Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-11-23
lQOrtester 1ailp Spp.


Everyday Life among the SecesSiOnIsts.
tltz Hugh Ludlow, the hashecslI cater
writes from Florida an account of his expert.
ences among the people OF that borough.
winch are interesting at this time. Il reco-
lect, lie says, sitting one night at a tea table
III Jacksonville, when the news of the election
OF Speaker Pennington had lust arrived. A
mercurial southern friend of mine arose from
his seat-'iropping on his plate the fragment
OF bacon which he has just speared-and hold
ing his knife and fork high in the air, called
all the dlVlnites to witness, that should the
dissolution Of the Union ever come to pass
(southerners always put it hypothetcally)-
and should the North ever attempt to keep the
South in the Union by force OF arms-or even
dare to try kicking her out (either of these
Is tavorlle hypothesis, south of Mason and
DlSons lme)-and should he be too old TO
walk 10 the scene of conflict, he would crawl
on his hands and knees to the banks of the
Potomac, and mingle the boundary waters
with his and their hostile blood A thrill of
horror ran around the table at this terrible
declaration, and the hair of several northern
lnvalids stood erect, But for the lite of me-
could not take the thing seriously. | straight
way drew picture OF my venerable friend
who weighed two hundred and thirty odd
pounds-creeping on all tours in pair of new
cashmere pantaloons by which he set great
store, through the six inches of mire which
usually accumulate on Virginia roads about
the season OF Il Presidential inauguration
with an old musket between his teeth, and a
cold chunk of bacon in the commissariat de-
parlment OF his raglan--to make a compound
OF his fiery blood with the Old Dominion
mud and dtch-water. In an instant his face
relaxed-his knife and fork came down-he
uttered heavy haw -haw, chOrused by all the
fnl,ia--ot,fl ia,
the abandoned bacon with as placid soul as
If Keitt had been the Speaker instead of Pen
nington.
1t is astonishing to see with what sang-troid
the people OF the south will talk of the slavery
question before their negroes. | recall one
occasion upon which our whole party in one
of the southern states had been discussing the
subject of abOlitionism in the presence of five
or six atten'ant slave walters. The whole
question of pos .be internecine war between
the north and the south had been canvassed
from beginning to end. One young South
Carolina planter had been particularly blood
thirsty in his threats of vengeance upon the
north. Should the abolitionists (another hy-
pothesis, you see,) march down to take the
city of Charleston, he would arm all his ne.
grocS, he said, and set them in the van of the
defending force TO do battle against their
"northern brothers."
The conversation being overland the com.
pany dispers done Of the walters, an old
Charleston negro, called lie out OF the room
on the pretense of having telon on his finger
examined by me. When We stood in the dark
OF the negro quarters, he whispered to me
"Massa do them abolitionisls rally mean to
come and help us % "Don't talk about such
things, Cesar mol They can't come. They
could t help you if they would" "WeIl,
MasSa-l lis tell Won what I'd like tn Spn
IN put guns into our iards-and set us ahead
to do the fghtin! Dcyd find out who we'd
fight fer Dey dursn't put de guns into our
hands No! Dey dursn't" And an hour
after heard Caesars master say that he would
trust him with his life