The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1868-05-23

Winoow--sh0uldered MS crutcheS, aud tramped
it with the strongest.
"No doubt your pocket is full of money"
said ]. "and you only Want chance to rob
and murder mo. Go away with youl''
Dsas;;!a!== that's n.y se;;se, We. baking cakes
In the kitchen. just then she came to the
door, and motioned' with her mouth to me j:
DO let him stay, auntie," aud II hadn't had
good sense might, but knew better than a
chit of sixteen.
"Go away with you !" said I, louder than
before. 81 won't have this any longer
And he gave kind of groan, and took
his hand from the latch, and went champ,
champ, champ, through the frozen snow again; /;
and ! thought him gone, when there he was
once more, hardly with knock at ala faint
touch, like child's, now
And when opened the door again he came
quite in, and stood leaning on his cane, pale rs
ghost, his eyes bigger than ever.
|Ss"Wcll, of all inpudcnce - said I.
He looked at me, and he said Z:
'Nladam, I have asmother ut Greenbank. 1
want to live to see her. s!.nll not if L try to
80 any further tonight"
"Thcy all want to see their mothers" and
just then it came into my mind that l hoped
my son, Charlie, who had been real soldier,
IN officer hc had come to be. mind you, wanted
to sec his, and would soon
"I have been wounded, MS you scc," said he.
"Don't so showing me your hurts" said
I "thcy buy 'em, 80 they told me, to go a
begging with now. .Treud the papers, tell
ye. and I'm principlcd, and SOS our clergy
man, agin giving anything, unless it's through
some we'll organized society. Tramps are my
abomination. And MS to keeping you all
night, you can't expect that of decent folks
gor' i
Drusilla came to the door and said:
"Lct him stay, auutie," with her lips again,
bit / took no notice. M
So he went, and this time did not come
back and l sat down by the frs. and smelt
the bakisg cakes ard The apples atewing and
the taa dfawiaa tlss chen stoy ind. 4
ought to have been very comfortable, but I
wasn't. Something seemed tugging ut my
heart all the time.
gave the fre poke, and lit another can
die to cheer myself up, and went to my work
basket to get the sock I had been knitting for
my Charlie; aud as I went to get it saw
something lying on tn, floor. picked it up.
It was an old tobacco pouch, ever 80 much like
the one gave Charlie, with fringe around it,
and written on 1t in ink: "From G.. +. to r..
H." aud inside was bit Of tobacco and an
old pipe, and letter, run,pled old lettor
and, when spread it out saw ON tho top,
my dear son."
! know the beggar must have dropped it,
and my heart gave one big thump, as though it
had been turned into hammer
Perhaps the story was true, and he had a
| mother. I shivered all over, and the fire and
the candles and the nice comfortable smells
might as we'll not have been at all. I was cold
and wrctched
And over and over again had I to say to my
self what heard our pastor say often: "Nev-
cr give anything TO chance ,beggars. my dear
friends; always bestow your aims on worthy
persons, through woll-organized societies" be-
fore could get bit Of comfort. And what
IN old fool was to cry, thought when I
found my cheeks wet
But did not cry long, for, as sat there,
dash and crash and jingle came sleigh over
the road, and it stopped nt our gate and 1
heard my Charles voice crying: "Halloa,
nothcr !" And out went to the door, and
had him in my arms, my great, TALL handsome,
brown son. And there he was in his uniform,
with his pretty shoulder-straps, and MS hearty
as if he never had been through any hnrdshps
He had to leave me to put the horse up, and
then I had By the fire my own boy And
Druslla, who had been up stairs, and had been
crying-why, I wonder?-camc down all in a
hutter-for they were like brother and sister
and he kissed her, and she kissed him, and
then away she went to set the table, and the
nice hot things smoked on cloth MS
white as snow and how Charlie enjoyed
them! But once, in the midst of ALL I felt a
frightened feeling como over me, aud know l
turned pale, for Drusilla said: "Nyhat is tho
matter, Aunt Fairfax Z"
said nothing; but it was this: Kind O.
like the ghost Of step, going champ, champ,
over the frozen snow kind o. like tho obost