The plot of this little work was first thought of by the writer in the month of December, 1862, on hearing the story of a soldier from New Orleans, who arrived from Camp Douglas just in time to see his wife die at Jackson, Mississippi.

Although the Press of that city made no notice of it, the case presented itself as a fit subject for a literary work.

If the picture drawn in the following pages appears exaggerated to our readers, they will at least recognize the moral it contains as truthful.
Trusting that the public will overlook its many defects, the Author yet hopes there will be found in this little book, matter of sufficient interest to while away the idle hour of the reader.
ATLANTA, April 20th, 1864.
THE TRIALS OF THE SOLDIER'S WIFE.
CHAPTER FIRST.
THE "CRESCENT CITY"-- THE HUSBAND'S DEPARTURE.
Kind reader, have you ever been to New Orleans?
If not, we will attempt to describe the metropolis of the Confederate States of America.
New Orleans is situated on the Mississippi river, and is built in the shape of a crescent, from which it derives the appellation of "Crescent City." The inhabitants--that is, the educated class--are universally considered as the most refined and aristocratic members of society on the continent.

When we say aristocratic, we do not mean a pretension of superiority above others, but that elegance and etiquette which distinguish the _parvenu_ of society, and the vulgar, but wealthy class of citizens with which this country is infested.

The ladies of New Orleans are noted for their beauty and refinement, and are certainly, as a general thing, the most accomplished class of females in the South, except the fair reader into whose hands this work may fall.
It was in the month of May, 1861, that our story commences.