Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1866-11-08
All the proud. manly blood of the bo7's

All the proud, manly blood of the boys
heart was stirred. He hated bis father
then for his cowardly attack upon bis poor
trembling mother, who had picked up. her
empty pail and turned to milk another COW !;
and be half rejoiced in averting some share
of the general blame to his own shoulders.
So he did not reply e"asively, or in the
strict negative, as be might have done but
said, firmly
He told me, yesterday, that he wasn't
going to stand this sort of life much long
er though 1 didn't know that he meant to
go off last night, sir'l ... .... w...
What sort of life do you mean, sirrah 2
thundered the deacon, angrily.
The sort that made Jack dull boy
'all work and no play father replied the
lad, coolly. -...... y ... p. .....
Don't repeat over your poetry to me,
you young rascal = was the irate command.
Il see how it's; you two youngsters have
put yor heads together to conjure up this
plot and you're as much to blame as he is.
Come round into the barn with me, sir =
David obeyed. By the compression Of
his delicately -ohisseled lips-his mothers
lips they were - and the distension of his
thin, proud nostrils, you saw that his spir-
it was aroused - that spirit which has car
ried heroes and martyrs to their fate; but,
casting one encouraging, smiling glance to
the trembling woman who paused in her
milking with sickening terror at her heart,
he followed his father.
Deacon Morris shut the great barn doors
closely behind them. Yet be need not
for David would not have hinohed, or ut
tered a cry, if every blow of the 1.-the, dark.
ly.red cowhide had taken his hearts blood.
Mrs. Morris rose from her task, put her
hand to her heart, and staggered family up
to the house; while Jim Bailey one Of
the hired hands, who had come out in sea-
son to overhear portion of the con versa
tion - kindly took her place, and presently
carried in the two foaming milk pals
At six o'clock the sound Of the horn
brought Deacon Morris and his man into
breakfast David was also in his place
but no food passed his blue, pale, set lips.
He was too sick to eat and his laoerated
shoulders quivered and throbbed under his
coarse gingham shirt. When the meal was
ended, the deacon said, with preparatory
| hem -
David you may get yourself ready to 60
down to the medder lot and NOW, to day.
Now Toms gone on his own wicked way,
you'll have to knuckle down to a purity
fair share of his work I shan't have DO
gentleman in my family. Let this mornin's
lesson be warnin' to you. You needed
the chastisement of the rod, and I've ad-
ministered it for your own good
David did not reply, but he set his lips
together more firmly as he rose, and took
down his hat from its peg on the wall, and
went out. But that night ~ when the poor,
almost heart.broken woman crept up to bis
chamber few moments, to bathe his lacer-
ated back be said: Mother, if ii 'twarn't
for you, I'd follow Tom before daylight
But, for your sake, III stay here and try
and obey father
The next day was the Sabbath the
calm, blessed New England Sabbath and
Deacon Morris attended church three times,
and, at the family altar, prayed with great
empbisis for the 'rebellious and goddess,
who rise up against the rule of their elders
in the land
And the passages he read from the Holy
Book culled frou those portions red with
the terrors of the Law, till all the still air of
the summer twilight seemed to quake with
the dread resonance of his stern, emphatic
voice.
Ten years went by. No marked changes
had come to Deacon Morris, except that he
was grayer, grimmer, made longer prayers
on Sunday nights, said shorter graces on
week days, and drove his hired help and
family harder than ever
David was young man of twenty-four
now; and helped 'carry on the farm under
the surveillance of his father. Mrs. Morris
looked older and paler, and seemed always
tired, but still toiled on from morning till
night the same as ever, assisted only by her
eldest daughter Sarah for the other two
girls, Martha and Dorothy, girls of nineteen
and seventeen, with natural desire to es-
cape the deprivations of their cheerless
country home, and to dress as well as 9TH
ers of their age, had obtained situations in
distant city-the one as milliner, and the
other in q fancy goods store, where her pref
ty face attracted many customers to her en-
ployers.
All were good, sensible girls; but Dollie
for so her name was abbreviated shortly
after being transplanted to the city-was
quite too young to be removed from moth
er's watchful eye at just the age when youth
full vanity may be fostered into dangerous
fame by the breath of that class Of admi'
rers with whom many of her fellows came
In contact.
Tom had never been heard from-way-
ward Tom, the first. born boy, whom the poor
mother ever mourned, and David daily
thought of, though his name WAS always
sbanned, barred and forbidden when the
stern ruler of the family was nigh. If Tom
had ever written home, no such letters had
been received; and none knew whether he
mna lininn or daaa-uhat distant or near