Year: 1864

Southern woman who had supported herself
in Northern city by teaching, some time
ago induced by report that her uncle was
his death-bed to return to the home of her child.
hood. She has since returned to the North, and
contributed to Harper's Magazine very readable
tale, from which we make the following extracts,
descriptive of what she saw and heard:


The country had been ravaged by two armies,
wasted by fires and guerrillas, and scourged as
by a sirocco. Twenty three engagements, of
more or less Importance, bad taken place within
circuit of twenty miles of the plantation where
my childhood had been passed, and one not two
miles removed. The country, with its deserted
plantations, its tenaniless negro cabins falling
to decay, its fenceless gardens and fields
| run with rank weeds, all proclaimed some
usual state of affairs. Go where would met
no young men, except an occasional soldier on
furlough. And the old men were organized into
Home Guards, with their drills and regular mill
tary duties. No young man or child over six
years found who was not member of some
military company.


had heard much of the Union sentiment at
the South. found evidence of it's existence


in this locality an unmittgated hatred of North
erners and determination to endure all things
before surrender was the universal sentiment.
q Fighting to repel invasion" Defending our
hearthstones, the language of every lip.
Our homes and our fresides Nothing will
rouse and fires people like that cry. The watch
word of our flag and the Union are freless in
comparison There are multitudes who compre-
hend nothing of the nature of our Government,
to whom the Union but sounding word,
and the flag but patchwork Of bunting. But
when the leaders cry 'Our homes in danger,
the invader is upon us = all understand the
call. If my heart had burned because of the


ignorance and injustice of the Northern people
concerning the South, the ignorance and MUS
tice of Southerners towards the North was
enough to make the very stones cry out. And
in this mutual misunderstanding, between the
sections may, in my opinion, be found the cause
of all our trouble. The Southern people would
never have sustained their leaders in the seces-
sion movement had they not been msled as to


the feeling of the North concerning them. A
single example will give some idea of the delu-


sion prevalent among the people. / was con-


vcrsng carefully and cautiously-for | knew
that in their excited state imprudent word
would be like a spark on their freshly ginned
cotton--on the all-absorbing topic with a COM
pany of intelligent ladies, when one of them as
serted that before Fort Sumter had been fired
upon the churches of New York and Beecher's
church at Brooklyn had flaming placards above
the pulpit hSkded Beauty and Booty" con-
tanning a caF for men to 90 South-that the
officiating ministers took their texts from the
pacards, and gave flaming harrangues, which,
eliminated and reduced, meant that the South
TO be sacked and pillaged, and Southern
women given up to outrage. To my indignant
denial of this she replied that G. in New
York at the time and and heard these things


The said G. is a New Engander by birth and
education. His story had received universal
credcnce in the place. As | looked into this
woman S honest blue eyes my heart sank. Not


until that day when the secrets of all hearts


shall be revealed will the masses of the Southern
people be convinced.