The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1893-11-01
SOLDIERS BUDGET.
Old Confederate Days.

for discarded garments that were
brought out and given fresh lease of
life in new characters. Bonnets were
made of old black silk dress waists,
lined with the red or blue satin from
the lining of old coat sleeves and
trimmed with goose feathers. New
hats were constructed from discarded
ones, trimmed with old velvet coat
collars and cocks plumes cut from the
rooster in the yard. Palmetto and corn
shucks were also forced to do duty in
this line.
A lady in Columbia, s. c., was for
tunate enough to receive through the
| blockade beautiful imported bonnet.
The first Sunday that she made her APP
pearance in church with the startling
revelation upon her head, there was
not woman in the congregation, ]
venture to assert, who heard one word
of the sermon, and the following week
that bonnet had more visitors than any
ten of the most fashionable women in
the city. Our jackets were made of
our fathers old-tashioned cloaks, those
of the style represented in the pictures
of John G. Calhoun doing splendid SER
vice by supplying all the girls in the
family at once. One velvet jacket came
out triumphant at the close of the war,
having done heroic duty for five girls
of the family on all festive occasions.
If there were two girls in the family,
they went out sngly, in order that the
same dress might do double duty. We
borrowed, loaned, patched, heightened,
shortened, turned and twisted our gar
ments until there was nothing left of
them.
One Richmond belle laughingly told
after the war, of going to party in a
borrowed dress 80 short for her that she
was ashamed to walk across the floor.
Usually the gayest of the gay, she
was asked on the evening in question,
"why she was so quiet; why she was
not dancine?"
Daucingl" said she. Coed heav-
ensl I'm only too thankful that | can
breathe. l don't dare to laugh, for
should burst this girls dress to pieces,
and it's all she has,"
Some of the situations were ludicrous
in the extreme. We made a Journey
once with pair of WORKOUT confeder-
ate mules, and while the distance was
only thirty miles, it necesstated camp
ing out for the night. In the morning
our ablutions were performed in q
stream near by. One of the party
pinned her hair switch to the back of
the wagon preparatory to arranging her
toilet after returning from the water;
but, 10 and behold when she came
hack the switch had disappeared.
Primus, the driver was questioned, but
the only satisfaction to be cleaned from
| hifr, } . II H.,
no switch, nam; | bin see dat black
mule he cbaws 'pon somep'n dat look
like boss tail. l specs dat war YOU
har don gone, missis." Picture il!
think of It'll woman blessed by nature
with only slight hirsute adjournment,
thus suddenly bereft of her "crown of
glory" without the remotest possibility
of replacing it, and the prospect of a
prOtracted war before her.
1t was not an uncommon sight to
come suddenly upon bevy of pretty
girls sitting tailor-fashion, making and
mending their own shoes, the material
used for the purpose being a rabbit or
squirrel skin. The neatest fitting
gloves were made of old silk stockings
that had been raveled, and l knew of a
dainty pair of shoes being made for the
baby of the house out of an old mo-
rocco needlebook that had been ripped
up for the purpose. Buttons being out
OF the question, and pins S. paper, a
substitute was made by boring holes in
persimmon seed and sewing them on
TO the children's clothes. An old colored
nanny was the first to devise this
clever substitute. Old men and little
boys helped to wind thread and hold
brooches, and even knitted on the SOL
diers' socks, after the mystery of
turning the heel " had passed. As the
merry spinning wheel went round, you
could frequently hear the strains of a
patriotic song like the following:
Our wagons plenty big enough,
The running gear is good
It's stuffed with cotton round the sides,
And made of southern wood
Carolina is the driver,
With Georgia by her side,
Virginia III hold the flag w,
And we'll take a ride.
A favorite night employment was
making envelopes. Letter writing was
one of our luxulies. White paper could
not be wasted on the outside of the let
love to our dear ones on the battle
fields. Wall paper and sheets with
pictures on one side served for the pur-
pose of envelopes. These were stuck
together with gum from peach trees,
and goose quilts supplied our pens.-
Mrs. +, G. DeFOntaine, in NelC York
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