The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-11-16
yIRGISIA,
A. Looked Mt Through English Spec
taelcs.
Impressions of. n Visit After the War-he-
suIts and Effects or the War.

suits and Effects or the War.
An Englshman who travelled through
virginia and the South soon after the close
of the war writes as follows to the London
Pail NAL Gazette:
| .'If it Is impossible to sympathize with
the petulant temper that drove South Caro-
lima and the Gulf States, at their first politi-
cal defeat, to secession, it y equally imp0s-
sible to do other than synpathize with the
,,oor Virginians who foundfhcmseves sud-
denly confronted, through no fault and by
no wish OF theirs. with the alternative OF
renouncing their tImc-hOnOrcd faith in
State sovereignty and taking up arms
against their southern friends and neigh
bors in cause the justice Of which they
more than doubted, or OF open rebellion
against that flag which their ancestors
prowess had aided so much in unfurling,
and against Government toward which,
whatever their temporary political differ
ences might be. they had hitherto had no
feelings but those OF loyalty and devo-
ton. With less TO gain and more TO lose
than almost any part of the Confcdcracy,
Virginia-whcn she had once yielded TO
her unhappy convictions-girdcd up her
loins for the contest. II was the skill OF
her generals and the yalor and devotion OF
her soldiers that made the Confederate re-
sislancc one OF the most gallant things that
history has TO relate; and one cannot help
contrasting the bombast OF South Carolina
in 1860 with the last sad scene at Apo
nlattoX i'm 1865. and OF Lees War-WOrn
N:rginians tOiling shoclcss and ragged to
thcir often wasted home. Thc'destruciion
OF buildings and forced neglect OF the land
could hardly be considered IN item in the
food OF general ruin that followed the war,
for the former was very partial ana the lat
ter was nothing like rs dclctcriOus as in
country that had been carefully and cconO-
mcaly TILED. II was rather the dcStruc-
ton by the abolition OF slavery Of IN insti-
tuition that had 50 entwincd itself around
the daily lives, the business, and the pleas
ures Of the people, that they could hardly
conceive an existence without il, and
whose sudden collapse caused a numb de-
SpaiTe when the excitement OF war was
over. among the older generation eSpc-
ciaIly, and OF which il is well known many
Of them literally died without other cause.
"Lct us glance at the home which we
described rs lyrical OF the years preceding
the war in Virginia. and see what il now j.
in 1882. is owner. who was then but an
a9riculturi,t and politician, and who had
probably never seen regiment OF soldiers
in his life, i now the hero OF a hundred
fights. and has led a company or regi-
mcnt, OF perhaps even brigade, through
one Of the greatest wars OF modern times.
Ills hair is gray, and he is q colonel, and a.
he sits Is OF old in thc yeranda and smokes
hi, long pipe, hi conversation, though
seventeen years have passed away
since he rode home upon mi, las;
horse from Appomatt0X, reverts again and
again to the great >trugglc-thc events that
led up TO and the ruin that followed it.
lie viii tell you oi old Union >ympathic,
among his neighbor> fiat succumbcd only
20 the mandate OF their Mother state.
He will tell you stories OF this man who
stumped' the county for secession, and
posed a. a firc-cater and Il W0uld-he hero.
but when the fighting came was only too
glad TO make way Tor those whose calmer
judgment he had formerly ridiculed ~
timidity; OF that one. his brother. who,
rs an officer of the old Union army.
had been compelled 10 abandon hi,
prospects. his comrades. and his career at
the call OF his native state, and had fallen
at Gettysburg. For himself he has little
to say in defence OF slavery Is an institute
ton. He treated his own negroes kindly,
as did most OF his neighborS. and that they
were better off and happier then than now
is Il matter beyond dispute; but still he adj
mitS that that does not affect the question
in its general sense, and only regrets
that his State should have inherited
the cause in such q way that they
could not shake il off earlier. He does
not speak with much respect OF JEFF.
Davis, nor. as may be imagined, i, he
very enthusiastic about south Caro-
lima and the Gull States. re has lost the
rancOr with which for few year, after the
war he regarded Yankecdom, and any I'M
COngenality he may feel towards his north
ern ncighbOrS j. far more than counter
balanced by a desire for their money and
their enterprise in his own impoverished
Commonwealth. He often eNa@gcrates hi-
own peoples incapacty for systematic in
dustry and cooperative enterprise, and
looks to the North for material salvation
with mOdCSty that surprises no one so
so much as those OF lis people who nova
days often find their way to his hoSpitablc
doors.
"As for the house and its surroundings.
/ they are much the same n Of old. Ellb-
CRATE il0Wer-gardcns and Gravel walks
never existed 10 burden the colonies de-
| clnin@ years with the spectacle OF neglect
and decay. The lawn is ~ green a, OF
| yorc. the shade OF the oaks j. - deep and
refreshing a. in happier days. The acaci,>
and aspens still rustic peacefully in the
gentle wind. The mimosa- have grown 10
| double the size, and humming-birdS still
/ fit IN summer day, through their fcathcry
! leaves. Brick walks once kept wcedcd 10y
negro children have been covered hy
Time with thick coat OF turf, and
/ the boX-trecs and arbOr-yitT that
/ lined them have grown together into
solid hedge. The honcysucklc, for want
OF trimming have grown too strong for
! their trelliS, and wander over ratings and
gatc-pOsts in wild confusion. Wooden
| porticoes. from Il combination OF winter
rains, summer sun, aud want OF attention.
! have sunk at the corners or warped out OF
/ line. Ii some OF the OuthulldngS have
/ disappeared, il is rather that the need for
/ them has ceased than from any other cause.
/ Cabins, too, have been moved away 10 other
parts OF the plantation. Where a dozen
negroes formerly hung about the house and
/ kitchens two or three now suffice, while
/ the estate. relieved from it, awful incubus
OF slaves, is probably in better condition
! than in 1S6O.'