Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1866-09-07
THE WOMEN OF THE SOUTH.


such an exhibition OF patriotic devotion
and entire self-denial as that displayed
| by the women Of the South. Timid by
/ nature, and reared in the lap of ease, lux
pry and indulgence, their unflinchiny
courage and complete self-abnegation not
only nerved our arms aud fred our hearts.
but successfully challenged the sympathy
and admiration Of the entire, unpreiudi-
,,ced world. They cheerfully yielded their
husbands and fathers, their sons and broth
ers and lovers-not without tears, it is
true, but certainly without murlnurs-
for the success of a cause interviewer
with every fibre Of their tender, faithful
hearts. ..........
They denied themselves all the com>
forts and conveniences OF their homes
tor the amelioration of our condition, and
! with az energy that never tired, and a
faith that never doubted, they labored, and
prayed anu hoped for the grand consum-
:nation of victory. In the wild bivouac,
ON the Wearisome tramps and the roar of
battle--in the crowded and gloomy pre-
cincts of the hospital-everywhe at all
times, under all circumstances, they were
the angel ministers OF hope, and taitn,
and charity, and goodness. Their words
and smiles encouraged and stimulated the
! faithful and the brave, while in every in
stance their pure souls recoiled from the
baseness and cowardice that eliminated
in treachery and desertion, and the sneer
of their contempt and the hiss of their scorn
haunted, as frighttul phantom, the foot
steps of the skulking traitor.
! To the very last, through victory and
defeat, through. sunshine and storm, they
were as true to the cause as the needle to
the magnet; and when came our ruin, f.
nal and irretrievable, they telt the mistor-
tune most keenly of all, and theirs were
the bitterest tears of anguish shed upon
our dire disaster!
! But their last act in the sorrowful dra-
ma was their crowning glory, and planted
the greenest Ianrels in the wreaths OF their
Immortality! When we had sorrowfnlly
fnrled the banner which,
Through glory,
| Yet shall 1--we in song and story,
| Though its folds are in the Dust"
anc returned-not, as we all hoped, with
''victory and independence" inscribed up
on its folds, torn and rent by the storm of
battle but conquered, disarmed, bleed
ing, manned, weary and in rags, they met
MS, not with averted faces or frowns and
reproache5, bat amid the ruins of the;l
once happy homes, with poverty and want
all around them, they welcomed us with
lopen arms and with gentle and loving
words from lacerated and aching hearts,
and smiles and struggling with tears !;
they greeted us as vanquished heroes who
had deserved success, and bravely strove,
by the exercise of all the beautiful ard
tender arts OF love and sympathy so well
at their command, to tighten the burden
of our overwhelming sorrow. fss4.~7
| And now that the marshalling of rival
hosts and the thunder Of the battle no long
er disturb our land-now that the swords
are being g. beaten into plough shares, and
spears into pruning hooks now that
Peace-doveeyed and whitewinged Peace
l-again gladdens our hearts with her mer-
|ciful visitations-shall the sharers Of our
lioys and our SORROWS, our hopes and our
j despair, be less loved than before
/ Shall we not rather seek, as did the
courtly knights of chivalry. for fresh op-
lportuhities TO manifest our appreciation. OF
their snblimely Illustrated virtues? Shall
we not delight to give renewed evidence
: OF our continued loyalty and devotion to
four natchless countrywomen Shall we
not delight to pay grateful tribute to the
iesxxalted worth and resplendent beauty that
are theirs? Shall we not delight to rem
Ider that spontaneous and unaffected 'hom
1ace that true manhood ever yields tosfe-
Imale excellence? iTf si'lp' >st 'lf2.
/ Yes, With howers we will crown them