The Valedictorian's Mother

:

The Improvement Era Prize Story for February, 1916'

It was a perfect May morning, the apple trees that grew on each side of the path from Mary Walter's kitchen to the garden gate were covered with dainty pink and white blossoms among which the bees hummed incessantly. A robin, swaying on a tiny bough, sang as if his little body were too small for the happiness within his soul. The meadow-lark called his cheery message from a leafy hedge, and, in a tiny cherry tree, near by, a humming-bird darted from flower to flower. Overhead a few fleecy, white clouds reposed against a back ground of clear blue. Everything was filled with the joy and the sunshine of the spring. Mary Walters stood at the kitchen window and gazed at the tops of the distant mountains, then at the letter in her hand. Over and over again, she had read it, each time trying in vain to make the meaning anything but what it was. This time her eyes were moist, and she saw nothing but misty characters which grad- ually formed themselves into words

Dear Sis: What is this you are writing about mother coming- down for commencement? Of course, I realize that she has done very much for me, but I will soon be in a position to make it all no to her. You had better persuade her to give up the idea of com- ing. She would be very much out of place among my friends and would, no doubt, cause me endless embarrassment. A fellow likes to have people think that his folks are a little bit classy, so if you can't ret her to stay home, see that she gets some decent clothes to come in. Tom. ''Of course schooliir does make a difference," she mused, "but why should he be ashamed of her? True, she's old-fashioned an' a bit queer, but she's his mother just the same. She's sent him to school to make a man of him an' instead she's got a stuck up thing that's ashamed of his own folks." Her thoughts were interrupted by the creaking of the garden pate, and looking up she saw her mother coming down the path. Hastily putting the letter away, she poured a kettle of hot water over the dishes and began to wash them vigorously.

*This story won first place in the February Improvement Era contest.

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THE VALEDICTORIAN'S MOTHER 635

''Land sakes, Alary! Ain't you got your dishes did. yet? I'll

bet you've been reading" again." Mrs. Lee stood in the doorway. She was a slight little woman with gray hair severely drawn back from her face and knotted tightly at the back of her head. Her face was very wrinkled and quite tanned, and her little brown hands were hard and calloused with work, but her gray eyes were bright and twinkling, and little smiles played around the corners of her mouth. She looked pleasant, and might have been dignified had it riot been for the loose, red wrapper that enveloped her form.

People who knew Mrs. Lee had ceased to be startled by seeing her in bright colors, but the stranger's first comment was often, "lack of taste." "Here, give me the towel," she commanded, as she set a pie and a pitcher of thick cream on the table, "Laws, Alary, why don't you try to get your work did in the morning? I've brought you a pie fer dinner 'cause I knowed you was so slow you'd never get one baked till supper time. What you been doin' all mornin', anyway?" "Well, I've not been doin' much of anything, mother," re- plied Alary, "Fred's gone off for the day, and so this mornin' I've just been thinkin'." "Can't you work an' think too?" was Mrs. Lee's next ques- tion. "Yes, sometimes, but I couldn't this mornin'. There now, that's one good job done." And Alary went out to empty her dish pan. Returning, a moment later, she said, "Let's go out under the apple trees, mother, I guess you brought your sewing along and I've got a heap of mending to do." "I'm not goin' to stay, Mary. It's tomorrow that I'm leaving fer Ogden to hear Tom give his big speech at the graduatin' an' I've a few things to set to rights before I go. You'd better walk over with me so I kin show you how to take care of the chickens while I'm gone." "Do you know, mother, I don't believe I'd go to Ogden, if I was you." Alary broke a cluster of apple blossoms and began to pick them to pieces. "You see," she went on, lamely, "It's such a long ways an' that fifty mile ride on the stage'll most do you up an' then the trains — you always was nervous of trains an' — ;

"Alary Lee Walters!" interrupted Airs. Lee, "do you sup- pose for one minute that I'd let a little thing like my own com- fort interfere with my goin'? Why I wouldn't miss it fer any- thing! Jest to think of Tom havin' first honors an' givin' an address at the graduatin' an' his own mother not there to hear him. I'd be ashamed of myself! The others in the class'll all have folks there, an' I'm bound that Tom'll have some one there.

636 IMPROVEMENT ERA too, I reckon this is 'bout the biggest thing that ever happened in our family. Yes it's bigger'n a weddin' 'cause anyone can git married, if they've got enough for a license." "But, mother, maybe Tom won't want you to come. You ain't got no new clothes an' I reckon that the exercises will be mighty stylish." Mrs. Lee tossed her head up proudly. "Tom won't care about the clothes," she answered sharply. "He knows that he's had all the money I could rake together for the last four years. They ain't never been a Lee go back on his own folks an' I reckon Tom won't be the first. I'm goin' to them exercises if it's the last thing I do ; so, there's no use of you a-saying anvthing else." Mary knew- then that words were useless. When Mrs. Lee made up her mind, all the king's horses and all the king's men could not get her to alter it. "After all," she said to herself, as she walked back through the fields, "Maybe Tom will treat her all right. I'll just have to trust to luck. She's got so much faith in him that I just can't tell her about the letter. It would just about break her heart to find that the gold she has cherished so long is only dust —and a mighty poor kind of dust at that." On the following morning the stage stopped at Mrs. Lee's door and she, dressed in her best, a bright blue dress and a well worn black straw hat, and carrying Mary's plaid coat and a small carpet bag, was assisted in by the driver. A few parting in- junctions to Mary about the care of the chickens and the cow, a hasty farewell to the neighbors who had come to see her start, then the driver cracked his long whip and they were off. It is fifty miles from Oakville to Carston, the nearest rail- road station. The road lies over a stretch of alkali desert and low, sage-covered hills, then through a rocky canyon. While going through the canyon a single-tree broke and it was almost three hours before the driver could repair it, and the journey could be continued. Only once did the little woman complain. "Do you think we'll git there in time fer the train?" she asked, "'Cause if we don't, I'm afraid I'll miss everything. Can't you hurry?" "I'm doin' my best, Mrs. Lee," answered the driver, "But I'm afraid you won't git the train today. If tomorrow's train is on time, it'll git you to Ogden in plenty of time for the exer- cises." It was dark when the stage drove up to the only hotel in Carston. Here Mrs. Lee was made comfortable until the next afternoon, and then came another delay. The train, which was due at two twenty, did not leave until three thirty, arriving at Ogden four hours later.

THE VALEDICTORIAN'S MOTHER 637

What a solitary little figure she was as she stood in the sta- tion and wondered what to do next. It had been her plan to sur- prise Tom. She had not counted on arriving at dusk on the even- ing of the exercises. The matron had been watching the expres- sion in her eyes and now walking up to her she said, kindly, ''Perhaps the person who was coming to meet you islate. You had better come in the rest room for a little while. You look so tired." "O, no! I can't stop. You see I'm goin' to the graduatin" at the Academy an' I reckon it's most time for it to start now. The train was so late, I was mighty scared I'd miss it all. I'd

better be goin' now — but could you tell me the way?" "I'll have a boy take your bag and put you on the right

sage-covered •The road lies over a stretch of alkali desert and low, hills.

Answered car. The conductor will tell you when to get off." the matron. , Lee when "An' they say city people is stuck up, mused Mrs. Twenty-fifth. Street c he found herself standing on the corner of was mighty nice to me. and Jefferson Avenue, "Why, 1 they all

be goin'. Maybe it won t do no wonder now where I'd better hurt to follow the crowd." one ot A few moments later she found herself standing in careless crowd of happy, the halls of the school, not far from a school girls.

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638 [MPROVEM ENT ERA

"Just look at that old woman," said one, "Isn't she the limit? That blue dress might do for gay seventeen but on staid sixty, it's too much."

"And that crazy straw hat and the plaid coat," giggled an- other.

— "I wonder whose proud relative she is?" began a third; "She's enough to give anyone a scare "Girls, here are your flowers," callel a pretty, daintily clad young girl as she came toward them, "now remember and throw — them just the minute he gets through and " she stopped f oi- lier glance had fallen on the old woman who stood so near to them. Without hesitating a moment she walked over to her. "The exercises are upstairs," she said, "I'll take you up if — you wish to go and, you can leave the bag in the office if you wish." Airs. Lee attempted to thank her, but a lump came up in her throat and the tears sprang into her eyes, so without a word she followed her guide to the assembly hall. Many curious eyes fol- lowed them and more than one person wondered what relation that shabbily-dressed woman bore to the fashionable Marjorie Gray. Marjorie difd not mind their glances at all. Nodding pleasantly to a friend, here and there, she brought a chair from the rear of the hall and placed it near the front. "There," she said pleasantly, "You'll hear everything so much better here. I must leave you now. It is almost time for the exercises to begin." Mrs. Lee gazed around the beautifully decorated hall. Lean- ing over she touched her nearest neighbor on the arm and asked, "Where are the graduates?" The woman stared at her haughtily and answered very coldly, "They will arrive presently." The orchestra began a march and amid the applause of the Tom came first. Carry- entire audience, the graduates filed in. ing himself proudly, he led the way up to the platform. A moment later they were seated, the applause died away, and the program commenced. To Mrs. Lee it seemed like a glorious dream. Her face glowed with pleasure and her eyes, beaming with delight, looked steadily at Tom who sat and viewed the audience calmly. In her mind she saw him as he had been when he left home four years ago. How he had changed! He — was a man now this little boy of hers, and yet. O how she wanted to take him in her arms and tell him how she loved him and how proud she was of him. He turned now and said something to the girl who sat next to him. She smiled and nodded her head. Then Mrs. Lee saw that she was the girl who had befriended her earlier in the evening.

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"Iwonder if they're sweethearts," she thought, "wouldn't it be strange now, if they was?"

The music was very good and the report of the principal was both interesting and instructive, but neither got the least attention from Mrs. Lee. She was wondering how long it would be before Tom's part came, and in the delightful an- ticipation of her son's address she forgot, all else. At last it was announced that Mr. Thomas Lee would now give the valedictory address. She leaned forward almost breathlessly as Tom came to the center of the platform. She did not notice that the feather on her hat was annoying the lady who sat next to her. Tom began. What a thrill his voice sent through her How deep and vibrant it had become !

"O, I'm glad I come," she said to herself, "it's worth a journey ten times as far." Then her neighbor spoke, ''Would you mind leaning- a little farther the other way? Your hat trimming is very annoying to me." Mrs. Lee drew away but not so far that she did not overhear the remark, "I wonder if that old lady can be any relation to Mr. Lee. She has stared at him all evening." "Of course, not," the answer came. "Mr. Lee is the very essence of culture. He has called on my sister, Katheryn, sev- eral times. I have never met a young man with better appear-

ance." Those words opened her eyes. She had not thought of her- self till now. All had been for Tom. "After all, Mary's right," she thought. "He will be ashamed of me, I ought to have stayed home." She listened intently till it was over but the load in her heart grew heavier each moment and in spite of herself the tears rolled down her cheeks. When the address was over the students sit- ting near the platform arose and showered Tom with flowers. It was several minutes before the applause was over, and by that time Mrs. Lee had made her plans. It would never do to make Tom own her as his mother before all these people. She would slip out quickly when it was over and go to the station. She knew that a train left about mid-night. She would go home and tell them that she couldn't find the place, and no one would ever know that she had heard Tom's speech. "If I had only had sense enough to listen to Mary," she whispered softly to herself. "I wouldn't have made such a — — blunder I wish I had no, I don't either! I'm glad I come. glad I heard Tom! Yes, an' I'm proud of him even if he can't be proud of me." Her thoughts had carried her far away from the program but now she was recalled by a calm, deep voice, and looking

640 IMPROVEMENT ERA up she saw a tall, stately man standing in the place that Tom had just vacated. Something in his bearing and his voice forced her to give him her attention. It was to the graduates that he was speaking. He looked straight into their bright, hopeful faces as he said, "I want you young people to remember that it is your parents who have placed you in the position you occupy tonight. True it has cost you some amount of individual effort, but the greatest effort has been on the part of the fathers and mothers who have, in many cases, sacrificed much that you might attend school. Perhaps your father has had to rise long before the sun and work in the fields till dark, often doing the chores by lantern light that you might be here at school. How many of them are wearing their clothes till they are almost threadbare so that you may appear well clothed at school. "And the mothers, dear, patient mothers, come with me, young people. Let us turn time back eighteen or twenty years. The shades of night are falling and the wind murmurs a soft, sleepy song to the leaves on the trees. Not far from us is a little cottage. Do you see the light streaming from the windows ? Let — us look inside can words paint that picture? "There, by the open fire, sits a young mother with a babe — on her knee. See how its little hands stretch up to her how she kisses them again and again. Note the expression of her eyes where wonder, delight, joy and love are blended together. What cares she that the cottage is small and the furniture poor? She has her babe and in that is her glory and her happiness. Can you imagine yourself to be that helpless babe and the woman, the mother who has cared for you so long? "How fast time goes! Six years fly swiftly by. This morn- ing- the child must start to schol, and the mother, standing at the gcite, sees the little one trudge away to enter a new path of life which she can carefully watch but can not enter. Do you re- member how you put your arms around her and kissed her and told her that you would love her always? Have you kept that promise? "One more picture, and I am through. You have not for- gotten the times that sickness overtook you. Who was the angel who watched by your bedside, bathing the hot little face and hands and carefully administering the medicine at the proper time? Whose was the voice that quieted your fears and hushed you to repose? Tired and weary though she was, your mother never left your side. No sacrifice has ever been too great for her to make. How have you repaid her? "Does it seem to you that she has grown queer and old- fashioned ? Do you imagine that she is not cultured enough to be introduced to your friends? Do you think of her as merely a

THE VALEDICTORIAN'S MOTHER 641

cook and a housekeeper? If so, find yourself. When you go home, take the sweet, wrinkled face in your hands and kiss the dear lips that have prayed for you even before your birth. Tell her that you love her and father more every day and that you are — proud of them proud of what they have done for you, and then see that your life is one that will make them proud of you." He ceased to speak, Mrs. Lee ventured to glance at Tom. His face had grown deathly pale, and there was a strange, hard expression in his eyes. He sat as if in a trance. The diplomas were presented by a member of the board. How Tom ever dragged himself across the platform to receive

"O, I'm so glad you came, mother mine."

his, he never knew. The letter he had written to Mary danced before his eyes. He could see the little mother's face, as the tears of disappointment welled up in her eyes. Why had he sent it ? He looked at the diploma, for which he had worked four years. "I'm not worthy of it," he said to himself. "Our prin- cipal said yesterday that this diploma is a certificate that a fellow is of good character— clean and manly, and I — I'm not fit to touch it! O, mother, little mother."

642 IMPROVEMENT ERA Marjorie touched him on the arm. "Why, Tom, are you ill?" she asked. "No," he answered almost savagely. A few moments more and the exercises were over. The people came forward with congratulations, but Tom merely in- clined his head to show that he had heard them. He felt that he must get outside into the air. He seemed to be choking. Al- most rudely he pushed his way through the crowd and then, standing apart from the others, he saw her. The hard, set ex- pression left his face, while his eyes lighted up with a great joy, "Mother," he called, "Mother." A moment later the class valedictorian held the little old woman in the shabby dress and hat close in his arms and almost every one in the hall heard him say, "I'm so glad you came, mother mine O you'll never, never know how glad I am." !

And looking into his face they saw that he meant it. MORGAN, UTAH MYRTLE YOUNG.

Great Freedom in South Texas Elder Henry R. Selin, South Texas conference, Houston, Texas, March 4: "A good spirit prevails among the elders as well as among the Saints, and many friends are investigating the gospel which we have the privilege of explaining, by tracting, as well as open-air meet- ings which are attended by large and attentive congregations. Ani- mosity is gradually dying out, and the people are beginning to com- prehend the truths of 'Mormonism' and even to acknowledge the hand

BR*-** p- 23?

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of the Lord in its establishment. Elders, back row: President J. A. Young, D. M. Dalton, C. J. Call, J. W. Irons. Middle row: E. D. Cracroft, J. P. Jensen, Arthur Asay, Henry R. Selin. Front row: D. G. Hymas, J. O. Christensen, J. R. Miller, Casper Wilde."