Washington telegraph., 1862-06-25

ther, with Joan Of Arc, do they step from
mild graces. their quiet dignity, and their
modest attractions make them so power
ful and so irresistible They assume not,
with the martyred Joan, habilimenis un-
becoming their sex; they put on no coat
Of mail, they WELD no sword, they march
not at the head OF advancing armies, nor
mix in the blood and carnage of the bat.
tic. The pattern they initiate is no Joan
of Arc, issuing the word OF command
amid the claneor Of arms; no Chlrlotto
Ccrday, apostrophising liberty at the gull
lotine; but Florence Nightingale, tho
noble woman who has demonstrated that
patriotism can b, allied with bencvol.n
and active service in the cause Of the
country with tho retiring cliariotcFistics
of the female >ex.
Since the war broke opt, how many
thousands of or gentle countrywomen,
ladies raised in affiueEcc, whose fingers
we're more familiar with the piano keys
than the needle, have spent months ia
laboriously sewing al the coarses. mate>
ria! to mako clothing for our young men
in the fed. We have seem thom from
"early morn to dewy cye,h seated pa
tiently in some school ronm, church or
vestry, toiling as faithfully as The unhappy
heroine of " The Song Of the Shirt" at
their laborious task A rude. rough. harsh
task it was, bus "the buys" wanted cloth
ing. and the country wanted the boys,
aud that wa, incentive enough and pay>
met enough.
At the moment VIC are writing, hum
dreds Of the geatlest ladies' Of the city ara
leaving their elegant homes, where all tho
! appliances and luxnries wellth procures
surround them, to spend the day ia hos
pitfalls, where sick and wounded soldiers
are detained from their active duties ia
the field BY wasting suffering. Overcom-
ing the disgust that the least fastidious
must feel at entering roums crowded with
beds, in which lie patients moaning with
pain or wasting with disease, they seat
themselves beside the sufferers couch
no, not couch, but plain, prosy, hospital
pallet, and look on and while the physi-
clan lays bare gaping wounds, while blood
flows. and the lance ierccs the torn flesh.
They cool the brow with icy applications,
smooth the pillow, administer the neces.
sary potions. kindly coax the sufferer 70
partake Of food offered Sith smiles, and
reasoned with words of sympathy. and
soft, womanly winninguess, tha; Is of it.
| self the best of all medicine to the sick
and suffering soldier, who can have no
fond mother, no loving sister to watch,
and soothe, and comfort in the pain, the
lassitude, aud the weary, weary hours of
| seepless restlessness- Often have wa
watched deicately raised ladies perform
ing kindnesscs such as these, and more
than it is necessary here to specify, until,
we have felt fully the sentiment experts
euced by grateful Irishman, when ha,
! said of one who kindly nurse1 him in,
sickness: "When / began to get better,
used to lie for hours in my bed watch.
ing her, expecting every minute the wings
would start from her shoulders, and she
would fly back to heaven, Wherc she be-
| l0nged."
But the Southern women do more tnan
these things-they give tEeir sons to their
country. Sitting the pleadings of their
hearts, subiuing their fears, conquering
the anguish that is reading their souls,
deliberately encounterinS the days Of fear
ful expectancy, and nights Of despondent
sleeplessness that must be their portion
during the absence of their children, they
send their loved ones forth to the battle.
These are the sacrifices which "the wo-
men Of the revolution" are making.
An incident that occurred in this city
Yesterday, illustrates the spirit that pre-
walls among the ladies of the South az
this moment a soldier arrives mortally
wounded from the 6eld; the lady to whom
he is eugaged-one standing high on ac-
count of her attractive powers, amiabla
disposition, and uhusual talent and ao-
auirements-in order that she may have
a wife's sacred right to lavish upon him
all her cares, all her wealth of love, all the
treasures her heart has boarded up with
miser's care, to pour upon him when he
should be her own-united Ter fate with
his, and his few days will be gladdened,
his sufferirgs lightened, his last moments
soothed by the accomplishment Of the
great wish of his life.
| When we contrast voman's devotion,
her cares, her toils, her self-imnolation,
her untiring labors, with what man does
in the struggle of war, how striking is tho
differencel Mans path is strewed with
carnage and deluged with blood; devas.
tation, fame and death mark his desolat.
ing course out woman's tolls and efforts
are all for good They are glorified with
the halo of charity; sympathy, gentleness
and kindness immortalize her deeds. She
seeks to shelter the houseless, clothc the
shivering, cure the sick, aud assaagc ths
sufferings Of the wounded With such
attributes of affection and mercy aeous
her, a sacred beauty, holy purity cow.
rons her, and oonsecrates her works OF
mercy.
The history Of the Southern revolution
that will be read BY future generations.
will recount great deeds performed oy
brave aud gallant men, heroes Who died
on the battle 6eld for their country''
gain but the story will be one Of de-
truction and death. How bright viii b
the page in which "the women OF ths rev
olution are mentioned-with what rev
ereuce will their deeds be reeardsd-wha'