Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1879-11-20

q - sfa&t4 uef 01f feGa d 70 G1-
shan ID exsenuaie. 10 give inlor-
a. lhan III make asriesures 81 appi-.
ogies. She divides The Southern wO-
men into four classes, now, as At the
outbreak Of the war, when the South
was in its glory. In the FIRST class she
places women Of greater orless wealth.
well born and bred, who could not re-
member when fortune had not been
theirs; who had inherited with their
names and possessions, from their Span
Ish, Huguenoi, English and Yankee an-
eestors, fine tastes, delicate sensibilities,
noble aspirations; selfish and proud, as
class, oftentimes seli-indulgent TO q
fault, but with Q gracious courtesy ct
manner, very charming in society, iull
of generous enthusiasm, capable as in
diViduals of rare self-sacrifce and fixed
ness Of purpose. t
The talent Of influence is peculiarly
feminine. This talent, 20 marked de-
gree, was possessed by women of this
order. Before the war these womeH
took no prominent part in public mat
ters. But Southern ladies' are born pol
ilicians, and in their drawing-ToOms
schemes were made and falteung voters
influenced, as in the tlme Of English
elections. Indeed, the life throughout
the South, except in the cities, was
much on the order Of English home life,
with the marked exception that, in the
latter case, tenants were free, and re.
ceiyed aid, il needed, from the lord,
merely as charity, while in the other,
the mistress ol plantation had the care
of as many dependents as would cOnsti-
tute small village. els f.u#
In the second class Mrs. Smith places
women Of wealth who had risen from
the lower orders; wives Of men who
had been overseeTs and by strict atten-
ton to business, perhaps by manipuIa.
tious somewhat similar TO Jacobs trick
uuon Leban, amassed fortune. bought
land, "niggeFs" and "pianner." 1t Is
a noticeable fact, however proud man
may be oil having risen from nothing, he
lis anxious 10 save has children the same
/ boast. The nouveau richie ofthe South
was no exception 10 this rule, and his
daughters, well clothed aud with plenty
of money, were sent to neutrality-suspicious..
Well for the race that this was so.
Sons, by the law of heredity, are often
ist like the mother. The women Of
both these classes were chaste and pure.
Scandal rarely touched one and divorce
was almost unknown. Priestesses Of
the home, set apart by brothers, lovers,
husbands, for homes sweet uses, they
had no temptations. I-.
In the third class she puts the negro
women, who were divided into field
hands, for whom there was no hope Of
Improvement, and house-servants, who
initiated their mistress faults and vir-
tues, and many a time received quite q
good education. although it was against
the law to teach them. f a..
Finally come the poor whites, called
"clay-eaters" in Carolina, ''crackers"
in Georgia, and other names elsewhere.
These are now, ss then, trash. Little
can be done for the women; they will
be simply breeders to the end of their
lives. They chew, smoke and dip
snuff; comb their hair on Sunday, and
wash aslitile as possible. The one SEN
timent Of which they are capable is pride
oil the whiteness Of ftheir skln, for which
they forget to remember they are in no
way responsible.
Tf the public schools could be forced
upon these people, their children edu-
Gated, if need be--as It certainly would
be-against their will, there might be
formed from these a class similar to our
laboreFs or factory hands. The need
to-day in the South Is deeper respect
for labor and the moneyit earns. That
this sentiment may be Of 3 slow growth
is very probable, since the teaching Ol
generations has been 50 different.
The contributions OF Southern women
to IileatnFe consist chiefly Of veTsifca-
tons and romances, characteristic, Ia
deed, Of the Literature Of ell people n
the process Of national evolution. Sec.
tional prejudice cramps most Of the wri-
ters, while tits, at the same time, theii
choicest inspiration.
| Bet genius cannot express itself IN
Limitations, and, when the women oI
the South free themselves from purely
sectional pEide. prejadice. and pstriot-
ism, no writer's vail take precedence ol
them. Augusta Evans, Mrs. South.
worth, Christian Reid have made them.
selves Al honorable place among novel
lists. Margaret Preston. Virginia French
Mrs. Downing. deserve the poet'scrOwn
Music has as get found no interpreter
and Mary Anderson i the only repre-.
sentative abe South has ia dramatic art
Bat IN The new social order women q
lnselIect and culture will have broader
6eld GoE labor, and nobler ineentiyes Il
literary sCtivity. 1
Intense an nature. enIhnsissfic, reck
less of consequences wben point Is 4
be gained; heroic, self-sacn6cing. trees
forever from the one facf0E Of their 80
. ciaI fsbric whieh necessarily crampel
and warped their lives, ia one 0rtw'
] generaiions Sputhefn women may max.
bFiIliantliiersry achievements. and con
lribule their flli share 70 The elsFaiiol
al their sen and the reiusenaiion Of thei
part ef the nalion. Cestainly, Is Mrs