The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-09-02
CHAPTER II.

CHAPTER II.
"AND THE DEATH-ANGEL FLAPS HIS
BROAD WINGS DER THE DALE"
Sidney ploughed on in silence. He
was modest and had very humble
opinion of his attainments. Ever
since learnin" the alphabet he had
studied and read everything that came
in his way. His had not been rose
strewn path. Father and mother he
could not recol'ect. His father had
been in the army during the closing
years of the war. He came home to
find his paternal estate gone, swallow
ed up in that great maelstrom, securl-
ty debts two words which meant fl
mancial ruin to hundreds of easy-going
SoutherncrS, who had never eXper-
fenced, until then. the primal curse.
In the sweat of thy brow shalt
thou earn thy bread" Albert
johnson came home and went to
work clerking for his fathers former
oversecr. Several years went by. AL
ert did not have the mOney-making
instinct; for the very good reason that
he had never felt the need of it. He
dressed handsomely, subscribed to all
the church charities wherewith de-
vout women periodically torment the
soul of the average clerk on small
salary. He hired stylish turnouts
when the charities were quiescent.
He was very popular, general society
favorite and the ideal hero of more
,hau one girl, Well, lie finally fell in
love himself with Lois Sidney. They
were married-were happy, ideally
happy. and named their only child, a
son, Albert Sidney Johnston, but that
cruel monster, typhoid fever, which is
ever lurking in small towns, rs wei as
large cities, carried off both mother
and father, and the beautiful prattling
boy was an orphan indeed.
"Who was to take the little Or
phan ?"
After the funeral those assembled de-
parted some carelessly, some with a
feeling that something ought to be
done but with the thrifty, fear that
that something" might fail Oh his or
her individual shoulders, so one by one,
group by group, they departed, till only
the minister and his wife, the doctor
and Mrs. Marketable, remained.
Little Sidney lay asleep in Mrs.
Marksdale's arms; the minister's wife
sighed softly and held her own little
boy close to her heart Out on the pi-
azza the gentlemen discussed the sit
uatiOn.
"What shall we do with the little
one," said the minister, ''Are there no
relatives >"
None, whatever, and no orphan
asylum in the county either, that is,
none at present. We had Il splendid
one, but it has Just been closed by the
powers that be.n The minister was
lately come and was Immediately in
terested in this statement.
"Tell ME of it," said Mr.. Ferris, "per-
haps we can get some aid from those
funds in rearing and educating the
boy-for it goes without saying, that ]
will have to take the child, if no one
else offers"
"The facts are these" said DR.. Oar.
by, over century ago DR.. Della Tour,
Il noble Hueguenot, one of the original
settlers Of this county. left his native
France with band of colonists and
sought in America that religious liber-
ty which was denied at home. He ac-
cumulated a fortune and at his death
beuueathed it to the maintenance,
lodging, educating and clothing
of twenty four pnor children,
orphans to have the preference.
These are the words of the will, as it
occasioned 4 fierce newspaper war
when the instution WAS ciused. CHS
olm, Editor of the News. vino by the
way is Il whole sOuled noble fellow, es-
poused the cause of the orphans and
Ridley, one of these cOme-and-go
youngsters who start new paper eve
ry six months or so, advocated the
closing of Sans S0uci, the beautiful
and suggestive name given to the in
stitution by its classical founder. Rid
ley was not u brilliant writer, but he
carried the point for the trustees.
Why, he even said, Talk about poor
people in the South, anybody can be
rich in this glorious cline. 1t is all
insult toa man to propose to feed,
, house, clothe and educate his children
/ when there is Il free public school on
, every hill. And as to the orphans, let
! their kinsmen adopt them or bind
them out to others. The idea of al in.
| dustrial school is contrary to the spirit
. of southern chivalry and civilization.
. Then Chisolm replied that it was q
: wrong to the dead and Il robbery OF
: the orphan and the poor to close the
institution. The money had been Civ
: Ell aud should he used for this specific
= purpose. Then in burst of eloquent
scorn Chisolm closed thus: "Black
t slavery is gone-must we make white
$ slaves out of our dead neighbours little
ones? Bind them out! For shame
"May God do SO t. me and more alst
if | raise not my voice against thi
. base proposal, "To resume" said th'
; young doctor more quietly. for he hat
S been somewhat carried away by hi:
theme, ridley was on the wrong sid
| yet he carried his point"
81 "What Il pity, what 4 shame" sait