The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-07-18
Plunkett to the Children.

It is easy enough to hear of some
sweet character of the female sex,
but it is seldom we ever hear men
praised till after they are dcad-why
not?
Every little fellow has some one in
mind whom he has learned to love
from watching or hearing Of their
lovely traits of character. If we were
to ask the little readers to state the
man they loved the most-of course,
outside Of kindred-.there would be a
general jumping up to call the names
Of old preachers, old teachers, old
doctors, old merchants, old farmers,
old lawyers, old editors calling
of life would have sounded the name
of some lovely character. The world
is not SO bad if we only seek cut the
good. ,
Necessarily, the name Of one Of
these lovely characters must be called
| in what is to follow, and so sure am |
| of the feelings of the people, little
| and big, that I know every heart
| will all answer eyes" when l
| mention the loveliest of them all
DR.. A. W. Calhoun, the healer of the
| blind.
| It is of patient Of this good doctor
I wish to write you-a little blind boy
| once, but now, with sight restored, he
works upon the farm close to me to
| help along dear mother who led and
! ever tired for him in the days of his
| affection.
Little John-that is the blind boy S
| name-had never looked upon his
mothers face. He had never seen
the green woods, the blue sky, the
| birds, nor the flowers. He had heard
Of things called ugly and things call.
ed pretty, but he knew nothing Of
| colors or hues, of forms and deformi-
ties. His "feel'' was very sensitive
| and the only eyes he had. He knew q
| tender touch and loved the sound Of
kind words, and these he came to as
sociate as things Of beauty-as "pret-
| ty things" In his blind condition
his mother was the tenderest, and,
| therefore, she was the prettiest thing
on earth to little John. For hours he
| loved to sit upon that mothers knee
| and run his fingers over her face.
Her face was thing Of beauty with
him, and he could trace every wrin-
kle, place every freckle and feast upon
| it's beauty in his mind.
The fact of the case was that little
| John mother was not "pretty,' she
| was old, and hard work and time and
| sorrow had taken the bloom from her
form, the brightness from her eye.
She knew this, and when DR.. Calhoun
| announced that he would have little
John seeing upon the next week,
something Of pang came to the
mothers heart that her son would not
find her the Hpretty thing he had
pictured in his mind.
For the last week of john blind.
ness all the talk had been Of "st eng.
He wanted to see his mother the first
thing, then DR.. Calhoun-for the doc
tor had been kind and tender and won
the little fellows heart-the doctor
was "pretty," too. Then he was going
to stroll through the woods without
being led; he was going down and see
the water he had so often heard rumble
over the little shoal at his mothers 8
wash place." he was 20 count all the
stars and look upon the silvery moon
"a thousand things little John would
talk of seeing, but he must see his
mother first.
The day came for the blind boy to
be carried to Atlanta to have the
black bandage taken from his eyes.
Some Of the neighbors went along
one ''real pretty young lady, whom
the mother Of John had intended to
substitute for herself in the boys
first "sight.' At the Office of DR.:
Calhoun the mother was persuaded
out of this deception. The good doc
tors lovely wife joined in persuad-
ing, and carried the mother to
her own room and helped to improve her
looks. ;,
At last the doctor took the blinds
boys hand and led him into a dark
room. After some training, the su-
preme moment had arrived-John was
to see. The mother was called. DR..
Calhoun placed her in front of her son
and then stood behind his patient s
chair and raised the black bandage::
John is strong plowboy now: and
has seen the beauties of the world,
but he says that every wrinkle upon
his mother face is just as dear and
that she is still to him the pref
tiest and sweetest thing of all the
earth.-Sarge Plunket, in Atlanta
| Constitution.
Humor In the Family.