The devotion of these Southern
women to the Confederacy was remarkable.
It had already become an obsession.
From the moment blood had begun to flow, the soul and body of every
Southern woman was laid a living offering on the altar of her country.
He watched this development with awe and admiration. It was an ominous
sign. It meant a reserve power in the South on which statesmen had not
counted. It might set at nought the weight of armies.
The moment he began to carefully approach the inner citadel of the
girl's heart he found the figure of a gray soldier clad in steel on
guard. What he said didn't interest her. He was a foreigner. She
listened politely and attentively but her real thoughts were not there.
He had not believed it possible that patriotism could so obsess the soul
of a beautiful girl of nineteen. The devotion of the Southern women,
young and old, to the cause of the South was fast developing into a
mania.
They were displaying a wisdom, too, which Southern men apparently did
not possess. While the hot-headed, fiery masters of men were busy
quarreling with one another, criticising and crippling the
administration of their Government, the women were supporting the
President with a unanimity and enthusiasm that was amazing.
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