The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1902-11-19
BILL aap Ind sis VlFE ALONE.
An Old Virginia Gentleman Invites
Them TO His Birthday Dinner.
Atlanta Constitution.

Lord Bacon said, Wives are young
mems mistresses, companions for mid
die age and old mems nurses. Inere
IS truth in that and my wife Is nursing
me now. Cur girls have gone of, one
TO wedding and the other to Atlanta
on visit. I told them to go, for they
have been penned up here with me
for four long months and 5beir mother
said she would take care OF me until
they returned. get along pretty well
during the day, but at night my
cough IS distressing and my wife has
Z TO dose me with various remedies until
Get to sleep. The rain has come at
last and purified the air and l feel
better. Yes, We two are alone IN a
great big house. She sits in her ac-
customed corner and sews most all day
long, while i sit opposite in mine and
write CT read aloud TO her, ana Wnen
meal time CONES she sits at one end OF
the table and ] at the otner, and
that's all.
Old Father Gibbons came nine miles
YESTERDAY to see me and TO invite nie
and ny wife to his birthday dinner.
Next week he will be So years old, and
still gets about lively and takes COM
fort in meeting his friends and abus-
inc the Yankees. 1t is hard to recon
struct these old veterans, especially
when hey come from Virginia. He and
his brother moved to Georgia just af-
ter the close of the war. He settled IN
this county on good farm and MS
brother located in Rome. never was
st the old gentieman's house but once
ana that was IN 1866. His brother
was a game man and had been a col
onel In the Confederate army. When
the carpet-baggers and mean nlggers
oYer-un their section and piundered
every rebels home, the colonel organ
ized a band Of avengers and played ku
klux among them and whipped them
and ran them off, and later they
came back with Federal officers and the
colonel and his band had TO leave to
save their lives.
Not long after the colonel had settled
in Zone the Virginia carpet-baggers
GOT q military order for his arrest and
transportation TO Virginia for trial.
A deputy marshal and another fellow
came. secretly to Rome, but the coll
.onel had already been advised OF their
coming and SO one dark night about 10
o'clock he came to my house and told
me his peril, and said he could go to
his Brothers place In this county ana
hide out until the pursuit had blowed
over. So j hitched my horse TO our
3rockaWay. and We left IN haste. / knew
the road to Kingston and he knew the
rest of the way.
It vas about 3 O'Clock when we
reached the place and saw the gin
house out IN the field. There we stop
ped and he took refuge in it, and
told me to tie my horse ont IN the
bushes and then go down and rouse up
his brother. This is the old man who
asked as to come and dine with him.
When knocked at the door he came
In his night clothes ard said. Who
is that and what do you want"' |
whispered my business and told him to
talk low, for We didn't want the
family or the negroes to know any
thing. He put on his clothes and went
to his brother and got in my con-
seyance and made for Rome, where
arrived about sunrise. The colonel
kept hid in the gin house under the
cotton for nearly month and then
dared to return, for the officers had
departed.
I never see this fine old Virginia
gentleman but what / think OF that
ride and the narrow escape his brother
made. Verify reconstruction was
worse than war. But it is all over
now. thank the good Lord, and We can
hold our reunions and carry our battle
torr banners and build our monuments
and Law the corner stone for Winnie
Davis, and lynch the brutes that as
sault our wives and daughters. and as
GoVsrnec Oates said TO our defa,ners
in Congress, What are yea going to
do about it?!7' And as for lynching, |
repeat what ], hare said before, Let
the good work go on. Lynch EN-
Hang 'emI Shoot 'ern. Burn 'em. =
Israel Putnam went into cave with a
torch to shoot the wolf that had de-
voursd the lambs OF his fock, and 3ass
So would lynca the brntes who out
rage our women. He is not human.
He is brute, a beast and all these
demonstrations by Governors and
Judges and sherifs are hypocritical
and perfunctory. In sheir breast they
rejoice in the lynching.
And there is another set of hypocrites
who infest our Southern land. mean
those who for the sake of filthy lucre
and nothing else invite Roosevelt to
visit their city and they promise him
an ovation. He comes nearer being
a igure-head Of President than any
we have ever had. He is confirm
ed slanderer of great and good man,
and Re knows he slandered him and
will not retract or apologize. Our wo-
men have just laid corner stone for
a monument to his lamented daughter
and our veterans and members Of the
Legislature approved it by their pres
encs, and yet some of the same crea-
lures would invite Roosevelt to Savan-
nah and Macon and Augusta. /
wouldn't invite any man to my town
whom I wouldn't invite to my house,
and no man who fought for the Lost
Cause or respects Mr.. Davis would do
that. There is more patriotism today
among our woman than among our
men.