OF

The soldier’s wife.

CHAPTER FIRST.

The “Crescent city”—­The husband’s departure.

Kind reader, have you ever been to New Orleans?  If not, we will attempt to describe the metropolis of the Confederate States of America.

New Orleans is situated on the Mississippi river, and is built in the shape of a crescent, from which it derives the appellation of “Crescent City.”  The inhabitants—­that is, the educated class—­are universally considered as the most refined and aristocratic members of society on the continent.  When we say aristocratic, we do not mean a pretension of superiority above others, but that elegance and etiquette which distinguish the parvenu of society, and the vulgar, but wealthy class of citizens with which this country is infested.  The ladies of New Orleans are noted for their beauty and refinement, and are certainly, as a general thing, the most accomplished class of females in the South, except the fair reader into whose hands this work may fall.

It was in the month of May, 1861, that our story commences.  Secession had been resorted to as the last chance left the South for a preservation of her rights.  Fort Sumter, had fallen, and from all parts of the land troops were pouring to meet the threatened invasion of their homes.  As history will record, New Orleans was not idle in those days of excitement.  Thousands of her sons came forward at the first call, and offered their services for the good of the common cause, and for weeks the city was one scene of excitement from the departure of the different companies to Virginia.

Among the thousands who replied to the first call of their country, was Alfred Wentworth, the confidential clerk of one of the largest commission houses in the city.  He was of respectable family, and held a high position in society, both on account of his respectability and the elevated talent he had displayed during his career in the world.  He had been married for about five years, and two little children—­one a light-eyed girl of four summers, and the other an infant of two years—­were the small family with which heaven had blessed him.

After joining a company of infantry, and signing the muster roll, Alfred returned home to his wife and informed her of what he had done, expecting that she would regret it.  But the patriotic heart of his wife would not reproach him for having performed his duty; so heaving a sigh as she looked at the child in her arms, and the little girl on her fathers knee, a tear trickled down her flushed cheek as she bade him God-speed.  The time that elapsed between his enlistment and departure for the seat of war, was spent by Alfred Wentworth in providing a home for his family, so that in the event of his being killed in battle, they should not want.  Purchasing a small residence on Prytania street, he removed his family into it and concluded his business in time for his departure.