Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-06-13
A GEORGIA SCENE.
Experience OF q Burly Black.
smith With Methodist -
Preachers.
How Grace was Mauled into q
Disciple OF Tom Paine.

The following Georgia scene was con
trihuted by Hon. John B. Lamar TO III,
Fdmiiy Companion, published nearly thirt
of a century ago in Savannah, ana.
At the entrance to one of those
gorges, or gaps, in the great Apa.
lachian chain of mountains in theil
passage across the northern por.
ton of Georgia, a blacksmith had
erected his forge in the early set
Element of that region by the AM
glo-American race, and drove a
thrifty trade in the way of facing
axes, and pointing plows for the
settlers, and shoeing horses for
wayfaring people, in their transit
through the country to examine
gold mines and land. As he was
no ordinary parsonage in the af7
fairs of his aeighborhood, and will
make a conspicuous figure in this
narrative, some account of his Pc
culiarities will not be uninteresting.
Having acted through life on a
homely maxim of his own, "pay
up as you go up he had acquired
some money, and was out of debt (;
and consequently enjoyed "the glo-
rious privilege of being independ-
emf" in a degree that is unknown
TO many who occupy larger por-
ton of the worlds attention than
himself He was a burly, well
looking man of 35, just young
enough to feel that all his faculties,
mental and physical, had reached
their greatest development; just
old enough to have amassed suffi-
Gent experience of men and things
to make the past serve as a finger
post to his future journey through
life. With a shrewd, but open,
bold, and honest look, there was 3
gleeful expression in the corners of
his eyes, that spoke of fun. The
Laughing devil in his eye" was not
a malicious spirit however. His
physical conformation was that
which combined great strength with
agility; and if he had been fated
to have been a contemporary of his
prototype, Vulcan, there can be no
doubt but the Lehman blacksmith
would have allotted TO him a front
forge in his establishment, to act
as a sort of pattern card, and to
divert the public gaze from his own
game leg TO the fair proportions Of
his foreman.
Now, although Ned Forgeron,
for such was the name he had in
herited from some Gallo ancestor,
was a good natured man, yet the
possession of great muscular
strength and courage, and the adj
miration which a successful exercise
of these powers never fails TO com
mand, had somewhat spoiled him.
Without meaning to injure any
mortal he had managed, neverthe-
less, to try his proves on sundry
of his neighbors; and from the
success which had always crowned
his honest efforts in that way, had
unconsciously acquired the charac-
ter of a bully.
With very few early advantages
of elementary education, he had,
nevertheless, at different periods,
collected q mass of heterogeneous
information, which he was very
fond of displaying on occasions. He
was sort of political antiquary,
and could tell the opinion of Mr..
Jefferson or Mr.. Madison ON any
subject, and was referred to on ali
disputed points, on the theory and
history of the government, that
arose among the candidates for the
legislature and county politicians.
This he studied on account of the
consequence it invested him with
But why he had treasured up an old
and well thumbed copy of Paine's
age of Reason" and affected
skepticism as to the veracity of the
story of Jonah and the whale, and
BALKAN and his ass, would be hare
accounting for, unless it proceeded
from q desire of a character fol
% singularity and erudition. Wher
vanity once gets the mastery of 1
mans reason, there is no telling
the absurdities it will lead him into
He was fond of speaking of Volney
and of being found with a copy o
Taylors "Diegesis'' in his hand, al
though few of the neighbors hac
heard of the author of the ruins,
or knew what Diegesis meant
This popularity, together wit
the pertinacity of the missionaries
Worcester and Butler, which car
ried them TO the penitentiary, ma
account for the great aversion Q
Mr.. Edward Forgeron to all preacl
ers of the gospel.
His dislike for them was so eN
cessive, that he could scarcel
speak of the "hypocritical scouT
drels," as he called them, withou
sAying into passion, and using in
decorous language. But a circun
stance occurred, which gave his ze'
distinct and sectarian direction
A Methodist preacher over in Tel
nessee, who was fond of spicin
his discourse with anecdotes, one
made him the principal charact'
of a long sermon. His peculiar
ties were dilated on, and his her
sizes dealt with in severity. He vi
ridiculed, and his literary acquire
ments disparaged by the preache
All this came to the ears of Fe
eeron, with such embellishments !
stories usually receive in passiI
to third person. 1t would be
useless TO attempt to describe
mountain storm, as to picture Z
wrath of this mountaineer. But
we cannot portray the storm, Z
consequences may be easily toI
The blacksmith swore in his wra
that he would whip eve
Methodist preacher that passed {
gap, in revenge of his insult.
Fergeron, was a man of his wol
as the bruised features of many
John Wesleys disciples could te
ify. His character soon we
abroad, and the good old matro