The Way to Spoil Girls.
If a parent wishes a recipe how to spoil a daughter it can be easily and readily given, and can be proved by the experience of hundreds to be certain and efficacious.
1. Be always telling her, from earliest childhood, what a beautiful creature she is. It is a capital way of inflating the vanity of a little girl, to be constantly exclaiming, "How pretty!" Children understand such flattery, even when in the nurse's arms, and the evil is done the character in its earliest formation.
2. Begin as soon as she can toddle around, to rig her up in fashionable clothes and rich dresses. Put a hoop upon her at once, with all the artificial adornments of flounces and feathers and flowers and curls. Fondness for dresses will thus become a prominent characteristic and will usurp the whole attention of the young immortal, and be a long step towards spoiling her.
3. Let her visit so much that she finds no pleasure at home, and therefore will not be apt to stay there and learn home duties. It is a capital thing for a spoiled daughter to seek all her happiness in visiting, and change of place and associates. She will thus grow up as useless as modern fashionable parents delight that their daughters should be.
4. Let her reading consist of novels of the nauseatingly sentimental kind. She will be spoiled sooner than if she perused history or science. Her heart will be occupied by fictitious scenes and feelings; her mind filled with unrealities; and her aims placed on fashion and dress and romantic attachments.
5. Be careful that her education gives her a smattering of all the accomplishments, without the slightest knowledge of the things really useful in life. Your daughter won't be spoiled so long as she has a real desire to be useful in the world, and aims at its accomplishment. If her mind and time are occupied in modern accomplishments, there will be no thought of the necessity and virtue of being of some real use to somebody pervading her heart, and she will soon be ready as a spoiled daughter.
6. As a consequence, keep her in profound ignorance of all the useful arts of housekeeping, impressing upon her mind that it is vulgar to do anything for yourself, or to learn how anything is done in the house. A spoiled daughter never should be taught the mysteries of the kitchen—such things a lady always leaves to the servants. It would be "vulgar" for her to know how to dress trout or shad, to bake, to wash, to iron, to sweep, or wring the neck of a live chicken, pluck it and prepare it for breakfast, or do anything that servants are hired to do. As a mistress of a house it is her duty to sit on a velvet sofa all day, in the midst of a pyramid of silks and flounces, reading the last flash novel, while her domestics are performing the labors of the house.
To complete the happiness of your spoiled daughter, marry her to a bearded youth with soft hands, who knows as little about how to earn money as she does to save it. [illegible] happiness will be furnished for her [illegible].
TENNESSEE BAPTIST, February 9, 1861
9-10, A visit from General and Mrs. John Hunt Morgan and planning for another ball in McMinnville
On Monday evening [9th] Gen. Morgan and his wife call [sic] on us. Gen. M. is a tall rather fine looking man, high forehead, very fine teeth--a staid and sober expression but very agreeable--and he is exceedingly courteous but not courtly--very polite tho' [sic] not polished. Mrs. Morgan reminded me that evening of Ellen Harrison--Her side face [sic] is like Ellen's. Her manner is that of Narcisic Saunders-- a good deal of manners. I like Mrs. Morgan much--she is not very brilliant--not quick to take up a joke or see into s[ome] witticism; but when she does see she appears to enjoy it. She had gone to the hospital a day or two previous and was speaking to "Stenil" who was ill there about the money that they had made at the concert. He inquired what was to be done with it--she said she did not know certainly--it would be used for the benefit of the men. "Well" said he, "I would request that it be applied to the general washing of the command." Mrs. M. it is said did not see the point until sometime afterwards--she took him in earnest and that was the funniest of all, because certain it is that a good wash would do most of the more good than anything else!...Morgan's costume on this evening was blue cloth pants and round about--with plenty of "brass button" [sic] and immense shiny cavalry boots and spurs--black felt hat turned up at the side with a star. They came on horseback--Mrs. M. had on a black riding habit, hat and veil. Capt. Morenis was here when they came--he came to get me to "lead off" a committee of lady managers of a ball to be given by some of the officers to Mr. & Mrs. "John Hamilton" on Friday the 13th. I would not consent to lead off but expressed a willingness to assist any other ladies who might wish to form a committee. Marenis said he came to me as it was known I did not belong to any of the "cliques" of the place. "No" I said, "I didn't not and never intended to." Next morning [10th] Mag Rankin wrote for us to come to Mrs. Read's to a meeting of ladies and we went. Mrs. Read, Mrs. Waters, and myself were all the committee present. I wrote out an invitation list of the ladies and some of the married folks--which was all we could do then. Mollie and I went down town--soon Mrs. Marbury and Mrs. Read came after us and we went back to Maj. Rowan's. Here we concluded not to place our names upon the invitation cards--which was a great relief to me.
War Journal of Lucy Virginia French, entry for February 15, 1863.
9, Skirmish near Memphis
FEBRUARY 9, 1865.--Skirmish near Memphis, Tenn.
Report of Lieut. Col. Hugh Cameron, Second Arkansas Cavalry (Union), commanding Fourth Brigade, Cavalry Division, District of West Tennessee.
HDQRS. FOURTH BRIGADE, CAVALRY DIVISION, February 9, 1865.
COL.: I have the honor to report that the escort having charge of the wood train from this brigade was attacked this morning at 8 o'clock about the time it arrived in the wood-yard one and one-quarter miles outside the pickets by a party of rebels believed to be seventy-five in number. The escort comprised seventeen mounted Second Arkansas Cavalry, twelve dismounted Second Missouri Cavalry, and eleven dismounted First Iowa Cavalry, making forty men, commanded by Second Lieut. Laban N. Garrett, Company A, Second Arkansas Cavalry. At 8.30 o'clock I received information by messenger that the escort had been driven back and the train captured. I at once sent messengers to division headquarters with the information and for orders and immediately ordered out al the cavalry of the brigade. My messengers, returning, met me near the Carr avenue picket about 9 o'clock, bringing orders for me to pursue the rebels some distance beyond where the train was captured. I pushed forward as fast as possible ten miles on the rebel trail, but did not overtake any of any of the party. Had my men been mounted on serviceable horses I might have overtaken and severely chastised them. The trail was through the woods in the direction of Hernando, as I followed it. Doctor Raines, living about one mile west of the Hernando road and ten miles from the City of Memphis, informed me that the rebel force passed his house on the way to the wood-yard at 4 a. m. and returned with the captured mules at 9.15 a. m. in a hurry; that they divided just before they reached his place, thirty-five or forty passing his house, and the remainder turning to the right and making for a skirt of timber southwest of his house, though which the Mississippi and Tennessee Railroad passes.
I abandoned pursuit, satisfied that I could accomplish nothing with my broken-down horses, and determined to return. Dividing my detachment of sixty-six men, I ordered Capt. O'Brien back over the road we came with thirty-three men, and with the remainder I returned by the Hernando road. On reaching the Hernando road I captured Doctor Gabbert, who said he lived in the vicinity of Hernando, and supposing that he might give important information I brought him along. I have turned him and the property captured with him over to the provost marshal. A negro moving his family to Memphis told me that he passed a rebel force having a large of mules with them about twelve miles from Hernando; he supposed about 11 o'clock . In the encounter at the wood-yard our casualties were 1 sergeant, Second Arkansas Cavalry killed; 1 man, Second Missouri Cavalry, mortally wounded, and 3 slightly; 1 man, of the first Iowa Cavalry, severely wounded; 1 man, of the Second Missouri Cavalry, prisoner; also 5 teamsters, Second Arkansas Cavalry, prisoners. Loss of property, 111 U. S. mules in harness. Rebel casualties, as far as ascertained, 1 man killed, from whose person was taken, it is reported, a cotton pass dated February 8, 1865, and a letter containing valuable information. I have delayed this report, expecting to be able to get said cotton pass and letter and forward them with it, but have failed. I have placed the lieutenant commanding the escort in arrest for neglecting to take possession of said papers, and have no doubt that he deserves to be punished for carelessness and inefficiency; for the result of his operations in the woodyard, it seems to me, proves him to be both careless and inefficient.
I have the honor to be, colonel, respectfully, your obedient servant,
HUGH CAMERON, Lieut. Col. Second Arkansas Cavalry, Cmdg. Fourth Brigade.
OR, Ser. I, Vol. 49, pt. I, pp. 37-38.
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