From Norfolk.
the office of city Inspector — Working for the soldiers — the inexhaustible wealth of the South, &c.[special Correspondence of the Dispatch.]
Norfolk, Nov. 12, 1861.
Our city continues unusually quiet.
Business is of course dull, although many of the retail dealers are busy in supplying customers, especially in the dry-goods and grocery lines, notwithstanding the high prices of many articles.
The principal business trans actions, however, are by Quartermasters and Commissaries, and the large army wagons are constantly leaving the city for the different encampments loaded with provisions and other things, and returning for fresh supplies.
Captain Wright, our former City Inspector, having received a commission in the Army and entered into service, the duties of his office now devolve upon Mr. N. Currier, who is actively engaged in putting things in order, and having the street paving repaired, &c. There are few cities, by-the-by, in the country, whose streets are generally in better condition than those of Norfolk.
The most of them are well paved and cleanly, although there is still much to be done in the way of improvement in this respect.
The weather to-day being perfectly charming, a large number of that interesting class of beings, for which observant visitors declare our city to be very famous, are engaged in "shopping," while many more are at work upon articles that are well calculated for the comfort of the soldiers in cold weather.
I may as well mention what I know to be a fact — that hundreds, if not thousands, of the brave Southern troops stationed in the vicinity of Norfolk and Portsmouth fully appreciate the many thoughtful and timely acts of kindness manifested by the fair ladies of both town and country; and those men who have come hither to fight, and are sorely tired of waiting for a contest with the Yankees, have, on many occasions, expressed the profoundest gratitude for the favors alluded to. This is no unpleasant feature in the war that now distracts the country.
These well-bred and appreciative sons of the South, where a spirit of whole-souled generosity and reciprocal kindness is a part of home culture, are anxious to fight in Virginia and for Virginia, to defend her homes and altars; and, fighting within her ample borders, they are of course defending and protecting the whole great South from the invasion of Northern slaves and hirelings.
The glorious empire of the South, that now stands in the front rank on the vast battlefield, and sustained in the contest by lionhearted and indomitable men from all parts of the Southern country, are justly proud of her grand old hills; her inexhaustible rivers of untold wealth, her extensive grain fields and granaries, her stupendous works of nature, her magnificent rivers, her deep inlets from the ocean, and her splendid sea-coast; her men of mind and genius; and as well of her daughters, whose untiring modesty, ingenuity and skill are so actively, efficiently, and successfully engaged in supplying the wants, alleviating the sufferings, and contributing to the happiness and comfort of those who are fighting, and of those who are ready to fight the battles of the South. 