What a day the Kentuckians have had! Mrs. Webb gave them a
breakfast; from there they proceeded en masse to General Lawton's
dinner, and then came straight here, all of which seems equal to one of
Stonewall's forced marches. General Lawton took me in to supper. In spite of
his dinner he had misgivings. “My heart is heavy,” said he, “even here. All
seems too light, too careless, for such terrible times. It seems out of place here
in battle-scarred Richmond.” “I have heard something of that kind at home,” I
replied. “Hope and fear are both gone, and it is distraction or death with us.
I do not see how sadness and despondency would help us. If it would do any
good, we would be sad enough.”
We laughed at General Hood. General Lawton thought him
better fitted for gallantry on the battle-field than playing a lute in my
lady's chamber. When Miss Giles was electrifying the audience as the Fair
Penitent, some one said: “Oh, that is so pretty!” Hood cried out with stern
reproachfulness: “That is not pretty; it is elegant.”
Not only had my house been rifled for theatrical properties,
but as the play went on they came for my black velvet cloak. When it was over,
I thought I should never get away, my cloak was so hard to find. But it gave me
an opportunity to witness many things behind the scenes — that cloak hunt did.
Behind the scenes! I know a little what that means now.
General Jeb Stuart was at Mrs. Randolph's in his cavalry
jacket and high boots. He was devoted to Hetty Cary. Constance Cary said to me,
pointing to his stars, “Hetty likes them that way, you know — gilt-edged and
with stars.”
SOURCE: Mary Boykin Chesnut, Edited by Isabella D. Martin
and Myrta Lockett Avary, A Diary From Dixie, p. 276-7
No comments:
Post a Comment