fate | 351 |
| III. | A White Lie | 361 |
| IV. | The Unspoken Terror | 364 |
| V. | A Thousand-legged Beast | 372 |
| VI. | The Black Peril | 381 |
| VII. | Equality With a Reservation | 385 |
| VIII. | The New Simon Legree | 395 |
| IX. | The New America | 404 |
| X. | Another Declaration of Independence | 409 |
| XI. | The Heart of a Woman | 417 |
| XII. | The Splendour of Shameless Love | 423 |
| XIII. | A Speech That Made History | 431 |
| XIV. | The Red Shirts | 445 |
| XV. | The Higher Law | 447 |
| XVI. | The End of a Modern Villain | 455 |
| XVII. | Wedding Bells in the Governor's Mansion | 457 |
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1946, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 77 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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