New-York daily tribune., 1861-08-28
THE SOUTHERN BECKY SHARP.

woman privileges she enjoys no where ese, and sub.
ects pit peor man to smiling sort of torture near
ly always wien be takes his walks or rides abroad.
! to say that the feminine mind and body ere well
constituted for tins of revolution. Tbose who
have read closely the history of the domestic
Troubles of France will recall the essential ser
vices of the sex to both sides. Brilliant women
inspired the lc,alist and the conspirator. Gilded
zsloons hntobed dreadful plots; perumed boudoirs
hid hunted parti,ans of the right or the wrong.
Those who ,nre not up in history 10 the extent
Of such remembrsnce, will oasily bessiuk them of
historical draAuas they have seen at tho theaters,
in which the sikcn robes of beauty have played
as important par. in hasteaing serious de-
Increment as secret panels and suNerranean
vaulss. I. is, indeed, an interesting feature of
the cotemporane,,us drama of our own period
whether Of the Broadway or tho Bowery school,
that woman hoven about the camps ladsn with
important enterprise; the masses of the people
would nos be satisfied, nor would pcetcal Justice
be satsisd, if from She thrilling cpoctacls d
:" Bull Bun" wem omitted the intermittent
figure of her who burns for the hcOd of ths
Yankee aud in easy walking dress aecc'a-
plisbes perilops Journeys between the camps.
This is tie drama Of truth and reality, for, lcef-
ing back over the time Of sur national trial, we
see long line Of ilustrous females, come work
ing in faith for the good cause, constructing
Hayelocks, penetrating the lines yiVsndieres.
waiting at the edge of tho battlefield with con-
forts for tho. wearied or wounded soldier, aDd
some as faithfully working On the wrong side,
presenting buncombe banners TO bogus Guards
or waving handkerchief from the sunny veran,
dab to the son of Mars and tie South below.
None hut ncorrgible single men or tbs most
melancholy cynics will undeuats' the innus.ee Of
woman in The war. AT the North we have in.
creased our respect for the by observing her
uuscl6sh devotion from the frat. Some voices,
Like those cf the old Spartan mothers, have
come out Of the parlor aud the nursery CT so-
cicty. We have been encouraged to renewed
sacrifices for the Union BY the womany surrsu-
der of husbands, sons and lovers. The sodisrs
have been cheered and clothed and covered With
flowers by tho-fair. And in ell this graceful ser
vice We have seon good women reduced to no !
Lumiliatipg strategy. The work OF the ma'ToaH |
and maiiens of the Republic has been aso4e-
board.
Consider. Lowsyer the Southern ladet--sse
hlies Of the plantation. tho magnolIes Of he
pla.tcrs or the traders mansion; those rps snd
lupguid beauties who have stone, aJtsr
season. IN tLs light of Washington ecert.oas
aud Lolls, and formed the Court, nud asss,SA IN |
the ceremonies Of successive Administrations
those iml0eGse catches that have gitlered "a
summers past at Northern watering places;
these irresistible beings whom the. wOaeG Of
tie North have been taught 10 consider tue
parpgons oE pOltoness, and whom Nogtharn
tradosnen nave clothed with tho richest
purple Of their Imagination. The most careful
observer OF American society must hove ns'ed
in late years this peculiar clement Tho Soath-
ern belle wag proud and naughty. You s4w her |
ut the puviic table Of the city hotol with her
shoulders generously bare. You beard Of hTr at |
tho seosids or the springs as the latest II Tho |
dance, the most desperate il the Irritation 'oho
it was who snubbed the winters so dal2a"usly.
Hers was the silkcn poodle. and tho colossd We
man with the red turban called I" NANNY" Our
mple Northern girI were rebueed IN, their
liveliness aad intelligence by the haatsvr and
languor of this superior creature This scuthern
JiJly CRY ShluZtu nj thO oSPi'Vi. HS'VNsV'" WOW
indebted 90 her for late suppers. Sse was MIS-
tress Of the lobby. She did ths hOnors Of
diplomacy. She eavO Washington th,t charming
tone oS refinement which ksS been generally OBJ
ssrved by stranger1
Intrigue was tbe rule Of tho Southern lady a.
life, and now we see thnt il WAS her destiny.
Sis has prepared herself admls.bly for "treaseD,
'.Stratagem, aad spoll,." Her tact and her
beauty her trunks, Patlors, and crincllne, are
al lent TO tho work of Rebellion, The al aud
comfort of the enemy beyond the Potomac were
from the FIST mainly derived from tho ladies oil
tie ancient regime at Washington. The recent
arrest of some Of tho chief Of these is sad COM
mentnry on the fallen estate Of "Csiyalry" IN
the ReDnblic. Alas how low have birth and
breeding sunk Are we not NorhNsa savagesi
Has not every fine perception oi the charms OF
dear (southern) woman boen b.sated when va
answer the sheers Of such clever intrigusntes
as Mrs. Phillip Ph,IlpA Mrs Greenhow, ana
N,. Qwn---their sneers at ous s0dlers, ther
delicu.e exnltatiOns over cur reyerses, their
spread tables and trimmed candles waiting fOr
| the Rebel cbioitsias-by simply arresting them,
putting them under the vulgar aud impertncnt
gIard Of the military, and in some instances ex-
plorug the mysteries OF their toilette for tho
evidences of treason I OF course the entire
Chralry of the soAh viii say 80. Aud as their
henor i. an abstract aud EItls thing it
Will not serve to reply tG hundreds of
! Sonthorn women some OF them tho wives