Page 30 - 1918 VES Meteor

6G THE )IETEOR
(ScE~E.-lnterior of living-room of the Daniels' Colonial mansion "Belle Grove" 11ea1· 1\'inrheslcr. It is a typical old Colonial interio1·. Pw·niture is of ilte Queen Anne period. Family portmils hang on the walls. Tall windows, through fiJltich one catches a glimpse of the neighboring tozcn of Win- e/fester. Tall, old-fashioned doo1· to right. Ilttge fireplace scith polished andirons. In corner of 1·oom a racl.: contain- ing 1·iding whips, etc. Pictw·e directly above mantelpiece of soldier, tmder which is hung a sword. Table in center of 1·oom, by wltich the :MoTHER is discove1·ed sitting as curtain rises.)
(There is a knock on the door.)
!Jlolhe1· (1·ising · and opening door) . Good morning, Judh»e; I am Yery glad you came this morning-I wanted ~sec you.
Judge Calhoun (entering). Good morning, maJam; I .h£11 be delighted to sen·e you in any mattah that I can. (The JGDGE is a typical Southern gentleman of the old
~telwol.)
Mother. Judge, I am worried oYer the war. I see by the paper·this morning that all the men who haYe had a course in a military school are to be summoned and sent to France immrdiately.
Judge. Ycs, and that has caused a reviYal of a CiYil War eustom in this community.
illothe1·. What do you mean ?
Jttdge. All the young men who were exempted from the draft preliminary training camp, 011 account of prcdous military proficiency, arc to be summoned by the ringing of the courthouse bell to mobilize in the square ready for imme- diate departure. During the CiYil War I recollect that many and many a time that olcl bell pealed forth a message for us Confederates, home on lea\·e, to rush to Richmond and defend it-first against :\[cClellan and later Grant.