And peering dimly through her "specks," Said, "Honey, what's your name?" Then as she raised her withered hand To pat his sturdy arm-- "There's no one here but grandmamma, And she won't do you harm; Come, take a seat and don't be scared; Put up your sword, my child, I would not hurt you for the world," She gently said and smiled. "Madam, my duty must be done, And I am firm as rock!" Then pointing to her work he said, "Is that a rebel sock!" "Yes, honey, I am getting old, And for hard work ain't fit, But for Confederate soldiers still I, thank the Lord, can knit." "Madam, your work is contraband, And Congress confiscates This rebel sock, which I now seize, To the United States." "Yes, honey, don't be scared, for I Will give it up to you." Then slowly from the half knit sock The dame her needles drew, Broke off her thread, wound up her ball And stuck her needles in. "Here, take it, child, and I to-night Another will begin!" The soldier next his loyal heart The dear-bought trophy laid, And that was all that Seward got By this "old woman's raid." CHAPTER V THEIR CAUSE INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO "THEIR CAUSE" In no sense does the author offer the suggestions in this section as an apology for the course of Southern women or men in the war between the States. They are presented simply as a part of history, showing the political principles which guided and moved the South in the momentous struggle. They explain the lofty zeal and heroic fortitude of the Confederate women. They cannot be attributed to partisanship or sectional bias on the part of the author, for sufficient quotations are herewith presented from well-known Northern, English, and Continental public men to show that if there is an extreme Southern view it is held by other people as well as by our own. Right or wrong, each Southern man in the field and each woman at home, toiled in that war with a _mens sibi conscia recti_. It was a movement of the people. In the ranks of the army were found hundreds of college graduates and men carrying muskets whose property was valued at a hundred thousand dollars, and at home the rich and the poor women toiled with equal zeal for the cause so dear to their hearts. "WHEN THIS CRUEL WAR IS OVER"