The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-19
IQueeny and Gracious Mrs LdSdle CorbeH Pickett, he
 Bride of the Conederacy Receives Homage of Admirers
nv DOLLY DALRYMPLE

bueie call and it's cry to arms. with It's
 scent of the heliotrope and the mimosa, the magnolia and the mignonette, with its
 grap- jacketed soldier boys their hearts
 swelling with pride and ambition, and ] it's soul-stirring strains of 'Dixe Land,
 sweeps charming grande dame intto
 modernity's realms, for a moment trans forming her surroundings with the magic of her eueenly and gracious presence into l 6 Iaclpre of the long ago,
 l Mrs. LaSalle Corbel1 Pickett. the bride of the Confedercy," stood simply gowned l in black when I met her Thursday, her sil- l very hair crown of glory lady of the
 old school 'the child wife of the Con- l federaeya the widow of one of the world s greatest generals-George E. Pickett-re- eeiyiiie tic homage of scores of admirers,
 those Of the younger generation who have
 hea1d the story of the lost cause told 1 by tie brave, valiant heroes who fought and battled for the safety and the free
 dom Of their beloved south, and the bat tie scared. heart-weary veterans-the re- naming few wno are left to tell the tale
 While Mrs. Pickett did not talk to me about Gettysburg, for that was the l, theme of the story, she told to her vast audience last evening, yet she couldn't re- frain from reverting gently vet graph ically now and then. in accents of velvet and of silver, to the awful carnage at teaCant upon those dreadful days, as she alone of all other women saw 1t ana kusw what was worst on that memorable dny fer a woman to face, while the heart stood cold and barred within hers
 Again her eyes lighted up, and her soul was filled with pride in the posses sion of a general who could have sald such words as General Pickett did when he was commended by General Lee TOT
 the W 5nderful fight he had led.
 "General--" and Mrs. Picketts voice
 grew nemulous, and there were tears III her lvondrous brown eyes as she re-
 peated the words of her illustrious nus band T am ashamed that l am alve' when my brave and dauntiess men iie around me murdered.
 ..Sit down, child" she bade me as she
 held my hand tightly within her own s.TsVe had much to bear today. Old frlehus of General PiclSett-the brave, loyal splendid men who stood by him. nave come in to see me- each telling me some
 
 touched my heart that 1t is ngh uhto breaking. One dear, old man said to me- Mrs Pickett I was standing beside tne general when he handed the message .o I,,rystreet As he uttered these "oros the tears sfreamed down his face' anu my heart nearly snapped as tue soeho was so vividly recalled.
 .Took. child" she continued, and uh- fastening the old fashioned brooch at her breast, hidden away among the dainty faces above her heart that holds the image of her ier-husband III such reverence and love. She handed if to me and showed me a picture or 1 herself and General Pickett That | the way I looked then-before sorrow had turned my hair to silver. Ana isn ! 1 the general splendid? And this,' she 1 said. as she turned the miniature over and pointed to her only son, Col. George 1 E. Pickett, her lips quivering as she 1 did so. lis all I have left of my soloief | boy. who lost his life three years ago on that fatal and useless ride from Nagasaki to Manila! And so they are both done-both my soldir boys" l heart of stone would have melted l at the vision of this beautiful white 1 haireed woman-standing helpless, | hopeless, grief stricken, looking on l their beloved likenesses, all that she | has left-that and tender memory of | her two boys whom she gave for her l country's sake-one in the long ago, the other less remontely.
 Brushing away the ters she said; "You sec dear, there are many 1 themes upon which I have built my songs, but always somehow T get back l to Gettysburg-because that was my I own funeral--it was the funeral of my 1 oountry--of my soldiers--of my heart! l The story as I tell it has never yet been incorporated in any history-it never will belt is from my heat, and l it is embodied in my husbands letters my keepsakes, my treasures. It used l to be so that I could scarcely bear to talk about these things, because those letters and notes of General Pickett's S are sacred-but time changes all things, | and finding myself bereft-widowed-- l and with my boy to educate and bring up, and no money-only $975 in my
 purse-I had to do something, and so
 I began writing, using now and then
 references to these intimate, personal
 things that meant so much to me. When
 Mrs. Roger A. Pryor, Ida Tarbell, Myr-
 tie Avery and the rest began to write
 their books about Dixie land. they came to me for my manuscripts. I allowed I them to be read but not used. Finally a little Yankee newspaper woman was commissioned to write a story of the south. She told her editor that I was the only person she knew who said l gyarden,' carn't, and had all the southern manners that she needed for
 a story. Accordingly she came to me. ! She was very sweet and very gentle and we became very good friends | let her read General Pickett's per- sonal notes and letters One morning g
 she said to me: Mrs. Pickett I have
 discovered more than a continent. l have discovered q new phase of the
 civil war and l want the world to
 know it. I've sent those letters of Gen eral Pickett's to the publishers and
 soon they'll be read by all the world.
 Of course I was infurated. I tele-
 graphed the publishers that I'd sue them if the letters wore ever published
 They wired back that it was too late waited. Later when I realized wha,
 I'd been selfishly keeping back told the publishers I would have suet
 them if they hadn't published them"
 Then began my writings in real earn est,' Mrs. Pickett said. q had to do some