Diary of Malvina S. Waring, March 5, 1865

Oh! the seduction, the novelty, the fascination of this life in Richmond! If patriotism is its master-chord, pleasure is no less its dominant note, and while it is as indescribable as the sparkle of champagne, it is no less intoxicating. Last night the parlor was full of visitors, and the same may be said of almost every night—officers, privates, congressmen, senators, old friends and new ones, from all parts of the country. They are finding out our whereabouts and paying their devoirs. And what do you think, my little book? The blonde captain was among them. Strange things are the most natural, I have begun to think, for our strange acquaintance has come about in the most natural way. Dr. S—— knows his relatives in Maryland, and we are acquainted with his relatives in Carolina, so not even Sadie could gainsay the fitness of the acquaintance—nor Ernestine, who is an anxious mother to the last one of us.

SOURCE: South Carolina State Committee United Daughters of the Confederacy, South Carolina Women in the Confederacy, Vol. 1, “A Confederate Girl's Diary,” p. 279