The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1908-08-20
Thomasville Charity and Children.

I
The writer spends a bright week
zach summer at Riverton, IL delight
ful and cultured community in Scot
! land county, on the banks of the
Lumber river. That pleasure was
bis the first week of August.
\ great loss has been sustained
within the year. John Charles Nc
Neil is gone. Last summer he was
there, albeit with the stamp Of death
upon his face, but even though he
WAS so near the shadOwleSs land,
AND bore so great IL load of suffering,
he was the central sun OF the season.
From far and near the scattered
SONS and daughters OF Riverton re-
turn, and bring their friends with
them. All farm work is suspended
and "sunburnt boys give themselves
! np to the pleasure OF their friends.
/ Its the most uuselfish and free-heart-
rd service in the world. These boys
! forget their own interest and remem-
hrr only others.
When our poet laureate was APP
| preaching his untimely end he was
| HdmOnished by IL friend to go to IL
! hospital and seek medical treatment
NO, Sir" he answered.EI am going
where they love me-" and he hurried
home to die.
There may be other rural communi-
: ties in North Carolina that answer
the demand for rest and refreshment
rs we'll as RivertOn, but we have not
found it yet. While it is away off
from the railroad, it is supplied with
dali mail. and the intelligence of the
people is hardly surpassed by that
OF any community, unban or rural,
in the State; but the gentle grace of
the folks is the crown they wear
1t means more to the boy who has
wandered away, to be sure, to return
to his own, than it does to a stranger
TO be called by the first name, and
to recount with schOolmates the
radiant days of youth; to be petted
and iollied with the raillery of affec
tion; to step in at the back door and
feel more at home with the housewife
i'll the kitchen than with the visitor
i'll the parlor-these things are rare
indeed to the prodigal son.
We pity the man who does nOtlOve
to 90 home. He has lost the wine OF
life from whose heart has faded the
roses of the springtime. No matter
how successful he may have been in
raking together the treasures Of
earth, there are some things in this
world that money cannot buy. One
of these is the wealth of love, as deep
as the sea, that abides in the hearts
of dear ones in the old home.
The simple pleasures that make
, Riverton so sweet place might not
attract the pale devotee of society,
but they nourish the spirit of one
who throws overheard the load he
has been pulling through the year
and feels the need of rea. rest. 1t is
the ideal summer resort for people
who are not bored with sensible con-
versatiOn and employment.
Tennis for those who love that
game, swimming and bathing for
j lovers of that sport, and the ever
present hope in the heart of the
\ fisherman as he slips among the
heavy underground along the banks
| of the stream for a tussle with q
Jack Or trout lying under the lily
pads, land the ceaseless round offestive
occasions in the different homes of the
neighbors, make week glide by like
a weaver's shuttle.
Back to the work we have come
j but freshened and strengthened foI
:. strenuous campaign for the fall. 1t
$ is a tonic to have fingered for little
= season among the people who out
love all creation, and to have wan
dered through the fields and along
the paths that are hallowed by the
tender memories of the past. But
the greatest benediction of all is tc
have sat by the side of the woman
whose silent life and work have beer
a constant inspiration from baby
hood to manhood's prime.