The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-03-13

beautiful tribute TO the culture hospi
tally and general elegance of life IN
Montgomery; in its recital he pauses to
tribute to the kindly. urbane and noble
Thomas II. Watts. In referring 10
speech made by himself QIlliard) at Es-
tclle kali a speech which was against
secession and delivered to an audience
full of sympathy with him and his sub
ieet and fired by the recent secession Of
South Carolina, Mr. billiard says that at
its close there was a call for Thomas
Watts. Mr. Watts came forward, was
greeted with applause and, after a greet
ing to his fellow townsmen, with the
usual generosity and magnanimlty of his
nature stated that while he did not agree
with me in my views and while a large
number of the citizens might also dissent
still it was my right to speak to the peo-
pie frankly. | had been honored by the
people of Alabama and ] had served
them faithfully, thus winning distinction
for myself and state. Therefore he de-
eined TO speak" This incident affords
fine picture of the courtly manners prev
alent at that day.
Mrs Davis relates that Mr. Davis wrote
to her from Montgomery Q'eb. 2Ol: Ills
is a gay and handsome town of 5000 IN
habitants." She came up the river later
to join him, having stopped in New Or
leans to visit the family Of her parents.
ate welcome to Montgomery. Hampers
of blossoms poured out before u.s. or
Montgomery and her life here, Mrs.
Davis has little to say; of their home
she says, 1T was a genuemans mouse,
suited to our purposes, on corner ana
fronting towards the capitol" Among
the men she mentions as having i'm
pressed her here are Pierce Butler, Thos.
Butler King, James Mason, John 5.
Preston, William Preston, J. P. Mallory,
William l.. Yancy and James Chestnut.
In one of the letters of Personnel,
dated before actual hostilities began, lie
speaks of the spirit of gaiety which
everywhere was united with martial ar
dor. On April 10, 1861, he writes from
this place: amid all this excitement 1t
is a cheerful commentary on the times
that the Montgomery True Blues, corps
identified with the Florida and Mexican
wars, are announced to contend in
rifle match for a silver goblet from the
fair hands of Maggie Mitchell the pet
of the pettcoats.' Maggie Mitchell was
an actress in great favor here at that
time. Speaking of the activity of volun-
teerng in the south, he says: IN sew
eral districts military organizations are
SO large that the officers had to draft
the men to stay at home
While Montgomery was the cradle OF
the Confederacy, yet, being the seat of
Only lIuil Itpl uSiAy w 4hlp5i
1861 and having never been battle
ground of the conflict, I. c. DeLeon, in
his delightful volume, -Four Years III
Rebel Capitals gives us but a brief
sketch. He says: 1T is Washington
over and over again, only on smaller
scale and with the aVidity and agility
in pursuit OF the spells somewhat en-
HANGED by the freshness of the scent
Busy and active at all hours, the lobby of
the Exchange hotel when the crowd and
the noise at night rose to the flood,
smaclxed no little of pandemonium-eVery
flag in the pavement was a rostrum.
DeLeon further declares that the selec-
ton of Montgomery as the seat Oh the
new government had turned society pro-
vncially content to run IN accustomed
grooves, quite topsy-turvy; and perhaps
for want of some other escape, consumed
w. The Montgomery dowagers believed
that the continuance of the congress there
for one year would render the city as
perfect Sodom as. Wasnlnston--Would
demoralize society beyond publication.
Yet the city began to wall when ii was
settled that the capital would be moved
to Richmond, and there was strong pres
sure to prevent. and there was denun-
citation of the outrage" He says further
that "while hordes of strangers were not
hidden to the firesdes of the people, the
business men were generous in oheflhS
their warehouses for public use, moving
out of their stores to turn them over to
,the government. Especially did the
women go nearL and soul into the work.
urging the laggards, encouraging the
Jealous, laborng with sacri1cinS zeal
upon rough uniforms for the most uhpre-
pared of the new troops Inc pest piood
of the south went into the ranks as the
post of honor
Questioned as to the correctness of Mr..
etc concerning the aD-
senee of matrons from general society
in Montgomery at that time, several OF
the women of the "old school, whom the
writer interviewed answered that the
girls of Mobile were very fond of visiting
in Montgomery, where youth and beauty
had always pre.eminence, ana mat the
MONTGOMERY girls preferred their own
city to Mobile, where the married belle
was supreme. A popular society girl OF
the early 6Os-now the mother of dis
tInguished sons--speallns OF TINS fea-
ture of the old regime, says; How could
a southern matron have gone out INTO
general society then, as her successor OF
today does? There was too much Tor her
to do at home; she was hostess always
on duty"
DIR. Fleming. in his ''War Home Life IN
Alabama" says that in the hardships
and makeshifts which We're general when
the inevitable conflict was fairy
launched, tho women met more than their
share of the labors and sclt-denlals put
with a courage and ingenuity nothing
short of marvellous. Their Substitutes"
were the results of genius. How they
smile now, as they read his accounts OF
their efforts aVowing that potato coffee
tasted very well, that home-mad dyes
from the native woods were lovely, that
the right men made love as eloduentiy
to girls in homespun as to girls In SILK,
and that popcorn made pretty change
from grated cocoanut for wedding cakes
Verify these women are plucky yet, and
though in the evening of their lives there
is not one of them who would not De
willing tc take up that everlasting knit
ting again and perform to the unit II u
every duty, should the men who love
mem need their devotion and sacrifice.
This volume of DR.. Flening's was pub
lished in Charleston S. c., by the News
and Courier, being the collected contribu-
tions which had been sought by the edi-
tors with the intention of presenting the
war las it was seen and felt by the
women at home" 1t is in itself a monu-
ment and memorial, and the sketches,
written usually by daughters or grand
daughters of the women whose expe-
riences are given, are chaste, simple ana
true history.
Seeking facts relative to social life of
the early COS III Montgomery, one is not
only confronted ~ ihe dearth or printed
material. but by the extreme rericence OF
the survivors. interviews were Impera-
tive hut some OF the replies almost
si1enced one at the outset Said friend
whose people had freely given themselves
10 the cause: II have nothing 10 tell
that time Is a blank horror in my lie
! remember only tears. Only that my
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