Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1861-03-29

= article from an American OF the Nortbefh
, States who had had occasion to visit his rel
atives at Charleston We give some very
, readable extracts.
THE SOLE TOPIC OF CONVERSATION.
The lncessant recurrence to one topic of
conversation, when nobody wants to contro-
+ vert, is one sign of the great characteristic,
in nv eyes, of Southern manners-the ab-
sence of repose. | am struck with this even
in the society of the most languid ladies
| but find much more Of it in nv morning
walks with nv brother in-law The citizens
are always finding mares nests, it seems to
me. Wherever I 90, see them fuming
about some conspiracy. some detection or
insult at Washington, some wound to their
selflove. OF to the dignity of the Palmetto
State. On the wharves | am questioned
about the intentions of the North in regard
to abolitionists, and when the South may
expect redress from them. In the public Ii
brary and any reading room, can never get
through = newspaper without hearing OF the
power Of South Carolina to stand her ground
| against the assaults Of hostile North. In
the mansions we enter. the books on the
centre table, and the newspapers generally,
| NliON Llif CdSt VI siiO POAiNiS' "
hold. The minority, who dread a severance
| from the Union and civil war, seek me, and
try to learn how matters really stand in my
! own State, and whether we really want to
| crush South Carolina and they tell me more
than thew dare tell their neighbors, Of their
| longing for peace and quiet, and for some
| freedom in reading, speaking and cores
| pondinc. At other houses, | hear these 10y
| alists denounced as disloyal. 1t is chiefly on
SUSPICION, for the minority are extremely
cautious but hear one man OF business
! tell another that they must expect no good
| of A., or B., who shows no loyalty TO the
| Palmetto flag, and none of the spirit whlcn
should distinguish the chivalrY.
! After dinner in the balcony, or among the
| ladies in the drawing g-rCOm, l hear Iow-volced
| communications. or loud censure OF O., or d.,
who is suspected of receiving letters from
Washington, or publications from the North,
which should never be carried IN Southern |
mailbag. The clergy and the ladies eaten |
sp such hints, and incite one another to |
exasg.ration, till, st some unlucky moment,
q citizen who desire. nothing but to follow |
his own business in peace and quiet, mas
himself held up to social e1ecratlon Tor tax
ins ia abolition papers which ought 10 DC
burnt by the hangman. Then the postmas-
ser IS sure 10 have call from some dozen OF
the ehief men Of the place, who inquire ABOUT
the correspondence of the suspected nelghDor,
and advise the jealous functionary to make |
known to the authorities any remarKaple |
phenomena that may present themselves III |
she way OF printed or even written papers |
Some Of the citizens have sons at college IN
one or another of the Northern states ana
ind myself questioned by their acqualn-
anees about the supposed opinions Oh TINS |
or that college, and the probable e1ect on
the mind OF the youth. l even see the pa
rents themselves scrutinlzlng their sons Iec,
ters watching for traces OF ''bad Opinions
and for evidence whether they are, OF are
not, upholding on all OCCASIONS the ihs'i'u-
t;ons of their own state. If feel the wear |
and tear Of this kind OF chronic agitation |
during = visit of two or three weeks IN or |
| diparT times-called quiet-I cannot but be
| sensible of the evil of perpetual residence
| in so troubled q social atmosphere
THE GREAT BUGBEAR-
| When the children are at play with me,
! pulling me about at their pleasure, one or
/ another of them is sure to want TO know why |
/ don't come and live with them Then they !
/ tell me- they wonder how I can bear to live |
among those terrible people by whom | am |
surrounded. On inquiry | find that those
| terrible reople are the working class, who |
are. as am now informed, all dirty, oil |
| staryiur, all desperate, and so degraded,
| that thev can only hide themselves IN dens, |
and de ike hc4thens Like other children,
/ these eniov hearing stories; 50 | tell them |
| the real story of the working men and their |
| families in nv neirhborhoOd. tell OF their |
/ white frame cottages, with green venetian |
/ blinds their shelves Of books and evening |
/ studies; the church they have built ; the |
. ltcture-room in which they hear lectures
! from some of tho first men of the country,
whom they have engaged to give them
/ course Amidst frequent Interruptions, 10
! know whether uncle is in earnest, whether
uncle means really 50, | give sketch OF the
working-day and Sunday of the fisherman,
! the shoemaker, the cott0n-spnner, the cul-
| tiyator, &C.: and it IS all very surprising,
| considering the general belief that all white
| laburcrs are lamishing paupers Stll, the
| children prefer their own ways lhey nave
/ artisans Of their own papa can make tnem
( do what he likes. Perceiying that rather
doubt this, little Lizzy tells me that they
/ can all do what they like with the servants
| and that she got "a boy" hogged last week
| C,r not doing what she bade him. My sister
| caught nv eve at this moment, ana explain
ed that Carlo Ga man OF fye-and thlrty)'
| had been iusolent, and that 1t was necessary
| to bring him to Il sense Of his duty. IL dld
not seem to occur to the mother that 'he
lesson would DO more harm to the child than
il could-in the most visionary sense-do
good to the ''boy." as (neGro men are called
to their latest day..
With the quick instinct OF chI!dhooo, my
nieces OWNED, without word said, that
was displeased; and they fastened to tell me
what "a fine boy papa had IN the country
meaning capital fellow who coula 40
any thing. This is story one hearS IN al
most every house. Every family mas OF mas
rosgessed. a singularly able. negro, VINO is
boosted Of bv his owsers and by himself as
,,.1,'rars,I In each case believe the thing
is true but it is not a fact fertile IN conse-
auences. Nobody perceives that vt has any
bearing on the question of negro capacity
In each case, it is a pbenome enon to boast OF,
and vet an appeal to magnanimity to ADMIT
that a negro can be so clever. My sister
smiles while Lizzy and Emma talk, and, as
soon as we are alone, sounds me as to my
admiration of their appreciation OF the VIZ
tues of dependants, and Of the fine ieelIng
thew showed, when they spoke of passionate
neiohbor as ungentlemanly" tor having
= MANNED a " bov" who had displeased him.
! She hoped l should admit that her children
had at least not suffered morally from the
circumstances amidst which they were reared!
THE FIRE BELL.
The fires at Charleston seem TO create awe
in the mere mention. The fire bell was rung
twice during my visits and shall never never
n forget the preston. No great damage "HI
n done in either case, but it was agreed On az
n hands that the incident was oecolntn5 ~
1t oo,nI oonninded 10 be at the bottom of it. My
ID SSsrI sister came to rouse me- and bid me dress
Il slSssI anS look C to my her husband bado ms
IS anu. anu i 18th his family while he went to do hii
IT 5t@y dniv The mother dressed her children with
bor own hands, and did her best to quie
their alarms. They asked me what ther
cousins did when there was hre, ana wer'
snnrised to learn that they had never hap
~.nod,o coo ono "a their mother and had no