supposed not to hear.
"Yes," said another; "beautiful! but they look as though they could be
fast." Fast! and we were not even speaking! not even looking at them!
Sophie and I were walking presently, and met half a dozen. We had to
stop to let them pass the crossing; they did not think of making way
for us; No. 1 sighed--such a sigh! No. 2 followed, and so on, when they
all sighed in chorus for our edification, while we dared not raise our
eyes from the ground. That is the time I would have made use of a
dagger. Two passed in a buggy, and trusting to our not recognizing them
from the rapidity of their vehicle, kissed their hands to us until they
were out of sight! All went back to New Orleans vowing Baton Rouge had
the prettiest girls in the world. These were our own people, the elite
of New Orleans, loyal Southerners and gentlemen. These Northerners pass
us satisfied with a simple glance; some take off their hats, for all
these officers know our name, though we may not know theirs; how, I
can't say.

When I heard of Colonel McMillan's misfortune, mother conspired with me
to send over some bandages, and something Tiche manufactured of flour
under the name of "nourishment," for he is across the street at
Heroman's. Miriam objected on account of what "our people" will say,
and what we will suffer for it if the guerrillas reach town, but we
persuaded her we were right.... You can imagine our condition at
present, many years hence, Sarah, when you reflect that it is the
brave, noble-hearted, generous Miriam who is afraid to do that deed on
account of "public opinion," which indeed is "down" on us. At Greenwell
they are frantic about our returning to town, and call us traitors,
Yankees, and vow vengeance.... A lady said to me, "The guerrillas have
a black list containing the names of those remaining in town. All the
men are to be hanged, their houses burned, and all the women are to be
tarred and feathered." I said, "Madam, if I believed them capable of
such a vile _threat_, even, much less the execution, I would see them
cut down without a feeling of compassion" (which is not true), "and
swear I was a Yankee rather than claim being a native of the same
country with such brutes." She has a long tongue; when I next hear of
it, it will be that _I_ told the story, and called them brutes and
hoped they would be shot, etc. And so goes the world. No one will think
of saying that I did not believe them guilty of the thought, even.