Wichita daily eagle., 1886-03-23
THE FALL OF RICHMOND.
HOW THE WOMEN OF THE eoUTH-
eRN coNFEDeRAcY FELT.

Rebake to One Who Foretold the sar-
reuder-state Of AHAirs After Lees
Army Had Fled-The Last Prayer.
A week or two before the fall of Richmond
e number Of young girls assembled In o
certain drawing room to make Q dag for Q
favored regiment The stripes Of red and
white cloth filed up the center Of the room,
and, seated upon the carpet around, wero tho
girls. thimbles ON fingers and shining needles
all ready for their labor Of love. As think
of it, how vividly the scene rises before ma
Black eyes and blue, fair, sunny beads bend
ing side by side with dusky locks, and
delicate fingers plying the flashing needle or
deftly fashioning the emblematic star. Their
costumes are wonderfully simple, in style
of several years ago, and by fashionable
reople would be termed @old timey and
decidedly shabby" but in these times even
Young girls were rather Indifferent to the
details Of dress. Tho large predominance of
black in the color Of the dresses told . sad
tale. Listen to them as they talk! You hear
nothing of defeat, although at this period
defeats were not uncommon; i. is all OF VIC
tory. 3How we whipped thcr1.' There is
nothing said Of what they will do :: tho event
of failure, and If the Union be restored
Such an event as that is not numbered among
their possibilities.
A PROPHECY OF TIE END.
Suddenly a gentleman appears on the
scene He is the head Of the house, middle
aged and distinguished in appearance and
public estimation. His genial wit makes him
the life Of every company; and here his
arrival is the signal for great rejoicing
Daughters, nieces, cousins and friends greet
him with acclamations Of joy, which he re-
ceives with silence, as he throws himself on
the sofa, and covers his face with his hands.
Instantly the scene changes; such signs can
only foreshadow some new stroke Of per-
sonal bereavement; tears replace laughter,
and one girl, whose lover was in the battle
of yesterday, sinks fainting on the floor. A
young matron of few weeks turns ghastly
pale and shivers from head to foot, without
being able to utter sound. Sisters cry out
to know il Willie or Charlie is the victim
The gentleman removes his hand and be-
comes suddenly aware of the disnay Of
which he is the author. Extending his
hands, he says, with tender pity: my poor
children, be calm, know of no personal
sorrow for any of you, but the prospect of a
disaster which We must all share
y
A galvanic battery could not have so cleo
;rified the audience. They clustered about
him, the embodiment of fierce indignation;
flashing eyes met him at every turn; com
mon civility was in abeyance to ungovern-
able anger; the words ".roakers" and 'cow-
ards were not wanting The young matron
who, a moment before, was quivering in
speeches agony, exclaimed: The Gsd to
hax ttx.I
fail US" The girl fainting with fear for her
lover, sprang to her feet, with the cry: If
the men desert their posts, the women take
their places,' And instantly every women
there enlisted under her banner, and declared
herself ready to do or die for tho cause.
HUNGRY FLAMES AND A MOB
But soon more formidable enemy than
the besiesing army asserted the mastery over
the city. Who gave the order for firing tie
tobacco and warehouses will never be known.
Probably it was done without authority, and
due to the recklessness of some individual
The houses occupied position in the heart Of
the city, and from them the fire spread rap
idly; and as fearful addition to the horror
of the hungry flames, mob of hungry men,
women and children went from place to place,
breaking open warehouses, and appropri-
aI1nS Whichever Ieil 10 tnelT udiius.
At daybreak our shaken nerves were shat
tered by repeated and terrible explosions fol
lowing in rapid SUGGESTIONS. II was the
blowing UP Of the ironclads, whose advent
had been welcomed with such hope. Unable
to rest in the house, a friend and myself
started out. just after daybreak, to see what
the condition of things was. A successor of
rapid and terrific explosions frightened us
anew. We thought the enemy had entered,
and were at their dread work of vengeance.
We soon found that it was the arsenal and
the Tredegar works, which were not 10 be
cheated of their work of destruction, and
were pouring their murderous shot and shell
into the helpless. dying city, as if to vent their
impotent rage
Just before the entrance of the Federal
army, a cry Of dismay rang all along the
streets which were out Of the track Of the fire
and saw a crowd of leaping, shouting de-
mons, i'm parti-colored clothes, and with heads
half lf-shaven. 1t was the convicts from
the peniteptiary, who had over
come the guard, set fire to the prison, and
were now at liberty. Fortunately they were
too intent upon securing their freedom to do
much damag. With the Federal army came
protection. What we had looked forward to
as our worst evil was blessing, by bringing
reason to our distracted people.
One week passed. Another Sabbath found
us looking for good news from the fugitive
army. We went to church, but were forbid
den to offer prayers for the success of our
arms Our hearts vented themselves in silent
petitions
About O'Clock we were sitting together
silent, with tense nerves and aching hearts,
when the sound of o gun broke the stiffness.
Another and another followed We counted
breathlessly until we had numbered 100; and
that was ell. Alll No. not quite. Putting
nv head from the window. l asked soldier
who was passing:
"What is the meaning Of that firing.'.
The answer came:
"Tl,em guns is fired to celebrate the surren-
der Of Gen. Lees army, madam"
aAnd that was all. Mary Tucker Magill
in independent.