Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1900-02-28

HIS mothers Bible aUas open.
ers and more empty words Of condo
lence, he told himself, and held the pa
per behind his candle. Again that low
suppressed cry Of terror from the boys
startled lips!
Whoever had woven that loosely
bound wreath Of white cosmos, his
mothers favorite flower, with which to
crown his fathers brow had wrapped
about 1t bit Of his fathers own hand
writing, a careless, needless mistake.
Even as he pondered the mystery Of
the cosmos he was greedily reading the
contents Of the paper.
1t was only page Of an unfinished
letter, but the date made it precious.
The habits of lifetime had held good
in the hour Of extremity. His father
never failed to date. Only two nights
before that letter had been begun-and
ended-when the pen had dropped
from a nerveless hand. And yet, even
as he read, Tom was conscious of a
perplexing discrepancy. His guardian
had said no letter had been written to
him.
But thoughts Of his guardian were
violently showed aside. This letter,
unfinished, but priceless-where had it
come from? He read and reread 1t
standing there before his fathers pic
ture, unconsciously crushing the for
gotten cosmos under his feet:
"My boy, soon to be my lonely boy,
the last Of the BroXtons. have prayed
very earnestly to be permitted to stay
until you reached my bedside, but the
sands are running out Of my glass too
rapidly. Let me try to write what l
may not be permitted to say.
"My son, l am leaving you in a
perilous condition-young, Uniformed,
the possessor of accumuIating wealth,
which means accumulating tempta-
tions and responsibilities.
81 have desired for you a practical
rather than q classical education.
anticipated, being a vigorous man and
not burdened with years, that l should
be in the flesh when you came to the
time Of life demanding parental in
terest In your affairs. have looked
forward to many years of good COM
radeship with my boy. Heaven has
decreed otherwise.
~ must condense into a paragraph
what I had hoped to distill into your
young mind through many years Of
happy and loving intercourse. Use
your wealth. Do not let it misuse you.
Remember that riches take fight often
in the most unforeseen fashion. I can
at this time foresee no contingency
that would reduce you to the estate OF
q poor man; but, should such catas-
trorhe befall, God grant that your
brains and your hands may prove good
substitutes for lands and stocks. Dur
ing your minority your affairs will be
managed by my lifelong friend, Hor-
ace Matthews, in whose business ca
pacity 1 have great confidence. But no
man should yield blindly to the guild
ance Of another. Bear in mind that
your responsibilities are your own, to
be shouldered, not shirked. to be borne
by no one but yourself.
81 desire you on the day Of your ma
jority to take the management Of your
affairs into your own hands, subject,
of course, to advice from your ex-
guardian. You will owe it to yourself
to obtain a clear insight into the man.
agement of affairs during your minori-
ty. No honest steward will object to
this accounting. AS for your guardian.
while trust him implicltly-I"-
Tom turned the paper over impa-
Surely there must be some
thing more. Not an added syllable!
Where had this unfinished letter, so
precious and so all important, been
found? Who had conveyed it to his
hands?
He had himself searched every draw
er and every compartment OF his ia
theirs desk and found nothing. He had
questioned Mr.. Matthews with queru-
lous insistence, only to be assured by
him that his father had left nothing
for him personally in writing, and yet
here, twisted ruthlessly about the
stems Of flowers which came no one
knew whence, were his fathers last
most precious utterances Of advice and
love.
He folded the piece Of twisted paper
into proper shape and laid 1t away in
an inner pocket Of his waistcoat. The
flowers which he had crushed under
his heels sent up sickly fragrance. A
strong gust Of wind set his candle
aflare. 1t guttered and died out sud-
denly, only to add to his sense of shud-
dering isolation. He could have cried
aloud for human companionship, for
the sound Of a fellow creatures voice.
He bethought him Of the friendly
watchers down stairs.
On second thoughts he should not
like to face his fathers faithful friends
with white lips and trembling limbs.
He would quiet his nerves by spending
q few moments In his fathers own
room. Amid it's familiar surroundings
be could relisht his candle and regain
his lost self control. He passed through
the connecting door into the larger
room so intimately associated with his
beloved dead.
BY the mantclshelf there used to be
always q supply Of matches. That