Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1900-06-15
-. - CORRESPONDENTS sg
Vap Buren,, Pa.

duI UP VI my Hlc, l. CdluC uOW
the river from Shiloh on the Str.
Tennessee" and all that night
there was a sound of revelry like
that which floated out on tn
breezes of Belgium just befor,
the booming artillery of Waterlo4
made men and women turn pale,
and in the midst of it, the re arose
sever and anon," as Samantha
would say, the familiar echo of
"Back Again! Swing Fourw Well
here / am! Back Again! Yes!
Back at home, and glad of it, too,
as a fellow always is after a two.
thousand miles ride-though ev.
cry inch of the journey was crow
ded with pleasure.
1t was never my good fortune
to meet so many Old-time friends
in the small compass of eighteen
day as l met on this trip. At
Louisville; at Nashville; at Chatta.
nooga; at Corinth, and in Hardin
and adjoining counties. 10 q
Hardin countian, Hardin county
is always the center of the earth.
No boy ever left it's green hills
and overlooking bottoms but who
remembers his childhoods home
was so exactly in the center of
the earth that the star.dotted sky
always came down at an equal
distance all around. Possibly in
after years he cherished a tender
feeling feeling for people in Nc.
Marry and Wayne and Decatur
and Henderson counties that
made them all feel akin, but this,
perhaps, came from sympathy Cor
those who were doomed to live
a way off on one side Of the world
as they were.
l remember now that when the
sun came tiptoing over the hills
of Wayne county, we Hardin
countians always saw its smile
just about as soon as our neigh.
bOrs on the east, and when it went
to led over behind the sand hills
of McNairy, and modest nature
"blushed" at the scene We Hardin
county people saw the whole per.
formance as clearly as the McNai.
ry countians did. And when the
hcnd of the Almighty hung the
peaceful rainbow out on the trail
of the dark storm cloud the Har.
din county boy always stood
right under the center of it's arch.
Sometimes it was so close that
one end stood over the old swim.
ming hole while the other end
rested in the plum orchard but
the arch was over the home and
how easily we might have had
gold by digging at the end of the
bow, but we did not dig, because
we did not want the gold. We
had something better--innocence
and cOntentment.
Since then | have found a few
places that was ais near the center
of the earth as Hardin county
was then, bat the sun rises and
sets so much farther away from
these central spots than it did in
Hardin county and the rainbows
are so much higher up in the air
and the moon has grown 50 cold
and formal that they do not pos.
sess the old tlmo charms.
The sky really comes down
around Van Buren, at an equal
distance on every side, but the
distance is so much greater than
it was in Hardin county that |
grow tired when thinking of il.
The moon still keeps up It's old ir.
regular habits here as it did in
Hardin county in the 'olden time.'
Sometimes peeping over its gold
en- rim at us just for a few min.
utes in the early evening; and ut
other times getting as full as a
tick and going on an all night
lark and then again pointing and
hiding itself altogether, but not.
withstanding lis moods, it often
ran foot races with me in Hardin
county, thing it never does
here. On how tenderly | recall
the hundreds of times when the
full moon played FINLEY bright
with ns children on the commons,
and how at cventide it ran foot
races with me through the sage
grass" and 40 matter which way
turned my footsteps it never out
ran me but kept close to my side.
Now when | go out for an even
ing drive this old familiar friend
simply stands still and stares! |
wonder if riding makes the differ
ence!
But excuse this philosophising
am writing to my many gray and
grazing friends whose warm hand
shakes carried me back" 10 the
days OF childhood aud filed my
heart again with the simplicity of
unfeigned lOve--lo tell them that
meeting them again strengthened
my lies purposes, TO mo the re-
newal Of these early associations
was ravishihgly sweet, but there
is one shadow that haugs over
them all.