The Greenville enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1870-1873, 1871-10-25
"REMINISCENCES
OF the
COUNTY OF GRsERvlllE
By Ex aovERNoR B. F. PERRY.
CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK I
BAYLIS j. EARLE.

Judge Earle was the eldest son
Of the Honorable Samuel Earle, of
PendIeton District, South Carroll.
ma, a gallant Revolutionary officer,
and member of Congress, repre-.
senting the whole Western portion
of the State in 1706. He was a
man Of large fortune for the upper
country, and self educated. In
his teIcourse with public men,
whilst in Congress, he felt kecnly
the defects of his early education,
aud determined to give oil of his
sons every advantage which
schools and colleges could bestow.
He was a man of high and pure
character, but most eccentric i'm
the latter part of his life. Having
served bis State in the Legislature,
in the Convention which adopted
the Federal Constitution, and in
the United States Congress, he vol
UNFAIRLY withdrew from public life,
ard devoted himself to the man.
agemcnt of his various farms in
Pendleton ard Greenville. He
lived t" an old age, and in great
retirement, Joined the Baptist
Church, and was much esteemed
by his neighbors.
l read law three years in the
office of Judge Earle, who was
then Solicitor of the Western Cir
cult, and l am indebted to him for
many acts of kindness and favors
shown me. He was man of very
superior endowmen.s by nature,
and highly accomplished as writ.
er and speaker. In person he was
strikingly handsome, manly, and
beautiful, if the term can be ap-
piled to a gentleman. But there
was nothing Of vanity about him,
on account of his fine appearance.
lie did not seem to regard 1t at all,
but rather disliked any compli-
inent on that account. He was,
however,a man Of great pride of
character, and dignifed in his
manners. / once heard Judge
1Huger say of him, before his eleva-
tion to the bench, that his manners
were more judicial than any one
he had ever met. He was q fine
scholar, and possessed great litera-
ry taste. He spoke and wrote
with great accuracy and purity
There was nothing ornate or pre-.
tentious in his style. He had
taken Addison as his model when a
stddent, and all of his writings were
marked for their clearness, purity,
and simplicity. He seldom in.
dulged in metaphors or figures of
speech.
Judge Earle graduated in the
South Carolina College, at sixteen,
and took the first honors OF Lis
class, which was one of great talent
and scholarship. But none of his
class even competed with him for
the first honor. He was the young.
est member of his class, and tile
first scholar in it. He read law
with John Taylor, then Solicitor OF
the Western Circuit. and after.
wards a member of Congress from
the Districts OF Pendleton and
Greenville. AT twenty.one, he
was admitted to the bar, and es-
tablished himself at Greenville.-
He represented the District two
years in the Legislature, and was
then elected Solicitor BY a very
large majority over Chancellor
Bowie, OF Alabama. Until his
election as Solicitor, such was his
difidence and nodesty, that lie
scarcely attempted to make a
speech at the bar. After this. he
was forced to argne bis sessions
business, and made the model OF a
prosecuting officer. He presented
the facts of the case clearly aud
succinctly, referred to the law
correctly, and left the jury to de.
eide the case under the Instructions
OF the Judge. He had one of the
fairest minds that ! have ever
known, and his Judgment was al
ways dispassionate. He never
urged the conviction of criminal
nnless the circumstances warrant.
ed it. Where the guilt of the pris-
oner was the settled conviction of
his mind, he always presented the
circumstances of the case with
great force and clearness. He
was always well prepared in bis
sessions business, and did not pre-
sent more witnesses than were ne
cessary in making out the case in
the fret instance, reserying the 9th.
ers for the reply. In the trial of
Sims at Newberry, for the murder
OF his father, although the eyi.