National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-11-28
THE TEILPER or TIE WOUEN.

A young girl, ordinarily Of very gentle dis
position, astonished Federal colonel one day
by an cutburst of temper, which served at
least to show the earnestness of her purpose to
uphold her side of the argument. She lived in
part of the country then for the first time
held by the Federal army, and a colonel, with
some members of his staff, made her family
the unwilling recipients of call one morning.
Seeing the piano open the colonel asked the
young lady to play, but she declined. Hethen
went to the instrument himself, but he had
hardly begun to play, when the damsel, rails
ing the piano top, severed nearly all the strings
with Ratchet, saying to the astonished per-
former, as she did so:
"That's my piano, and it shall not give you
a minutes pleasure" The colonel bowed,
apologized and replied:
"If all your people are as ready as you to
make costly sacrifices, we might as well go
home"
And most of them were ready and willing TO
make similar sacrifices. One lady of my ac-
Quaintance knocked in the heads of dozen
casks of choice wine rather than allow some
Federal officers to sip as many glasses Of it.
Another destroyed her own library, which was
very precious to her, when that seemed the
only way IN which she could prevent the staff
of a general officer, camped near her, from en-
jOying few hours reading in her parlor every
morning.
In New Orleans, soon after the war, I saw
in drawing room, one day, an deliberately
framed letter, of which, the curtains being
drawn, could read only the signature, which
to my astonishment was that Of General But
Ter.
''What is thatp' asked of the young gen.
tlewoman was visiting.
ooh, that's my diploma, my certificate of
good behavior from General Butler;" and tax
ing it down from the wall, she permitted me
to read it, telling me at the same time its his
tory. It seems that the young lady had been
very active in aiding captured Confederates TO
escape from New Orleans, and for this and
ether similar offences she was arrested several
| times. A gentleman who knew General But
Ter personally had interested himself in behalf
of her and some of her friends, and upon
making an appeal for their discharge received
this personal note from the commanding gen.
eral, in which he declared his willingness to
discharge all the others, "out that black-eyed
Miss b." he wrote, "seems to me anincOrrigi-
bic little devil, whom even prison fare won't
| tame" The young lady had framed the note,
and she cherishes it yet, doubtless.
There is a story told of General Forrest
which will serve to show his opinion of the
pluck and devotion of the Southern women.
He was drawing his men up in line of battle
one day, and it was evident that a sharp en-
counter was about to take place. Some ladies
ran from a house which happened 10 stand just
in front of his line, and asked him anxiously:
"What shall we do, General; what shall we
dop
Strong in his faith that they only wished to
help in some way, he replied:
~ really don't see that you can do much,
except to stand on stumps; wave your bonnets
and shout 'Hurrah, boys p "-From EggleSt0H'S
"A RebeFS ReeOlltetiOHs."