The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-03-01


ing bird was turning every other bird s
talent into significance. ] he little
colorcd girl brought her morning
parcr and laid it down on her lap and
sat down at her feet to sort the stock
incs in her work basket Mrs. Rivers
read the editorials and then turned to
,hc war news. The headlines looked
uaict and down the column were the
names Of two moro identified dead
bodies; only regulars. j. +. Rivers,
private, was one Of the names, follow
ed by the company and regiment mum
bcrs. 1t was her only son.
She laid the paper down in her lap
and sat looking out over the straggly
grass in the yard, over which the
great bulky magnolia trees threw great
shadows.
The mocking bird was now singing
y luxurious cOntraltO solo, having fin
ishcd initiating amateurs: the little
tarkcy at her feet was thrusting her
fingers into the stockings and hum
ming tune. From the kitchen win
COW floatcd out folk song, which the
cook was singing.
Mrs. Rivers caught herself thinking
., this tune and remembered that she
had read somewhere that persons often
.,au hn tnr En- finc
around them when q mental blow has
struck them like club
She remembered thinking how i'm
possible a negro beautiful tones are
10 initiate, how it was claimed that
The reason for Mclba great magnet
ism came from her being the only sing
or who could strike the exact shade
Of sound that Il negro coulI-then she
%ondercd where she had read that
How wonderful the cook was sing
ing. From who did she inherit that
hypnotic middle Of the note. 1t was
especially noticeable when she sang
that minor refrain, "Chariot Of the
Lord rolling on. Her mind then
.ooi up the thread Of her boy child
hood and she realized how her heart
had achcd through all those early
:ni>dcmcanors Of his. of that first
awful fear awakening that probably
her boy was not morally rcsponsiblc,
that what she had forced herself to
accept as childish indiscrctions were
growing into settled ilmoralitirs
She had prayed to God with clcnchcd
hands night after night that such
would not he the case that the boy
would prove himself as much a man
as the father.
The father had never seen this
child. 1t was born while he was in
,he Army of the Potomac just as he
was going into battle, and all he could
do was to write the prayer that should
death come 10 him while he wore the
grey the boy might grow Up TO be son,
protector and guide to his mother.
Death touched the father with honor.
Hlcn chccrcd him as he fell and wept
when they dragged his riddlcd body
off the battlefield. Dying, he carved
his name high among the State
heroes, where men said he would have
placed it even had he lived and never
fought with Il musket.
She thought Of that first serious
trouble the boy had brought home and
low she had spent her savings that
the town people might not hear OF it;
how she had schemed and planned to
bear her grief over him, alone, SO she
would have no pity shown her. She
was too proud for pity She grew to
shrink from the newspapers, fearing
she might see his name in great letters
staring at her from the headlines,
doing-she dared not think what.
She wondered how the other mothers
stood their children's immoralities
with such cquanimity, going about
their friends as if all were we'll. A
loud ring at the door always made her
nerves thrill until they achcd. And
now he was dead
For the first time she saw his name
in print. but the letters we're small
and the people on the staff of the
paper didn't seem to know that this
was Jack Rivers of their own town.
She was right i'll that surmsc. The
people on the paper didn't know.
They hardly knew that there was a
Mrs. Rivers i'll that town They were
1T newer generation and even the
older town people never knew why
this woman had grown so old and
bowed and silent at fifty. Few visi-
tors came to the little old rambling
house; she rarely went out except to
\