The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-03-16

the nelghbOrS little girls found out
they were here. They always find
out, and so they came over and joined
the procession and it was an unbroken
frolic all the day long. The little
ones brought their dolls along, for the
maternal instinct begins early. They
made playhouses ~under the trees and
played mumblepeg with my two knives,
and rode in the hall and veranda on
the tricycle. and dressed up in all the
fneSold clothes my wife could find in
the trunks and closets, and paraded
upstairs and downstairs and outdoors
i with their trains dragging after them,
and they played going to call and re-
ceiving calls. When the dinner bell
rang they all came running and it took
all my time to wait on them, and their
grandma got ont every good thing she
had in the house, and about the mid
die of the afternoon they wanted to
give little party and had to have
more cakes and crackers and pie.
Some Of the little ones got hold Of
some chalk and colored crayons and
marked all over the verapda and tried
to make pictures Of dogs and horses
and monkeys on the walls, and. then
they called for scissors and fashion
books and cut out pictures and scat
tered them all over the room. They
got hold of my mucilage bottle and
pasted things all about and even ven
tured to my little table to write let
ters while was working in the gar
den, and all their grandma said was:
sssYou had better watch out, your
grandpa is coming I'm going to
lick EN- sometime when she is not
about. But in due time they had to
go home, for
e,The day was done and the darkness
Fell from the wings of night"
Our own girls went visiting after
supper and my wife and I were alone
and not sound was heard in all the
house save the ticking Of the clock
upon the mantel. The contrast was
SO great that it was impressive and we
felt lonesome and almost sad. Each
Of us had our corner and table and
lamp and tried to read the war news,
but our old eyes were tired and we
gazed upon the fire and ruminated.
For some time we had been in silent,
serious reverie about these little, hap
py children and breathing prayer
that they might always be happy and
that NO calamity or affection might
befsll them, and then our minds
turned to our absent boys, who are
scattered far and wide, from New
York to Mexico, and we breathed
another prayer for their health and
happiness and their return to US some
of these days-yes, some OF these
days before we die they will come, we
know, but it may be to funeral in
stead of feast.
We were ruminating about all this
in silence, when suddenly my wife
seemed startled and whispered, Il
heard a football at the window. There
is somebody there Before | could
answer, the sweet, sad strains OF min
strel music began low and soft and the
violins and guitar played to the it-
ting song of cold Folks at Home. :
The minstrels he'd reconnoitered and
found that only we were at home.
They gave us but one song and were
gone-but ..lese little episodes sweet
en- the passing hours and comfort US
in our golden age. Forty-nine years
ago to-day wewere welded. 1t is like
reversing telescope to look back to
that day and time, when the glow OF
youth and health and beauty were up
on my Creole maidens cheeks, when
gems adorned her raven hair, when
the evening light was upon her brow
and pearls upon her breast as she
stood beside me at the marriage altar.
1t is like locking through kaleide-
scope to recall the days and weeks
and nsaths and years that have inter-
vened since-a kaleidoscope that at
every tura Of the sands Of time pre-
sents another picture Of life, its joys
and sorrows, its trials and iss bless
ings. Wat changes, what surprises,
and in the midst Of it all war-a
long and horrid war that always IesMs
ND before our memories and eclipses
al that was before or after. But on
the whole the lines have fallen to us
in pleasant places and we have had
more Joy than sorrow, more comfort
tbap distress. God gave US five chill