The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-05-16
"Ellen, they left a son, about the same
age of our Frank; and we must be father
and mother to that doubly orphaned
.hsll y


are of our Frank; and we must be father
and mother to that dcubly orphaned
1--WE will, we WILL" said Ellen. "We
will make him happy, ard keep him So
as far as lies in our power. Were oul
Frank left as he is left, hope and trust
that he would find a home in some
happy, hopeful, human heart, or hearts
pure and true, with a gentle firmness
that would efectuslly withhold him
from the paths of evil" :,
Frank understood something of theil
conversation, and he said.
"ls there something in that naughty
letter, full of sorrow that made my pa
and ma cry, about little boy"
: eyes, child" replied the mother" there
is something about a little boy with no
father and mother" :,
He wound his arms about his mothers
neck. and said: 20, do get him, ma:
Coax him to come. Tell him thst will
give ali my playthings to him-sled,
wheelbarrow and rocking.horse and
wagon. want g little brother so much.
Frank Smith has two little brothers to
play with him, and / have to play by
inyself-have no little brother" -.
awe will make an effort to get him to
come = said his mother. eve will write
to the sorrowing friends, and tell them
of our desire to adopt the child, and II
we receive a favorable reply, we will go
and bring him home with u.s."
The letter was dispatched by the flrst
mail, in which Thomas Williams stated
the fact that he and his wife wished to
adopt and rear, as their own, the orphan
child of their departed brother and sister,
and they hoped for speedy and tavora-
BILE answer. They soon received the fol-
aDsARLY BELOVED BROTHER AND
S1sTER-Your favor, is at hand, and the
request therein written has been duly
considered, and every reason for and
against granting such request has been
duly weighed, and allow me to say that
could not possibly bring myself to the
point of parting with the child. l shall
retain him, not only because of the re.
quest of my sainted sister, that I.should
raise the child as my own, but because OF
my great love for the child. His mother
was nv only sister, and as the child IS
very beautiful, and very precocious; you
can well belie7e that can love him very
much, and that it would be very bitter
thing to me. to part with MIN. If it is
possible for the love of q mother for her
child to- grow up in the heart of another
than a mother, surely / love this child,
left in my care, with that love. cannot
give him up to any other person or per,
sons. cannot even bear to think OF
such thing as possible.
Respectfully, JANE i. SMITH"
Jane Smith was a maiden lady, and
was, as she had said, the sister of the
child's mother. She was q worthy wo-
man, that Thomas Williams and wife
had heard spoken of, sometimes BY mu.
tual friends, but had never seen. And
Thomas Williams said: 81 must make
another effort to get the child" And
he sat down andN wrote another letter, IN
which Was the following:
aI have read the answer to my letter,
and write again to cay that you must
give up the child of my dead brother. I
cannot allow you to retain him. ! could
give you many reasons for speaking to
YOU in manner that you will doubtless
consider abrupt. But J shall give you
but ore. That is this: Women are in
nowise calculated to rear and educate
boys. They almost invariably ruin them
by indulgences, or harden them by cru
city. Boys, as they grow UP, need firm
strong hand to guide them past the pit
falls set for them at the threshold of life
active life-the life of man."
he did not know how CALLING and bit
ter was the sentence he had penned, to
meet the eye and strike the heart of that
woman. Very clever people, sometimes,
in their self-will, are guilty of cruelty,
and do not realize the fact. Thomas
Williams did not know that jane Smith,
with her religious faith and truth, could
and did love the hapless child, as he
never could, with all his boasted intel
lect. And he seemed to have forgotten
what he had asserted u few weeks previ-
GUS, in his SORROW, that love ia all man
needs to make him blest, and happy, and
he had yet to learn that love is all man
needs to make him truly wise, good and
great. :,
He did not know that love is all
potent, almost omnipotent, and can do
almost anythiug-everything; and that
because of her earnest love for the child,
she was far better calculated to guide
him into the straight and narrow way
that leads to all good, in time and eter.
nifty, than he, with his boasted strength
of mind, and his calm, clear head, could
possibly be. He did not realize the fact
that he, gentleman, with wife and
con, had written an insult, bitter taunt
for guileless, gentle, lonely woman to
read. He had written as he thought
and as most men think. Most men think
that SONS must have fathers, and if berefl
of their own fathers some other should
take the place and exercise the authority
of such, and assume the responsibility
And if a young man is found in Jail
penitentiary, or swinging from gallows
the blame is always laid upon his mother
IL 16 HAS u uOtuCls SuO Uoo iuuoi6Sho y
she was weak, she was violent tempered
she was criminal, or she was something
that she should not have been. That ii
what the world always says. Have moi
fathers some influence over their sons
too2 Is it not just possible that father
might make mistake in the training o.
his son, that would result unfavorably
In truth, 1 have known the authority
exercised by father to have an evil in
fuence over the son.
Jane Smiths eyes burned as she reat
that letter, and her heart beat thick ant
fast, and her lip curled scornfully. %
am woman, am II" she said mocking
ly. "Yes, am woman, and Mr.. Viii
liams is a man, and strong, stern, sel6st
man, that cannot have the coveted privi
lege of hardening that delicate and lovely
boy into a man of the world, hard
hearted, calculating, selfish man, tina
would sell his own mother, had he one
at good price. Up, and awake, JAM
Smith. The Master hes given you {
work to do; and you will not shrink no
,,ltor hnt von will nprform that work "a