welcome by those who are fortunate enough to
live in peace and quiet in their happy homes. But such, I fear, is not
always the case. Many respectable families who had been accustomed to
all that wealth could afford, are now living, if not in absolute
necessity, in very poor circumstances, and could have their position
materially improved if the people of this State would offer them that
assistance they need. It is not an act of charity to lend a helping
hand to the refugee. We are bound together by a sympathy formed on the
battle-field by the gallant men of every State now struggling side by
side for our independence, and it is a matter of duty that the wives
and children of the soldier shall not suffer during his absence. It is
a sordid spirit that refuses to aid a helpless woman because she
happens to be a refugee. This Confederacy is a home for all its sons
and daughters, and when they abandon their native State, and, fleeing
from a brutal enemy, come into our midst for safety and protection, we
should welcome them as suffering patriots and cherish, them as they
deserve. It is a hard struggle for a woman to abandon a home,
surrounded by all the luxuries of life and in which happiness reigns
dominant, to incur hardships and privations. In doing so her
patriotism is severely tested, and nothing but the most exalted
devotion to our country triumphs over her fears.

"There is yet another subject I will speak on. The two men who have
figured so conspicuously in this case as the cause of this lady's
sufferings, cannot be allowed to pass unnoticed. Mr. Elder is a well
known gentleman of this city and has hitherto borne an irreproachable
character. Did he not stand silent when accused of inhuman conduct
towards this lady, I should hesitate to believe him guilty of such an
atrocity. But as his silence is indicative of guilt, the horrible
nature of his act comes before us with great force, and we shudder to
think that any one wearing the form of humanity could so far debase
the mind as to turn a helpless woman and dying child from a shelter
because she had not the means of paying her debt. In so doing, Mr.
Elder has displayed the spirit of the extortioner, and must feel all
the stings of conscience which haunt the mind of a murderer, should
his heart be not too much hardened already. He has acted a worse part
than a murderer, for the assassin kills his victim through revenge, or
at the worst, for pay. Here, Mr. Elder--a posses