The Covington leader. (Covington, Tenn.) 18??-current, 1917-05-17


correctly written without giving larRf
Il place to woman. Many Of the picked
men Of France, Russia, England, and
now the flower of our own country are
being called upon to go into battle fol
the sake Of liberty and peace, but the
bravery and heroism of this great
world war can never be fully por-
trayed until the rightful place has
been given woman. 1t takes more
heartache and suffering for a mother
to give her only boy to be sacrificed
upon the altar Of patriotism some
times than it does upon the part OF
the boy who don't fully understand
what suffering means.
"The bravest battle that was ever
fought,
Shall | tell you where and when?
On the maps of the world you'll find
it not
Twas fought by the mothers Of men.
NAY, not with cannon or battle shot,
! With sword or nohler pen.
Nay, not with eloquent word or tho't
From mouth of wonderful men.
"But deep in the walled-up woman's
heart
Of woman that would not yield,
But bravely, silently bore her part
10, there is the battlefield.
"No marshalling troop, no bivouac
song,
No banner to CLEAN and wave,
But, 0, these battles, they lasted SO
long
From babyhood to the grave"
To James Lane Allen, the part his
mother played in what he is and in
what he has been able to do has never
been forgotten, and with each book
he writes line Of grateful recogni-
tion. So in front of "The Kentucky
Cardinal" this intimate memory is re-
called: This is to her from one who
in childhood used to stand at the win
dows Of her room and watch for the
cardinal among the snow buried
cedars." Again in "The Reign Of
Law" you read: ITO the memory of
father and mother whose self-sacri-
fee, high sympathy and devotion the
writing of this story has caused to
live afresh in the eVer-growing, never
aging gratitude of their son." And
going back to the "Flute and Violin
Stories, there is something stronger
and sweeter than them all: ITO her
from whose frail body he drew life in
| the beginning, from whose strong
spirit he will draw life until the close,
these tales, with all others haply here
after to be written,are dedicated as
a perishable monument of ineffable
remembrance"
John Quincy Adams said: "All that
! am my mother made me-" Abraham
Lincoln said: "All that | am or hope
to be, / owe to my angel mother" a
lady who once asked the privilege to
be introduced to S. S. Prentiss said,
II congratulate the mother who has
such a SOM. He Immediately and
warmly replied, Rather congratulate
the son on having such mother.
After one Of the hard fought battles
of the Civil war, a Confederate chap
lain was called hastily to see a dying
soldier. Taking his hand, he said,
Well, my brother, what can ! do for
your" He supposed, Of course, that
the dying soldier would want him 70
cry for help in his extremity, but it
was not so. Chaplain" he said, Il
want you to cut a lock of hair for my
mother; and then, chaplain, ! want
you to kneel down and return thanks
to God for me-" "For what?" asked
the chaplain. "For giving me such a
mother. Oh! she is good mother.
Her teachings are my comfort now.
And then, chaplain, thank God that by
His grace an a Christian. What
would do now if were not Christ
ian? And thank Him for giving me
dying grace. He has made this hard
bed feel soft as downy pillows are.
And Oh, chaplain, thank Him for the
promised home in glory-I'll be there
soon" "And So, said the chaplain, II
kneeled by his bed with not petition
to utter; only praises and thanksgiv-
ing for a good mother, Christian
hope, dying grace, and an eternal
home in glory"
"God thought to give the sweetest
thing
In His almighty power, and deeply
bordering
What it should be ~ one hour
In fondest joy and love of heart
Outweighing every other.
He moves the gates Of heaven apart
And gave to earth - mother.
! once read story Of an angel who
stole out of heaven and came to this
world one bright, sunshiny day; roam
ed through field, forest, city and ham
let, and as the sun went down plumed
his wings for the return flight. The
angel said, "Now that my visit is
over, before / return / must gather
some mementos of my trip" He
looked at the beautiful flowers of
the garden and said, How lovely and
fragrant, and plucked the rarest
roses, made bouquet and said, Il see
nothing more beautiful and fragrant
than the flowers" The angel looked
further, and saw a bright-eyed. rosy
checked child, and said, "That boy is
prettier than the flowers; / will take
that, too, and, looking behind to the
cradle, he saw mothers love pouring
out over her babe like gushing
spring, and the angel said, "The moth
er's love is the prettiest thing l have
seen; ! will take that, too"