The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1901-02-13
A COMMENTED CITIZEN.
He Moved to Town from the
Country and Likes the
Change

Change. ,
EDITOR demonstrating accumulat- 6
ed little money by the slow and la |
borious process of farming; having be- {
come a little weary of the circum-
scribed social and intellectual life of ,
the community in which | lived: and
last, but most important, being pos ,
sessed of a son and daughter, the for
mer sixteen, the latter fourteen, on
whom desired to bestow the best ed
vocational advantages, / determined TO
move to some college town and there
spend the remainder of my days. But
| decided that | would be careful as to
my choice of a town. 1t must be
healthy and it must be moral. After
having weighed the advantages and
disadvantages of several different
towns, finally fixed upon Brookhaven
as the place of my future residence.
| was attracted by the name; | studied
it. Brook" reminded me of run
ming water, than which there is moth
ing purer or more beautiful, and 1T |
stood for the health of the place.
Haven what moral rest and peace,
what intellectual satisfaction did |
those syllables suggest! 1t was as If
an angel had pointed the way and
said: There is where you should CO.
There is health for it is the highest
point on the /. G. between jackson
and New Orleans; there are educa-
tional advantages behold Whitworth |
College and the public graded school;
and there you will find good morals,
for are there not many churches and
are you not aware that they have ban
ished the saloon?"
1t has now been about a year since
l came to this lovely town and never
for an instant have / regretted it.
True, in some measure, my plans have
gone awry, but do not the best laid
plans sometimes "gang that way
But it has hot been the fault of the
town.
My daughters progress in music
and drawing, for few months, was all
that could be desired, and she, no
doubt, would still be progressing, were
she not, alas! reposing in the old fam
lily burying ground. | cannot account
for my daughters death in this per-
fectly healthy town. She often spoke
to me, in her artless way, of the de-
lightful cleanliness of the place.
"Why, papa" she would say, "as
go along to school, the sweetest odors
! are waited to me from the gut
/ tiers and back lots of this dainty little
! city. Do you know those odors re
: mind me of 'Sabean spices waited
from the shores of Araby the blest?
All, we'll, she appreciated the town and
she was learning fast, but she passed
away with a slow fever last summer
Such a plump, rosy-cheeked lassle
The fever was probably caused by at
mospheric changes.
My son,--I am a little troubled
about my son. He goes to school and
| suppose he is learning. But he is sc
fascinated with the town and the soci
ETY. of the studious and perfectly NOR
al boys he has met, that | cannot keel
him indoors at night. have diff
Guilty, too in persuading him tC
attend church and Sunday school
He says that on Sunday his brain is 81
4 fatigued that he cannot take in ser
hot
:, stand around on the street corners
and watch the people go by. He ha
formed an annoying habit of cQntinu
Z ally chewing orange peel and spices
4 This, he claims, is good for the brain
! But what most alarms me is hi
mothers finding cards, dice and Gig
arctic book in his pockets, and the fac
that he came home one night in
very queer state, indeed. He assure
n me, however, with quotations fror
Z the classics, that there was "nothil
Z, the matter, OF man, nOthin' the ma
ter and | am sure the articles | mel
. toned as being found in his pocket
n we're used in class by the teacher, b
Ii way of illustration, and given to m
N son as souvenirs; in fact, he told b
Y, mother that they were. | said that
Y was alarmed. | meant that | woul
y be, if this were not Brookhaven.
y it possible for young men to form ba
, habits in this cultured, progressiv
. prohibition town? Perish the though
h. / ~ or Inn a G
too, had the prevailing fever and sin'
that time, has been a prey to warrior
ailments. But she always would tai
everything except my advice. As f
myself, really, think l have becon
stronger since my residence hel
Why, yesterday, as wife and | were 6
a ing to the drug store, a drunken neg
HI-he must have been Canton negro
insolently elbowed my wife and sp
upon her dress. Well, | felt stro
enough then to do something desp'
ate. But | controlled myself. l
membered that was among law-abi
ing and order-loving people and tn
must be law-abiding and order-l'
ing.
To sum it all up, | am glad l cal
here, and it is to show my appreciate
of the town, what it has done for I
is now doing and is likely to do, \
Editor. that / write you this lett
lust as would write testimonial
! patent medicine.
Yours truly,
COMMENTED CITIzEN