The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-10 00:00:00

Confederate Prospects,

We have been favoured with the following ex-
tract of a letter from a lady in the Confederate
States, dated

"Augusta (Georgia), Feb. 23, 1864.
"The early opening of the spring campaign fills
our country just now with much anxiety. For the
moment we must acknowledge ourselves surprised
by a movement in Mobile in the rear, which must
be met in great haste by a portion of Johnston's
army, now guarding the frontier of Georgia. The
enemy is marching from Mississippi across
the interior portion of the Confederacy where we
have only a small force to dispute his advance; but
we hope his temerity will prove his destruction.
Johnston is moving to get in his rear if possible.
The battle is not always to the strong.' Our hope
'is not in man. We have the utmost confidence in
our final success ( and —to the contrary
notwithstanding). These two gentlemen persist in
taking low-spirited views of our prospects. The
time of hope is over with them, and they can only
sigh over the ruins of our once glorious Union. As
a peop'e we are full of hope, and believe, with our
noble President, that our skies are even now be-
ginning to brighten. In our generals we have
patriots; our soldiers are the bravest of the brave.
But this is boasting, Yet, could you know what
privations and sufferings are endured by this
people you would not wonder that we feel a
pride in our defenders, to which we must
give utterance. Night after night, as we read that
Sumter fires her morning gun and still floats the
Confederate flag, we take courage, and shout for
Beauregard. Lee has the management of every
heart throughout the land. The women would
take up arms if he should say so. But he only tells
us to send back deserters, to shame the laggard, to
ply the needle, and fly the shuttle. Right cheerfully
we obey our country's call for help. The loss of fine
clothing is nothing to wives and mothers who have
sour and loved ones marching barefooted into battle.
My sister's son came home to us last month after a
season in Tennessee, almost naked. He is a youth
of 17 years; had gone to join Gen. Longstreet for
fun; but after a little experience he was glad to
find his way back home on foot, and wait until he
should attain army age.
" Our currency is in a strange state just now—
no small change to be had. I had to buy 10 dols.
worth of shoe-strings to-day because there was no-
thing else in the shop I wished for, and the change
could not be made; so I have got shoe.strings
enough to last through the war. We use planta-
tion tanned leather for common shoes, and tie them
with braid at a dollar a yard. At some tables we
still drink a sprinkling of coffee mixed with rye.
At others we drink pure rye, which we are com-
pelled to drink instead of coffee. My sister calls
this last drink brown stout. Sometimes she asks
me to take a dose of ' black drop' out of her coffee
pot. Our substitute for tea is a decoction of briar
leaves, which lacks stimulating qualities, unless we
remember to leave in the briars.

"As my letter must wait for the dusk of the moon
I may add another sheet of such news as our dismal
times can furnish. By extracts which come to us
from European papers I see you are informed of the
position of our armies and the proceedings of our
Congress. The London Index gives a true account
of us, and the limes evidently likes to speak well of
us when it can do so without abasing our enemies
(but you know it is strictly neutral). Augusta is so
much changed since the war that we scarcely feel it
ourown city. Refugees from all our borders congre•
gate here as a spot in the Confederacy which must
be defended with a death struggle. . . . The
enemy longs to reach this spot in the very heart of
the Confederacy. We feel comparatively safe, be-
cause Charleston is eo well fortified. Savannah is
also very strong. I have been spending part of
this winter near the latter place, so near as to hear
the cannonading in a still night. I was with my
brother's wife and children on a plantation while he
was in the army. There was no white man within
two miles of us. The families on the opposite side
of the river from us had been warned by Beaure-
gard to remove higher up the country; but we were
considered safe, from the fact of a deep river sepa-
rating us from a weak point on the Carolina coast,
from which raids of the enemy were dreaded.
" Surrounded by our slaves (the plantation
governed by one of themselves) we slept with un-
locked doors—not in perfect peace, but with strange
composure vouchsafed us from on high. The slave
who managed our plantation is clever enough to
find his way to the Yankees any night ; but he
bore with us the privations of the war, and kept all
his fellows in their places. And when his master
came on a twenty days' furlough, he meekly re-
ceived a punishment which he deserved for having
on one occasion whipped a refractory child with
more severity than he ought to have done. We
had at no time the least fear of our slaves, but we
did fear that deep river would not protect us from
raids. So we had our hiding places chosen, and our
plans for flight ell matured.
By a now law in Congress we hope the planters
will be sent home to make provisions for the army.
If so, my brother's , furlough will be more than
than twenty days. Much as we love our country
we of coarse rejoice whoa our dear ones can be
spared from the ranks. The hearty re-enlistment
of our veteran troops makes our army stronger than
could any number of new recruits. The spirit of
the army is wonderful. It is a God-given enthu-
siasm, which quiets all our apprehensions. We must
succeed. . . .

" Show the tea leaves from Georgia. We town
people still get the genuine article from Nassau,
but the time for this luxury is drawing to a close.
I send you a specimen of Confederate sackcloth,
which I:bought cheap at a dollar a yard. It is light
and nice for outer garments in hot weather....
" P.S. Feb. 27.—We feel quite excited by the
good news from all out birders this morning—the
grand simultaneous attack has been made by the
Yankees. It has failed in Florida, failed in Missis-
sippi, failed in Mobile, and on the north Georgian
frontier. Fighting is now going on, the result of
which you will hear long before this reaches you.
We are preparing for our woanded."