Southern reveille. (Port Gibson, Miss.) 1851-185?, 1852-10-27

A. Patch on both Knees.

in style, is not inferior 10 Franklin's best:
When was boy. it was my fortune to
breathe, for long time the air Of poverty.
My mother-light lie the turf upon the form
which once enclosed her gentle spirit-was
what is called an ambitious woman for that
power which overturns thrones and supplants
dynastics, finds a legitimate sphere in the
humblest abode, that the shadows Of poverty
ever darkened. The struggle between the
wish to keep up appearance, and the pinehing
gripe Of necessity, produced endless shifts and
contrivances, at which, we are told, some
would smile, and some to whom they would
teach their own experience would sigh. But
let me not disturb the veil Of oblivion which
shrouds from profane eyes the hallowest mys-
teries Of poverty.
On one occasion, it was necessary to send
me on an errand to a neighbor in better cir
cumstanccs than ourselves. and therefore il
was necessary that l should be presented ia
the best aspect Great pains were according
ly taken to give a smart appearance to my
patched and dilapida.ed wardrobe, and to
conceal the rent1 and chasms which the envi-
Gus teeth Of time had made in them, and by
throwing certain SAVIOR and sprinkling Of
geE.iity, my red and toil-hardened hands
we're encircled in the familiar casing Of pair
Of gloves, which had belonged to my mother
when her years were fewer and her heart was
lighter.
l sailed forth on my errand, and on my
way encountered a much older and bigger
boy, who evidently belonged to family which
4 had all our dragging poverty, and none OF our
uprising spirit Ills rags fairly tiuttered IN
the breeze; bis hat was constructed upon one
Of the most improved principles ofvintillation,
aud his shoes, from their venerable antiquity,
might have been deemed pair Of fossil shoes
tho very ones in which Shem shuffied in
the ark. He was an impudcnt varlet, with a
daredevil swagger in his gait, and an I'm
as good as you leer in his eye-the very
whelp to throw dirt at a well-dressed horseman
because he was well-dressed, to tear boys
rufiles because he was clean. As soon as he
saw me, his eye detected the practical incon-
sistemcies which characterized my costume,
and taking me by the shoulder, turning me
round with no gentle hand, and surveying me
from head to foot, exclaimed. with a scornful
laugh Of derision. "a patch on 10th knees
and giores oR -
l still recall the sting Of wounded feelings
which shot through me at these words. 10
parody a celebrated line by the immortal
Puscan-
" That day wore my gloves no more"
But the lesson, 10 rudely enforced, sank
deep into my mind: and in after life l have
had frequent occasions to make practical ap-
plication of the words Of my ragged friend,
when have observed the ridiculous incon-
sstencies which 50 often mark the conduct OF
mankind.
When, for instance, see parents carefully
providing for the ornamental education o.
their children, furnishing them teachers IN
music, dancing and drawing, but giving no
thought to that moral and religious training,
from which the true dignity and permanent
happiness of life can come never teaching
them habits Of selfsacrifce and self-discipline
and control, but rather, by example, instruc.
ting them in evil speaking in uncharitableness
in envy, and in falsehood. / think y N a sigh
Of the patch on both knees and gloves on.
When L see afamily in cold selfish solltrde
not habitually warming their houses with .
glow or happy Iaces. Dub iaNlSniuh anae ""'~
could furnish the hospitality Of whole yea'
upon the profusion Of a single night, 'ilnk
Of the patch on both knees and gloves oL.
When see a house profusely furnI'het
with sumptuous furniture. rich curtains an
luxurious carpets. but with no books, or none
but a few tawdry ANIMALS, | am reminded
of the patch on both knees and gloves on.
When / see men sacrificing peace OF mlnf
: and health Of body to the insane pursuit o
wealth, living in ignorance Of the character o
the children who are growing up around them
putting themselves off from the highest ant
pnrest pleasures Of their natures, and 50 per
yerting their humanity, that which was sougE
as means, insensihly comes to be followe.
, as an end say to myself, I" A patch on boti
knees and gloves on"
= When l see thousands spent for sclhshnes
r and ostentation. and nothing bestowed TO
: charity when see fine ladies besatined an'
be;jeweled, cheapening tho toll Of the dress
makers, and with harsh words enbittering th
1 dread Of dependence, when / see the poo
!, turned away from proud houses, where th
! crumbs Of tables would be TO them q feast,
.L.l A thn ratnl, IN, hrtL a .l,..>e ,,.,