Year: 1861

A well known merchant OF this city, who
was in New Orleans on the day louisiana
passed the secession ordinance, and who
witnessed the illumination in honor OF that
reasonable act. has related to us, with
request that we would suppress names, the
following racy incident, which alike Illus
trates the traditinnary ''when a woman won't
she WON'T characteristic of the sex, and the
fact that the Union people of the South have,
at this time, no voice in the newspaper re-
ports of the disunion section. 1t so happened
that on the day of the illumination the cap
tain of Mississippi steamboat and his lady
were stopping at the St. Charles, and oceu-
pied front room on the third foor-the first
floor of chambers-exactly in the centre OF
the hotel The captain was Union man,
and-as the sequel will show-so was his
wife. All the city was agitated during the
afternoon in prospect of the grand gala night.
The ST. Charles was to be Illuminated, OF
course. Accordingly, some time during the
afternoon, a servant knocked at the door OF
captains room. carrying all the necessary
trappings for lighting up the chamber win
dows. Mrs. - opened the door, when the
following dialogue ensued:


Lady-What have you got there?


Servant-Candles, Misses, to light your
windows for de Illumination.


L.-Well. you can return them to where
you got them from, for l will not allow them
IN this room.


S.-(Not TO be foiled so easily, resumedl
oh but massa tole me to put up de lights,
and so Use got to put EN- up.


L.-Can't help that; this is my room, and
| shan't allow the windows to be illuminated
for what am opposed to; SO that ends it.


This closed the first act. The servant re-
ported to the proprietors, who Immediately
proceeded to the lady's room with a view to
convincing her of the importance of permit
ting the servant to make ready for the grand
evening lightrup Said they, 8 This room is
the most central in the entire front, and not
to illuminate it will be to mar seriously the
effect of the whole" To which the lady re-
piled;


~ am sorry, gentlemen, to cause you any
inconvenience, but | believe this room for
the time being is ours by right, and | most
positively decline, in any way, to add eclat to
a great outrage, as | conceive the whole dis
union movement to be. Ny husband who
was out at the time is Union man, and
am Union woman, and this room cannot be
illuminated" A few more words were ex-
changed, which ended by the lady politely
requesting the proprietors to leave her room.
Determined not to be outdone in a matter Of
such grave importance, the captain was next
found and appealed to. He heard their case;
said his wife had reported him correctly on
the Union question; nevertheless, he would
90 with them to the room and see if the mat
te, could be amcably arranged. Scene third
ensued. The captains disposition to yield
was not to be seconded by his better half
They next proposed to Eacate the best cham
Der in her favor. in some other part of the
house, if that would be satisfactory, but the
lady's mol" was still as peremptory as
ever. Her point was gained, and the St.
Charles was doomed to have dark front
chamber.


Pleased with this triumph, Mrs. devised
the following manOeuvre to make the most of
her victory: Summoning a servant, she sent
him oat to procure fer her an American flag,
which, at dusk. she suspended from her win
dow, This made the fourth act in the play
| and as the fifth is always Indispensable, it
had its place here. When evening came, the
streets, animated by merry throng, were
illuminated; but, alas the st. Charles was
disfgured by its sombre window, when sud
denly succession of lamps, suspended on
both sides of the flag, revealing the stars and
stripes, were lit up, and the ensign of the
| Union waved from the centre of hotel illu-
minated in honor of its overthrow The eff
feet was to give the impression that the whole
house was TINS paying homage to the Amer
lean flag and what is most significant, is the
fact that the latter was greeted by the pass
ing crowd with vociferous applause. So much
for the frmness of a true Union woman.