The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-03-13
Through the door
or glory CLEAN the days of yore?'


While the decalogue of the thrift and
enterprise of other sections is vociferous-.
lv preached to us, does not an inner
voice speak to us of a gospel OF good
manners and good morals incarnate in
our past which was the salvation OF our
country in her hour of peril?
Before trying to particulallze social
life in Montgomery let us glance briefly
at the woman of the south of that day
Southern women, in the first half OF the
nineteenth century, We're educated. py
private tutors (manY of them from the
north), supervised by the parents, the
fathers of families being usually grad
yates of either foreign or northern col
leges. Foreign languages music, draw
ing and sketching from nature supple
mented the ordinary curriculum &C
oualntance with good libraries was uni
yersal a general custom of the nome CIR
Gle being that of reading aloud several
hours each day, each member takils the
book in turn. while the others plled lhe
skilled needle by the evening lamp. When
the father was the reader the SUBJECT
he most frequently chose was the great
debates in congress- Each point was 1ully
discussed by father and sons. mother
and daughters, and so the women formed
rational and well-grounded opinions on
the trend of national affairs.
Town life was not SO full of somesuc
ilv as was the planters life. on the
plantation all activities other than mat
relating to the fields were directed ny
her. Meals for both house and quar-
ter were supervised. Thus the southern
women were experts in the me art OF
cookery; carding and spinning preceueu
garment cutting; palmetto was plated III
summer for hats; wool was washed ana
carded AGAINST the winters cold; fruits
were preserved and dried. Yet In pro-
vidinc for the body's welfare the spiritual
was not forgotten. On Sunday, IN town
and country the Bible was read daily TO
the assembled negroes by some member
of the white Christian family. Inc ne
groes had their own churches Greeted by
the white people for the slaves. They
were of different denominations accord
ing to their individual belief; they were
preached to by their own negro preach-
ers: in all their aspirations toward a
higher spiritual life they met with ready
sympathy from the mistress, VINO was
supreme in her home.
This woman of many affairs was not
nermitted to undertake any form OF
drudgery; she was more nearly the COM
RAMON of her husband than was per-
hans the woman in any other spot on the
globe She was usually the adored or
husband, sons and daughters. Yet IN
The midst of duties pleasure was not ig-
nored: while the strains of the worlds
hest music hoated from "the big house.
the rollicking notes of de fiddle came
In tempting waves of melody from the
quarter. That same beloved fiddle most
often was a "Chrismus gif" from odd
Marster" true portrait of her bench
cent activities may be found in Whte
and Black Under the Old Regime, by
Mrs. Virginia Clayton, widow or Henry
ID CLAYTON, lawyer, jurist, statesman
and university president
The social life of Montgomery mas
never been set forth as story worth
the telling We but catch glimpses or
what must have been from Mrs. Davis
typography of Jefferson Davis Henry
w. Iilliard's politics and Pen Pictures, =
r.. C. DeLeon's -Four Years in Rebel
CAPITALS" DR.. Walter Fleming's Ala
hama War Home Life" and Personnel
Let us gather up what has been said
Prior to 1861 Montgomery was but
village, deriving Importance from being
the capital of the state and having bust
moss Significance from its situation at
the head of navigation of the Alabama
river and at the then terminus of the
nrincipal railroad Of the state. Its So
ciety was composed of the families Of
wealthy planters cotton commission
merchants, general merchants distln-
cuished lawyers and physicians and the
officials of the state, the railroad and
the steamboat company. Culture ana
hospitality We're here, but none of the