# Read the first page of Manassas by Upton Sinclair Read the opening of Manassas by Upton Sinclair free, no signup. A young Mississippi man turns against slavery and joins the Union. - Page: https://uncovered.ink/read/manassas-upton-sinclair - Genre: War fiction - Year: 1904 - ISBN: 9780817310448 - Read it blind (cover and title hidden): https://uncovered.ink/?b=9780817310448&s=read-page - Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/125786/9780817310448 - Borrow: https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=9780817310448 ## The opening The house stood upon a gentle slope, from which you might look down a broad, sandy avenue into the forests which lined the creek. Two-storied, with double porticos upon three sides and great white pillars about which a man's arms would scarcely go, it was hidden in a grove of pecans and magnolias which had the depth and stillness of cathedral archways. The ground beneath was soft and glossy, and one wondered if the deep, rich green had ever been trod by a foot. It was March, and Southern springtime. The great magnolias, some of them a hundred feet high, were in the full tide of their splendor, their crisp, polished leaves scarcely visible for the snow-white flowers which covered them. Here and there about the lawn were rose trees of twice a man's height, flashing like beacons with their weight of cloth-of-gold roses a span across, crimson and orange, and with petals soft and heavy as velvet. About the lawn were scattered banana and fig trees, pomegranates, china trees, and huge flaming scarlet lobelias. Tall hedges of jasmine and sweetbrier ran around the house and along the sides of the lawn, while beyond them on one side stretched a grove of orange trees in full blossom, a sea of flowers which loaded the breeze with sweetness and brought a drunkenness to every sense. Upon the other side was the flower garden, whose riot of color and perfume had gathered the bees and humming-birds from miles around, filling the air with a sound as of distant machinery. It was high noon, and the sultry air was heavy with sunlight. In front of the mansion everything was stillness, save for the slowly moving old negro who was tending the trees, and for a deer which browsed upon the lawn—now and then nibbling at the rose trees and bringing down showers of petals upon the grass. Through the open doorway there came into view a group of figures, an aged, white-haired gentleman, an almost equally aged negro, and four young children; they descended the steps slowly and came across the lawn. The first-named towered above the group, a striking figure; he moved with trembling step, foot by foot, and leaning heavily upon the others, yet holding his spare frame stiffly erect. His hair was snow-white and his face withered with age, but still full of power—with high forehead, prominent nose, and alert expression of countenance. He carried his head high, and seemed to snuff the air as he went, learning thus of the springtide about him—for he was blind. The old negro tottered beside him, carrying his shawl and cane. The two oldest boys supported him with their shoulders, taking up one child in advance, a little girl, “Grandfather,” said the child in advance, “let us go to the orange tree.” “I will try,” he replied. “Are you tired, Allan?” “No,” panted the younger of his two supporters, “I don’t mind. Let’s go to the tree.” He was only eight years old, and his face was very red and his hands clenched tightly in his pockets, but he made no sound. A few rods farther on was a great gnarled orange tree, with rustic seats about it. “I’ll spread your shawl, grandfather,” said the little girl, running ahead. They reached the seats, and he sank down with a sigh; the old negro sat near him, and the children gathered about his knee. “Now!” the girl exclaimed, “and what are you going to tell us?” “Breathe, dear!” smiled the other. “Play awhile first. How are the oranges, Plato?” “Mos’ ready, Marse ’Dolph,” said Plato, gazing up at the golden fruit left from the year before to ripen, and shining like jewels amid the blossoms. “Few mo’ days n de sun, Marse ’Dolph.” “Grandfather, the new governess is coming to-morrow,” put in the boy called Allan. “Did they tell you? She wrote from New Orleans.” “Tell us about King’s Mountain!” broke in the girl. “No, no, about Sir Leslie!” said the boy. “I say General Coffee!” cried another. There was a debate, above which the little girl kept crying insistently, “King’s Mountain!” “But, Ethel dear,” said the old man, “I told you all that only three days ago.” “It was a week ago, grandfather; and I’ve forgotten all of it.” “It was Friday—wasn’t it Friday, Plato?” “Thursday, Marse ’Dolph—the day Marse Ben was hyar.” The grandfather hesitated. “Did you ever meet Sevier before?” asked Allan, suddenly. “Not until the day before the battle, my son.” “Did he know you?” “No, indeed, Allan. How should he have heard of me? I was only a boy of eighteen. But I was on guard when he and his men rode up to the camp.” “How did they look, grandfather?” “I thought they were Indians,” answered the old man; “they wore belts of beads, and fringed hunting-shirts and leggings, and tomahawks. Ah me, but they were fighters,—wild, gaunt men, with grim faces that promised a battle!” The children sat silent, being familiar with this method of starting a story. “And Sevier?” asked Allan. “Sevier?” said the grandfather. “He was the handsomest man I ever saw,—you had only to hear him laugh once and you would follow him forever. ## Books with a similar feel - [Halo by Eric Nylund](https://uncovered.ink/read/halo-eric-nylund.md) - [Green on Blue by Elliot Ackerman](https://uncovered.ink/read/green-on-blue-elliot-ackerman.md) - [The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-calamity-club-kathryn-stockett.md) - [Across the River and Into the Trees by Ernest Hemingway](https://uncovered.ink/read/across-the-river-and-into-the-trees-ernest-hemingway.md) - [The True Meaning of Love by Danielle Steel](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-true-meaning-of-love-danielle-steel.md) - [Live and Remember by Valentin Rasputin](https://uncovered.ink/read/live-and-remember-valentin-rasputin.md) --- Source: Uncovered (https://uncovered.ink). 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