It required very little persuasion to induce those gentlemen
to stay to supper, the other evening, and it was quite late before they took
their leave. Dr. Addison I was very much pleased with, and so were all the
rest. Mr. M–––, none of us fell desperately in love with. He is too nonchalant
and indifferent, besides having a most peculiar pronunciation which grated
harshly on my ears, and that no orthography could fully express. “Garb,” for instance,
was distorted into “gairb,” “yard” into “yaird,” “Airkansas,” and all such
words that I can only imitate by a violent dislocation of my lower jaw that
puts Anna into convulsions of laughter — only she would laugh the same if it
was not funny. This Kentuckian pronunciation grates “hairshly” on my
Southern ears. Miriam addressed herself exclusively to the Doctor, so I was
obliged to confine my attention entirely to neglected Mr. M–––, in which pious duty I was ably and
charitably seconded by the General. Speaking of the bravery and daring
displayed by the Southern soldiers during this war, Mr. M––– mentioned the
dangerous spot he had seen us in the first day we went down to the “Airkansas”
and said that, lying directly across the point from the Essex, they expected
every instant to see one of her shells explode among us, and were very uneasy
about our position, as we did not seem to know the danger. I asked him if he
had observed anything peculiar among the dozen planters and overseers standing
a short distance from us, when the Captain sent us word that our position was a
very dangerous one, as they expected the Essex to open fire every instant, and
we had best stand below the levee, higher up, where we would be safe from
shells. “I noticed that before any of you understood your position, every man
had disappeared as though by magic.” Now I had noticed that myself. When I
turned, under shelter of the levee, our gallant planters were galloping off in
the distance. While Ginnie and I looked and laughed, we suddenly found
ourselves the sole objects on the horizon; the other girls were in the road
below, going carelessly toward the carriage; so we followed, having lost sight
of the brave representatives of Southern chivalry, being the last to leave the
supposed field of danger. To my former remark, let me add that there is only
one set who take better care for their safety than married women; and that set is
composed exclusively of the “Home Guard.” Timid girls, either through ignorance
or fun, compose the majority of the brave “men” that the volunteer service has
not absorbed.
SOURCE: Sarah Morgan Dawson, A Confederate Girl's
Diary, p. 242-3
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