Hisrefusaltocompromisewasbeginningtobearfruit。TheGulfStatesseceded。ASouthernConfederacywasformed。Thereisnoevidencethathelostfaithinhiscourse，butabundantevidencethathewasterriblyunhappy。Hewaspreyeduponbyhissenseofhelplessness，whileBuchananthroughhisweaknessandvacillationwas“givingawaythecase。““Secessionisbeingfostered，“saidhe，“ratherthanrepressed，andifthedoctrinemeetswithgeneralacceptanceintheBorderStates，itwillbeagreatblowtothegovernment。“[9]Hedidnotdeceivehimselfuponthepossibleeffectofhisultimatum，andsentwordtoGeneralScotttobepreparedtoholdorto“retake“thefortsgarrisonedbyFederaltroopsintheSouthernStates。[10]
Allthewhilehispremonitionoftheapproachofdoomgrewmoredarklyoppressive。Thetrailoftheartistisdiscernibleacrosshisthoughts。Inhistroubledimaginationheidentifiedhisownsituationwiththatoftheprotagonistintragediesonthethemeoffate。Hedidnotwithholdhisthoughtsfromthesupremeinstance。Thatsamefriendwhofoundhimpossessedofgloompreservedthesewordsofhis：“IhavereadonmykneesthestoryofGethsemane，whentheSonofGodprayedinvainthatthecupofbitternessmightpassfromhim。IamintheGardenofGethsemanenowandmycupofbitternessisfullandoverflowingnow。“[11]
“Likesomestrongseerinatrance，Seeingallhisownmischance，Withaglassycountenance，“
hefacedtowardWashington，towardthegloriousterrorpromisedhimbyhissuperstitions。
Thelastdaysbeforethedepartureweredaysofmingledgloom，desperation，andtheattempttorecoverhope。Hevisitedhisoldstepmotherandmadeapilgrimagetohisfather’sgrave。