The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1916-02-17
"POOR CONRAD"
AND HIS FRIENDS.
AT EVENTIDE THERE IS LIGaT
FOR HIM..REFLECTIONS ON
THE AILEGORY OF LEE.

Editor County Record
had the good fortune yesterday
to visit Kingstree. the city by the
Wee Nee, old, historic Kingstree,
which is my home at present and has
been So for the past year or so, with
the good family of Mr. ] ] Dennis, a
place love so well. To add to its
charms, it is so near the river, where
can sit on the piazza and see the
turbid water as it flows by, bearing
on its bosom, as the water rises at-
ter heavy rains, old rotten logs, drift
wood, leaves and trash, some large
and some small pieces passing on
and on, some floating smoothly
along, others drawn into eddies and
still for time, while still others are
sucked into small whirlpools. some
into larger ones. Round and round
they 90. Some sink down out OF
sight, to rise no more. while others
by a passing breeze are gently blown
out and float on down the stream,
perhaps to strike some obstruction
and become lost to view. 1t reminds
me so much of life and humanity.
If we will think only for a moment.
how much we resemble the drift
wood. The large. the small, a few
sound pieces, many knotted, some
rotten and fit for nothing, but we
are floating down all the same. How
long we may remain on the surface
or how soon strike an obstruction
and sink out of 81 mo man knows.
As the old river continues to flow,
so time is passing. too.
am at this writing not far from
Black river, near enough to hear my
friend, Robert Reardon, calling his
hogs at evening time light. spend
most of my time with Robert and
his family. He is a kind-hearted
man and like a brother to Poor Con-
rad" His wife is daughter OF my
old friend, the late D < Mouzon.
Maggie" as we call her, is smart
and able to take hold of anything in
the house or on the farm. She can
harness up the mule to the buggy
and 20 miles into the country on
business that her husband has not
time to attend to. She can cook as
good corn bread and bake as nice
sweet potatoes as any cook, and the
coffee, with sugar, and butter like
cream-oh, my! it makes my mouth
water to think about it when in the
dark recesses of old Black river. In
the family are three husky boys and
one girl, as smart and sprightly as
can be found at her age. 1t would
be interesting to visitor to see how
they gather round me when come
in from the swamp. sometimes about
dark, when they run to the woodpile
and get some lightwood knots and
cast them on the fire, soon to blaze
up and warm me. My shoes and
socks are sometimes soaked with
water. when they remove my shoes
and while one gets dry socks for me,
the little girl quickly washes the
muddy socks and hangs them on the
back of chair to dry. If l get my |
shoestrings into knot. it gives me
no trouble, for they all have hawk
like eyes and the knot is loosed at
once.
These things may look small to
folks, but let US look around and see
the discord not only among individ-
uals, but see how the nations are
at war destroying one another.
Some of the wisest and greatest
countries are struggling to over
power each other. Poor old un-
fortunate Mexico cannot get to
peace and rest. Nations are like in
dividuals when they wrangle and
fuss, quarreleand fight. 1t seems
as if they get into the habit and it Is
like all other practices when kept up
for O time We mnst 90 on doing