Excerpt from Reminiscences of Charleston<br><br>Those who are able to recall the images that thronged the mind in the summer of 1860, during the attack of Fort Sumter, when the flashing of guns and the boom~ ing of_ cannon startled from their slumbers the citizens of Charleston - those that are able to bring back the train of associations which gilded that brilliant spoeta cle when the east and south battery were crowded with beautiful women, and the long array of gay carriages and music and conversation blended their attractions, in the cool of the evening, as they took their way for nearly a mile in succession; but, particularly, those who can recall the bombardment of Fort Sumter, can never be oblivious of that scene when the combat drew crowds from the most distant parts of the city to wit ness the fight, the whole eastern face of the battery lined with anxious spectators, following the ricochetting of the balls, with flashing eyes and excited tones - who, we repeat, can recall these circumstances with any other than feelings of sadness in the contemplation of the present aspect of the city, and at witnessing the contrast presented after five years of a desolating war, not only in the present stillness and solitude of the scene, but in the social revolution that has blasted the fortunes and marred the prosperity of those who now move over it.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.