Sword and shield. (Clinton, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1885-11-21
A Mississippi Mothers lesson.

their duty in the work of Temper
ance, l will reRase, in herown words
an incident which occurred not-verS
long ago in the life of Mississippi
mother.
A grave had just been made fol
my first born beautiful boy, and one
little grave can hold all the pleasures
of the universe. Shock OF heart was
succeeded by shatter of body and
without one struggle of resistance,
wholly surrendered to the great tidal
wave ofnature thatswept over me and
soon became oblivious to everything
but the icy blackness of the flood.
While in this lamAntable condition
my dearest friends most mercifully
appreciated my yearnings to be left
alone and | was no little astonished
one day at baing informed that an
elegant, worldly women who had
lately come to reside among US,
stood at the door and insisted on
being admitted. / bade the servant
thank her for her kindness Of her
call and to make my regrets at being
too ill to see any one. She left, but
returned in a few days and received
the same denial, only to present her.
self the third time with a most i'm
Fortunate request to be admitted.
Does any one know what it is to have
all the enamel worn off their nerves? !?
Then they know how slight an irrita-
ton will bring on a frenzy. | felt
incensed at the unwarranted inten-
sion and was in the act of framing
most ungracious messages when my
mother entered the room. | related
to her the exceeding great persecu
tion of the woman's persistence and
begged that she would take the mat
ter in charge. Believe me, she did;
waiting only to administer a hasty
reprimand, she Immediately present
ed the visitor at my bedside. The
deep mourning in which she was
heavily clad and for which | was al
together unprepared, at once pro-
pitiated my resentment, but she lost
no time in assuring me that her WIS.,
it wad not one Of ceremonies con-
dolence. 81 have heard," she con-
tinued, "that you refuse to be COM
forted, but / knew that could com
fort you. Only few days before
yous little boy was taken i'll | gath
cred him up in my arms and covered
his lovely face with kisses and the
gentle uplifting of those great beau
tiful bown eyes, with their Heaven
away meaning, | will never forget.
IF | had been told then that the lit
tie fellow was gone and that you re-
fused to be cOmforted | had not mar
yelled, but alas the changes that can
be wrought by the finger Of day.
"You remember my son, what a
grand-looking, splendId-hearte fell
low he was and the sum and sub.
stance of my earthly happiness. l
presume you know that he, too, has
been taken, but did they tell you
that / stood over him and saw him
die blaspheming God-saw his beau
tifulklips contorted in cursing and
derisions Of his Savior-saw his
magnificent eyes turn into lakes of
lurid hate and saw bis soft white
hand clench in death, as he attempt
ed to raise it in defiance of his maker?
/ am not here to ask why God res
cued your son from the temptations
that overlook mine.- Why he has
blessed you and cast my soul into
this eternal trance of horror. |
have simply come to say to you, oh !
blest mother, that your son is iu
Heaven-but my son my is in
He'll" and with one wild pressure
of my hand and one long, grsping
agonizing moan she was gone. O
anguish unutterable! How quickly
/ gathered in the rejected solaces
that had so long lain pleading at my
heart-sill; how | yearned to divide |
them with the poor maddened moth
er heart that had so heroically barred |
her ghastly life-canker for my con-
and yet in all the bounty Of |
redemption there was not one "cast
rent" comfort that might be hers
for that grand-looking, splendid
hsarted fellow had died a gambler, a