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Pawley's Island, a summer residence lately built by Renty. I can only compare this building to a castle so lofty that we could find a cool place almost in any part of the house. I witnessed some very heavy thunder and lightning through that summer; the clergyman's (Mr. Glennie) house was struck by the lightning, and some little damage done, but, fortunately, no loss of life. I must now make a very singular remark in regard to this lightning. There was a closet near the fireplace, where Mrs. G. kept her groceries, in which was a box containing matches; this box was opened by the effect of the lightning, and its contents scattered about the room, and not one caught fire. A silver spoon, which had been left in the sugar basin, was partly melted, which makes the case of the matches still more wonderful.

My life on Pawley's Island was very lonely, but as I am very fond of my needle, the summer passed very pleasantly; and before our return to Hagley, I had completed working a scarf for Mrs. W.'s mother, it being Mrs. W.'s intention to take it to her the following year.

About a month previous to our leaving the Island, there was an election for the members of the legislature; Mr. W. was elected a member for Georgetown district, so that before we had spent much of the winter, the time arrived to go to Columbia (the capital of South Carolina), where matters of State business are generally settled. Columbia is distant 170 miles from Hagley, 100 of which we went by water. We had not long been in C. before the small pox made its appearance; this caused the Legislature to adjourn, to meet again in Charleston in a few days. We then returned to Hagley, but stayed only long enough to say

how d'ye (meaning how do you do) to the negroes, before the time came to return to Charleston.

There appeared to be great anxiety at that time; this was caused by electing a President for the U.S. who was very much against slavery and the South, and after two days of thoughtful consideration, the Convention passed the ordinance of secession, so that on the 20th of December, 1860, South Carolina was a separate State; this, however, did not long continue, for her sister State, Georgia, soon followed the same plan, thus robbing the old flag of two of her stars. Never shall I forget the joy on that day. In a few days we were again at Hagley where we spent another Christmas, but with (as will be supposed) more anxiety than the previous one.

Having had a long talk with the black people and pointing out to them the difficulty of the times, and warning them not to be led away by wicked people who were trying to injure them, Mr. and Mrs. W. took their leave for Charleston, leaving me at home until the following week, but on account of the crowded hotel, and of the danger of getting to her, I was obliged to remain at home. Mrs. W. wrote to me at different times during her absence, and would now and then mention the opinions of many people in Charleston, who all thought a war must be the consequence of secession. This was not a pleasant thought for me, and my readers will think so when 1 tell them my only companion was a little dog (a sweet little pet of Mrs. W.'s), who knew the tune of "God save the Queen," as well as I did; we often used to have a tune together, "Dixie's Land" was also a favourite tune of little Queenie's. A month passed, when Mrs. W. returned home. She had that same day received a

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letter from England, announcing the death of her nephew; this sad news, together with the idea of war, made her feel very sad, for as affairs stood, it was impossible for her to return to England that year.

The month of April brought the news of the surrender of Fort Sumter, a fort in Charleston Harbour, held by Major Anderson, U.S. There was no loss of life on either side. The bombardment lasted about two days. Much honour was due to the brave Gen. Beauregard, who gained the victory, and a day of rejoicing it was when the "Palmetto" flag first floated on the walls of Sumter. It was on this occasion that an old gentleman of Virginia, Edmund Ruffins, distinguished himself by firing the first gun at Fort Sumter. He had left Virginia, and declared he would remain away till she seceded, and this resolution he kept. He was at this time 80 years of age, and of a most commanding appearance.

CHAPTER III.

It was now the time for every true man to study the interest of his country, and to prepare for the many dangers staring him in the face. Mr. W., who was a true patriot, gave up the luxuries of home, and went as a private in the Georgetown Rifle Guards. Then im a short time (not more than two months), he raised a company of soldiers, 120 in number, furnished each man with a suit of clothes and a testament; also ordered 120 rifles from England.

Our second summer on Pawley's Island was not a very pleasant one, Mr. W. being at camp, and Mrs. W. and myself listening for the sounds of cannon, which would now and then reach our ears. Towards the end of the summer, Mrs. W. visited the camp for the first time, leaving me at home with my usual little companion. She had not been long gone when I was aroused by the sound of heavy cannon, which appeared to be not far distant, and on going out on the bridge which led to the sea, I discovered a vessel trying to get into an inlet. "What can I do," thought I, and while I was thus thinking, the doctor's wife (Mrs. Post), came in, her husband being away at the same time. She was also in a puzzle as to what to do. We at last concluded to pack up the silver and other

valuables, in case the enemy made further progress, but no further firing was heard, and by the time Mrs. W. had returned, we had got over our fright.

It was amusing to see the black people on that occasion; they would say to each other, "Dem Yankees must hab bery big guns shoot so far," "Do master Jesus sabe me." By the next day the enemy had disappeared, evidently disappointed in their designs. It was no longer safe for us to remain so near the coast, and on this account Mr. W. was anxious for us to leave the island sooner than usual, so that we were soon again settled at Hagley. Before I write about the events of the winter I will inform my readers of Mr. W. being made captain of his company (then stationed at South Island, near Georgetown), and entering the 10th S.C. Regt. as comp. A. This was, of course, an honour, but it foretold the many hardships which would be likely to come upon him. At that time there was a Ladies Relief Association, of which Mrs. W. was vice-president. This Association was for making garments for the 10th regiment, and the greater part of the winter was spent in this way, many of the ladies on the Waccamaw devoting much of their time to knitting socks.

In the early part of November, Mrs. W. visited Capt. W. at camp, who requested her to look out for a place of refuge, for it would not be safe, he thought, to remain at Hagley. How painful was the idea of leaving her home, perhaps never to see it again! However, no time was to be lost, for the enemy was fast surrounding us.

Christmas passed without any enjoyment for the negroes, but fortunately a few figs and currants were saved for their Christmas pudding, and with the

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