Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1863-01-14


tropolis 1t is the seat of the Confederate govern
ment So careful has the President been in the
selection of his associates that there is not
Der of his Cabinet who Is not profoundly versed in
the sciences and in ancient languages, whilesmany
of them speak Coptic familiarity. The lowest mes
senger in the most obscure Department has history
at his fingers ends, and the philosophy Of abstrac
ton in the palm Of his hand. A purity of life, q
dignity of manner, elegance. in conversation, a
depth of thought and an Srbanity Of disposition
mark each and every member Of the administration
and all of their subordnates, to degree which has
never been approached in the annals Of political So
c;ety, and which renders an acquaintance with them
happiness almost unspeakable. Free and cordial
association with natures so lofty and SO endowed
cannot fail to ennoble all who come in contact with
them. 1t is enough to move one to tears to think
Of the unapproachable supremacy of the morals and
manners of Richmond in the great future which
awaits us.
But it is not in high official circles only that the
delights OF Richmond life aud society are to be found
The eee, vapid and conceted race Of F. F. has been
submerged under an inundaton of fresh adventur-
Gus spirits from all parts of the Confederacy and
elsewhere. The fantastical days Of the WckhsOs.
CANDLES, Randolphs, Leighs, and Wirts has passed
away forever; VIC rejoice in new era and miscel-
laneous population troubled with Of the ridcu-
lous airs Of the SO. called gentry.
Inc Oiden times have passed away,
Aud glorious the new.
Here is the sweet Baltimore plug adorning the
corners of our principal thoroughfares. Here are
the useful and Industrious eruriG Of the depart
ments at Washington. The new man, the garroter,
is here though we see him not, save in the prints
of fingers on the threats of unarmed citizens In
the palalia stores on Main street, once inhabited
by Yankees devoted to the Union, We find brawny
Italians vending apples at half dollar piece, and
nondescript Southcrners selling minute plugs Of
wretched tobacco at twenty. five cents Stout Mary
landers occupy rooms the cross streets and there
throw away blockade boots and shoes with reckless
liberality. Able bodied refugees, from God knows
where, swarm in our cellars and abandon themselves
with noble self abnegaton to tn. traffic in putrid
oysters mixed with mean whikey. Substitute
agents follow their unremunera.ive vocation in
nameess Places extortioners roll in the wealth &C.
cumula:ed from thing that the earth produces
or the hand of man can fashion; ba~ds, arrayed in
the silks of Tyre and Sidon and in the Jewels Of
Samarcand, iumine and perfume our sidewalks !;
gamblers erect their suinptuous towers on every
hand whilst as if TO crown this splendid conccn-
traton of social ornaments the verninous deserter
parades his rags in ostentatious defiance alike Of
civil and Of military authority
The variety of our peopleis not their only charm.
We are told that the worn out race which once in
habted this city distinguished for their gentle
manners. No. such ~sfse'nnacy characterizes the
lusty and enterprls,ng population of the new era
The spirit OF freedom IS broadly manifest in them.
1t is beautifully exampli6ed in the Italian fruterer
who with difficulty refrains from kicking you out Of
doors if you refuse to pay him dollar an ounce for
his peanuts. The small tailor, suddenly become
ric is speeches. with Indignation if you dare ask
him to unbend his dignity in the contemplate opera
ton Of mcndlng your clothes The cobbler, once
too happy to half sole your shoes, scowls at you
furiously if you approach him on any such mission,
now that leather Is worth its weigh, in gold. The
Soldier, the gas filter, the grocer, the taow chand
Ter the merchants in coal and in wood-n fact, all
Who have ausht to sell, indulge the inso.ence OF
pecunary independence TO degree which makes
intercourse with them infinitely exhilarating The
entire absence Of Obsequiousness OIL the part of
modern shOpkeepers is enc Of the most encouraging
features of the new times in this Confederation.
An exceedingly low estimate of the destinations
Of the life in Richmond would be formed if the &C.
count should not include the nominal prices Of pro-
Visions the astounding healthfulness OF the air. and
the abundance Of the precious metals Space does
not permit US to dwell at length upon these enga-
ging fea0res. Of Richmond existence during the
second War for Independence When poor man
is compelled to buy oial of opuent milers at price
which would stagger millionaire, and when beef
at sixty or eighty cents the pound removes every
moar IN the jaw of a mans head and reduces his
bicuspids to the circumference OF cambria needle,
Gf he have the hardwood to attempt to chew it)
every candid mind must confess that the journalist
who is generally presumed to be INDECENT has little
scope for the exercise Of his powers beyond the
recording of the markets aid the latest sales at
ton. The cloquencesf bare quotations transcends
the abilities Of any editor, however gifted, and
throws him at once into that vast herd whose empty
stomachs are an ample excuse for their gaping as
constituent at the unprecedented altitude in the
charges for the commonest necessities of life And
if it were possible for the half nou rished body to
Withstand the encroachment OF disease, it would be
consolation to the citizens Of Richmond to know
that be dwells in perfect storehouse of maladies
and may take his pick at any hour Of the day or
night Of the deadliest caamitles that aict thu.
man frame. To be the prey Of the most lingering
and loathsome contagious, is surely not altogether
desirable, but chnrsh indeed must be the sufferer
who, in the midst Of his scutest agones, cannot find
abundant solace IN tie reflection, that he can pay
his incompetent doctor in shinplasters, and that
when he dies as he certainly WILL he will be buried
in the suberbs of Richmond among countless
throng Of oneesged soldiers, courtesans, garroters
and blacklegs."
For the Standard.