ne. I find the women still industry mad; but the sewing-circles get
up small _dullabilities_--'danceable teas,' as papa Dodd abroad calls
them. They're not splendid to a used-up man, like you--not Paris nor
yet Washington, but they'll show you our people."

And Wyatt was right. The people of Richmond had at first held up their
hands in holy horror at the mere mention of amusement! What! with a war
in the land must people enjoy themselves? Never! it would be heartless!

But human nature in Virginia is pretty much like human nature
everywhere else; and bad as the war was, people gradually got used to
"the situation." They had lost friends--a relation or two was pretty
badly marked perhaps--but what glory the tens and hundreds left had
gained! There was no fighting now; and the poor fellows in camp would
be only too glad to know that their brothers-in-arms were being paid
for their toils by the smiles of the fair. The great majority of the
strangers, too, were young men who had been recommended to the mercy of
the society by these very sufferers in camp.

Gradually these influences worked--the younger and gayer people
indulged in the "danceable teas," Wyatt spoke of, after their
sewing-circles. Imperceptibly the sewing was left for other times; and
by Christmas there was a more constant--if less formal and
general--round of gaiety than had been known for years. This brought
the citizens and strangers more together, and naturally the result was
a long season of more regular parties and unprecedented gaiety. Many
still frowned at this, and, as usual, made unhappy Washington the
scapegoat--averring that her pernicious example of heartlessness and
frivolity had worked the evil.

These rigid Romans staid at home and worked on zealously in their
manufacture of warm clothing, deformed socks and impossible gloves for
the soldier boys. All honor to them for their constancy, if they
thought they were right, and the harmless gaiety wrong; and they fought
the good fight, from behind their _abatis_ of knitting needles, only
with the innocent weapons of tongue and precept. But human nature and
inclination still held their own; and there were many defections from
the ranks of the elect, to those of the more practical--and probably
equally well-intentioned--pleasure-seekers.

But parties were by no means the only resource for pleasure-lovers.
Anything that combined amusement and put dollars in the treasuries of
charitable societies b