The Opelousas patriot. [volume] (Opelousas, Parish of St. Landry, La.) 1855-1863, 1861-09-07

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Louisville Courier publishes the following eS
tract from q private letter, dpted New York
August IG.
Things here look blue enough. Men in actiy,
business are prima facia broken. Trades
people work for almost nothing, OF are entirely
without employment. The laboriug class
God .help them for many, very many, Az
starving. Of the thousands of woule, and
children who were dependent upon tbe eser,
lions qof those who volunteered, aud who
expected to be cared for By the community in
their destitution, bnt few realize even The
smallest pittance. When the war broke out
everything was enthusiasm. Men crowded BY
hundreds and thousands to enlist. ] he business
men contributed millions Of dollars as a Stree
gift to the government. The whole city was
enyeloped in flags. Every one bedeckea them
selves with %rosettes, badges, aud other insignia
Of ,lemonstratiye patriotism. Almost daily
Broadway was cleared from esd 10 end 70
Afford the pageaitry of a departing regiment,
and the streets were alive with nieii and
women as on a gala.day. Motto be III Uniform,
bright gaudy and d~ashilg, was TO- be almost
singular. Dixie was the ~faasorite, air, and
90 nm bound for Dixie vas III the mouth, aud
IL The will, tteeo, Of near every male,845i
By and BY the gallant 7th Regiment, COM
posed If the very flower Of New York, and
the boust Of all, returned after a months ser,
vice. Their reception was cold. Why did
they not participate in the glorious campaign
Just begun? People were indignant to think
any man could return on the eve OF such tri.
nmpfls as awaited the ''Giraud Army Of the
Union and 50 the Seventh lost prestige,
Then came Bull Run. and Immediately fol-
lowing, regiment after regiment returned,
(tleirthree months beipgupl each greeted as
heroes because hey were in The battle. gBut
now comes the reports Of commanders, and
the details clficial. Heroes, 2 who had trump
peted their exploits, and could spin out d his
torysoftheir daring by the hour, turn ont to
pc EDWARDS, The people begiin,. TO- see that
even the '+invincible Fire Nouayesp are as
good, II not better, at d race than anything
else. Leaving here with over a thousand
strong and enlisted for the war, they return
scarce threo#hundfed and fifty strong, demon
allzed, disortgsanized, II not disgraced.
After oil the ia H. all tile action, all The
immense expenditure, and the vast amount III
suffering entaiied, nothing il accomplished.
Instead Of 1.-THE forts and other public proper-
tya being 'srepossesseds = or even within reach,
is esteemed good news to learn that q ~ ash.
ington is out Of danger" that Fort Monroe
is capable Of resisting attack, and that Cairo
can be successfully defended. All these things
added to the depredations of priyateers, and
the palpable ilieaiciency ofthe blockade, and
the consequent danger to commerce. have had
q tendency to depress the minds of The peo.
PIE, and to cause them 10 consider the pa-
tnre, as developed, Of the undertaking in
Although many regiments are adser.
tised as organizing, but one or two are really3
with the minimum number Of men
required, and most Of them are only in The
imaginations of their ssColonels." Volunteer
is dying fast, if not dead, is the truth. and
only those who can fluid no other way of
keeping soul and body together think Of
The ranks. The daily papers show
this. a