Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-10-12
IN The OLD SOUTH
PLEASING RETROSPECT OF ANTE
nELLuM HAPPENINGS.
CHARM OF PLANTATION LIFE.
An Fra Of Luxury in Which senti-
ment Played no Small Part-some
Relics in the Attic and the Tender
Romances They Recall.
written for the Dispatch)

Al no time, perhaps, in the history OF
Anor;c, 10 we find a period SO trauGht
with romance as that time IN the a1lllsiio
Of the South, now designated DIS any
bellum 1t was a time OF darihS, 'o'.'
and chivalrous deeds \ lite, Which, ~
my mind, approached near Tue 49,
than that of any other people at any other
time And although the Northerner or
foreigner may smile at the peaceful lux
,rv which it pleased HIM to cali lndoience
nevertheless there was beauty, an ele-
gance. and a charm about TINS old pid'l-
ta;ion life in the South which mas never
been eaualed in our history. | love SOME
times in fancy to steal backward N.Y.
this realm of poetry and romance ana
stand for a while among those men ana
women who paused Ions enough IN 'Ae
g!ddy whirl OF getting and spenoihg 70
live. TO love, to enjoy, to do good ana 10
be coed Do not, however, imagine 1hat
the romantic and beautiful excluded the
intellectual or religious. Such an accu-
sation could never be brought against
country that produced washington,
Monroe. a. Clay, Lanier, a Father Ryan,
. zee and a Jackson Long may we keep
green the memory OF these DAYS ana
without discourag inG ambition. industry,
or advancement of any kind foster IN our
souls every inherited germ OF romance
love and chivalry that has mace the
Southern man and woman the cynosure
of all people, both in the past ana pres
ent.
1,at us briefly review the conditions Of
this interesting period. The country It
self with it's wide extended forests, It's
broad. rolling rivers, its clear bubbllng
springs and it's luxuriant vegetation,
showed natures prodigality, and its acres
upon acres of cultivated land yielded
harvest so exceeding great as. to seem
almost mira culous. The solid old man
siors, whose architecture was modelled
somewhat after the English country
homes, with sufficient originality 20 rem
der them distinctively American, were
dwellings of princely hospitality, where
beauty reigned supreme. Not few Of
these ancestral homes are still extant
All nraise TO those men and women who
are preserving them. Belonging to each
of these mansions was the picturesque ne
gro quarter. with its neat whitewashed
cabins, the homes Of the slaves.
The characters belonging to these old
homes we all know and admire. FIRST,
the old Southern gentleman, with his
generous hospitality, his high honor, his
joyial temper, and his love OF sport,
stands forth pre- eminent and belonging
want, who so grotesquely aped his mas
ter in dress, speech and manners. Then
the handsome, careless, young heir, with
his sword so loosely sheathed, ready at
any time to fight for his country, his
honor, or any woman s fame
Another characteristic figure was the
old 'sblack nanny" with her inexhaus-
tihle fund Of quaint animal legends and
her blood curdling stories of "hants.' She
alternately tyrannized over or spoiled the
children, all the while loving them pas
sionately. Never were these old nurses
known to be unfaithful. There arc many
true stories of their devotion to the
children, whom they nursed, rife among
our people The other slaves, too, with
their smiling faces and home-spun clothes
were for the most part contented and
happy, in many instances scarcely cons
scious of their bonds. And last. but by
mo means least ii the dramatis personae,