Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-01-01


| used to tease her by telling her II was
beng finished so carefully TO be taken by
some raider and appropriated as "A saddle
blanket, aud once after the occupation OF
the uelglDOrlng city Of u by the
Federal troops she actually took her
Qullt to the we'll announcing her deter
niluaUOn TO throw 81 in on the nrst ap-
pearance Of a Federal trooper. [ remem-
ber that this struck me as ahappy thought
of hers, and ! mentally resolved 60 send
my dear Bible tn keep il company. But
owing TO our distance from the main lines
Gi travel they didn't come so / have my
Bible with its record still. What a
blessed ray OF light she was to US in the
dark days that followed the downfall of
our Coniederacv. Often FOR days no smile
or light would come over her fathers or
her grandfather's face, except as she
could chase away the gloom with her
sweet baby smiles. She 10 now robed with
garments OF light and sale in our Fathers
House on High, away from wars, with
all their attendant tram Of evils, and yet.
my eyes must ever ill and my heart grow
faint as l look over this page Of my Old
book.
But here is a strange, queer-looking
plaything in this same oN drawer, toy,
the like Of which no Yankee baby has
ever bad, | ween with aB the boosted in
geunity OF that land. 10 is only Con-
tolerate baby rattle. The dear grand
mother said the precious baby must have
a rattle and in the year loG5 no rattle or
buttons were sent down to us from the
land Of wooden nutmegs, so plated
some palmetto such as we made hats Of
and The grandmother seWed 1t together
and puta handle to it and put Old buttons
and small pieces Of tin 10 il, and it was
noisy rattle and our baby loved 1t, and
was never willing TO give up, after the
others came and one was bought and
given to her. IL was putcarefully away,
after the baby was gone, aud IS looked at
rarely now, d relic of thesWeet little one,
and Of the blessed grandmother, whose
loving heart taught her this ingenuity, as
did the loving hearts Of so many other
noble women teach them to minister in
every way TO the comfort and pleasure Of
those they loved. / often think, especl-
ally when June comes around with its
fruits and flowers TO gladden. our land, OF
birthday party this same grandmother
gave to one Of my little girls, for she
would continue to keep the cbildren's
birthdays, although there where no dolls
any longer TO be bought and no white
sugar for tine frosted cakes The little
girl-her QrandmOthers special pet and
namesake-was that last June, and |
SAID, "MOther, il is nOuse 10 talk OF birth
day parties any longer" But the grand
mother, like most OF our women, had her
own ideas; SO she had cakes made,
sweetened with sorghum syrup and candy
made Of sorghum we used TO call it 10
Browns mOlassCs, because OF his prOcl8-
nation ordering everybody in Georgia to
make II, and at the same time telling us
we must eat just enough to sustain lie
and nothing more, aud to save enough TO
feed our soldiers. / haven't read his
Life and Times" yet, and don't suppose
this is in it, though 1t is
tue history, nevertheless, and
l beg you will excuse the inter
pOlatiOn, for just cau't help thinking of
Senator Joseph Z. Brown whenever |
think Of sorghum m0lasses). Besides
this, she had raspbeTries and cream served
in dainty little glass dishes, while behind
each child's chair stood her little dusky
maid, waiting to be served by their little
mistresses with their part as soon as the
children ate. After the repast was over,
each child with her big rag doll aud little
negro nurse went out for play on the
lawn, a happy party. BY the next June
the little maidens owned no slaves. Each
little girl must take care OF her own doll.
But those little ones were yet young, and
''lt is better to bear the yoke in your
YOUTH 20 the good book says. That lit
tie 4-year-Old girl is now happy wife and
mother, but that last Confederate birth
Jay VI utAa 10 nLlkA hGUb dAnUuE NuG IL Gdb-
ured wealth OF youthful memories. But
what queer looking things are these find
in my old book? They are simply few
Old Confederate buttOns, such as we wore
in those days in our hOmespun dresses.
They are really the seeds of persimmOns,
and needed no shaping, no CLOSING over,
no preparation in any way, save simply
to bore two or three or four holes in
them according to taste, so as to have
"a
tree furnished n fruit from which we used
to make very good beer, and necessity for
buttons sharpened out wits, so it occurred
20 some of us 10 use the seeds for but
tons, and strong and durable ones they
made, and neat ones, too. some times We
wore brass buttons, TOO. l well remem-
Der basque. as we call them now. but
then il was cavalry Jacket"-l had
during our war--lt was made OF an old
broadcl0th coat OF my fathers. The coat
was not very old either. but somehow
br0adciOth looked unsuitable aud out OF
place in those DAYS. Oar men who STAYED
at home preferred 10 wear gray jeans, like
tAeir bows IN the field. as we preferred
hUmcspuu TO our old silk dresses. SO my
father laid ASIDE his coat, ana ] made me
a cavalry jacket and trimmed II with
brass buttons, aud that fall when my
husband had been transferred to the Ten
him in a village in EAST Tennessee, whore
be was IN command OF post, / bought
me "a long purple ridng-skirt, and with
my old hat shSpea over aud trimmed In
aute-bellum piumes, my cavalry Jacket
made me a nice liding-habil.
Every afternoon, when the days duties
We're over, we would take a pleasant ride
over the hills and valleys OF that part OF
our country, which has been appropr-
ately styled the Switzerland OF Ameri-
ca" AS ! look back TO that bright OctO-
Der, spent so delightfully."- with my dear
husband, from whom | had been SO much
separated, 10 seems indeed a. bright
oar IS in the drpary waste Of wears. One
afternoon we met many wagons, artillery
WAGONS aud some scattering troopers.
Disheartened and discouraged men they
were, and some swearing like troopers"
too, over the muddy roads. IL was part
OF Gen. Brasg's army failing back after
tue disastrous advance iltO Kentucky
and II seemed 20 me, ID ever IL was par