Thursday, November 24, 2011

Appearances

This entry is from Mary Chesnut's Civil War, edited by C. Vann Woodward. Mary Chesnut was married to James Chesnut, United States Senator from South Carolina, 1859-1861, and afterward an Aide to Jefferson Davis, and a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army.   The sentiments she describes in her diary entry for November 24 were probably shared by many.


November 24, 1861


Hymn at Church:


Save us Lord, or we perish
When through the torn sail the wild tempest is howling
When o'er the dark wave the dread lightning is gleaming*


I could have rested my head on that cushion and sobbed and shrieked like a new convert at a revival camp meeting.  But not an eyelash moved. So much for civilized self-control.

*Lines slightly misquoted from a hymn by Reginald Heber appearing in Hymns Written and Adapted to the Weekly Service of the Year (1827)
Mary Chesnut

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