The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-06-12
The great German who wrote:

Honor to womanl to her it is given
To garden the earth with the roses OF
heaven!
Precisely described Confederate condi-
tions-a century in advance. True, con
slant brave and enduring, the men were
but the women set even the bravest ana
most steadfast an example. Nor was
this confined to any one section Of the
country The girl with the calico dress
of the lowland farms; the merry noun
tain maid" of the hill country, and the
bellies of society in the cities all Yled
with each other in efforts to serve the
men who had gone to the front to hght
for home and for them. And there was
no section of the south where this eager
desire to do all they might, and more
was more in evidence than another. In
every camp of the early days Of the great
struggle, the incoming troops bore troph-
les Of homelove and, as the war pro-
crossed to need, then to dire want-the
sacrifices of those women at home be-
came a poem, and one most pathetic
Dress misconceved as the feminine
| fetich-was forgotten in the effort to
clothe the boys at the front; the family
larder-ill stocked at the best-was de-
| pleted to holiness, to send to distant
camps those delicacies-so equally freight
ed with tenderness and MISREPRESENTATION
too often never reached destination. And
later, the carpets were taken from the
floors, the curtains from the windows
alike in humble homes, and in dwellings
of the. rich-to be cut into blankets for
the accomplishing fellows, sleeping on
! freezing mud.
| So wide, so universal was the rule OF
self sacrifice, that no one reference to 1t
can do justice to the zeal and devotion of
! Our Girls And the best proof of
both was in the hospitals, where soon
began to congregate the manned and
torn forms of those Just sent forth to
glory and to victory. This was the trial
that tested the grain and purity of our
womanhood and left It without alloy of
fear or selishness And some of the
women who wrought In home and hos
pital-even In trench and on the firing
| line-for the boys" had never before
handled aught rougher than embroidery;
! or seen aught more fearsome than Its
| needle-prick. Yes, these untried women,
young and old, stood fire like veteran
regulars; indeed, even more bravely in
moral view for they missed the stimulus
of the charge-the tonic In the thought
of striking backl
Again taking Richmond as example,
| because Richmond was cosmopolitan and
I representative of every section in Its
| every phase-we find the strangest famil-
iarty Of women with danger. Indeed it
literally bred contempt. in the early oc-
cupation of the capital, "Pawnee Sunday"
scarce became laughing bye-word. The
| churches were crowded, and fiuttering
with expectant and well dressed feminity.
At that date, war was mere shadow Of
name; and his rigors had paled no
feminine cheek, nor denuded her fluffiest
gown or frill or Haunting ribbon. Rich
mond women were eager to inspect the
| founces and furbelows of their incoming
cousins. All the churches were packed;
the one where Mr.. Davis and his family
sat under the then as famous DR.. Hoge.
literally overlooking to the streets There
crowd waited the dhmlssal benedicton;
the men curious to see the new President
at close quarters, and the men and wom-
en- alike eager to inspect-and possibly
to dissect-Mrs. Davis and her brilliant
sister, Miss Howell of Mississippi 1t was
! a balmy, breezy Sunday, the whole face
| of nature and the flutter of society alike
| breathing peace Suddenly that changed
to nameless, predominant and never
understood war panic Whence coming,
none paused to ask; possibly the inven-
ton of some fear crazed brain, more prob
ably the cruel hoax of some thoughtless
wag-but the grewsome whisper ran
round every church simultaneously:
THE Pawnee is coming!'
That whisper was enough 1t caused
ten times the CONSERVATION that the
close cannonading for months did a brief
year later; and it fiuttered dainty bodices
as the whine of the MIME, or the WHO'D of
the shell over the field hospital had not
done In still later trials of the Lacquer.
The "Pawnee' was a not very terrible
United States cruiser, an dher captain
was reputed to "Git onto Uncle Jeff's
har!" as a member from a border state
expressed 1t. First singy, then in pairs
quickly, in battalions, the congregations
melted into the outer air Making his
tory as they went, crowds converged to
capitol hill, where the dingy doors were
tightly closed for peace and where
"The great First Rebel points the storled
past!'
Thence 1t surged into the throng with
out DR.. Hoge's church. That divine had
never paused in his reading; Mr.. Davis
had never turned his eyes from him; and
the two steadfast women in that pew
had probably never looked upon preach
er with such strained interest. So only
by look and gesture, DR. Hoge had to
| silence the fear-born buzz of whispers
| Then when the-surely not heightened
| services-was ended, that congregation
poured into the crowd without pressing
close upon the narrow little lane that
let the White House family through
Then 1t was rumored that Mr. Davis had
denied any despatch to him; but pande-
monium reigned. Men rushed home
flew back to the capitol square. with
shotguns, target rifles and one stately
old gentleman with his duellng pistolsi
Companies fell In, under any volunteer
ing the command; some started on the
terrible march to Rockets, full three
miles off; and each courier, or staff Of
heer flashing by, followed at run. Nome
paused to recall that the dreaded shin
was single one; and that her compile
ment OF men was a handful to the
troops in Richmond. and that she would
have to pass Drewrys Bluff. eight miles
| below.
| Still the hubbub ragged unchecked bv
formal denial from the war department
that there was any ship above Norfolk:
until woman's wit Gained the storm
Some one repeated Miss Howelrs quiet
speech to her. on the steps of the White
House. II flew from lip to lip, was caught
tanned by Mrs. II. c. Jernigan on Wednes
day afternoon and the time was spent