The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1879-03-26

teresting than biography.
The lives Of great men all remind rs
We can make our lives sublime
do not propose to write full biogranb
indeed ! shall write none at all. but ask
submit IN this letter transcript from diar,
IN The possession Of Mr.. Jones. 1t is the PROF.
erty OF an humble schoolmaster:
Alter l had secured me a small house an
after had opened my school with nipetee
7ehoiars-boys and girls, l was advised t
see
REV. EDWIN PACE
with view to getting, perhaps, three NOR
scholars from him, and likewise his inAueno
IN behalf OF my school. This was before tn
days oil free schools, in the year 1884 Their
was what was known as 10Th section fund
Congress had donated the 10Th section in ever,
township Of 36 sections, to the support o
schools IN that township. The 10Th section il
about the middle Of the township, which Is si1
miles square, and when possible the schoo
| was located on that section, and was. if not
| convenient, at least accessible to every child
in the township. At the end Of the year the
rent Of the land or the interest on the
money, when the land had been sold, was paid to
the teacher, according to actual attendance and
the account Of each pupil was credited by the
sum received on his or her attendance.
This was the most satisfactory public school
| system ever in the South. 1t interfered with
no private school, but was auxiliary to private
enterprises. In fertile townships the annual
| interest frequently paid the entire salary OF
| the teacher. The defect in this system was.
| that wealthy townships had wealthy people
and free tuition, and poor townships, poor
people and poor pay. To secure large at
tendance, therefore, l was anxious to conciliate
all the prominent persons in the community
Mr.. Pace had become unusually prominent
from some difficulties in his church relations
He had been hard shell - and had split off
from that people or they had left him, and at
the time | write about he had a church, Salem.
that belonged to no association-was not hard
shell or missionary, and consequently Mr..
Pace was a leader of thought and of a party.
had never seen him, and was anxious to
meet him. About one week after | had or
ganized, l encountered him in store in the
village of s. in Noxubee county He was
about fifty years OF age; and had none of that
severity of expression l had expected, but
wore Il couutenance with rather sad bat
pleasing aspect. His dress was quite simple,
his coat and pants being of ordinary jeans
His shirt was of ordinary domestic, with a
plain bosom. He had no cravat around his
neck, and indeed there was perfect absence
of ornament and a severe simplicity in all re-
spects. He greeted me not only kindly but
cordially, and looked at me with a peculiar
expression, made peculiar by a defect in his
eye-sight. | afterwards knew Mr.. Pace we'll |
and call him a great man. He had been |
raised farmers boy, in the early history OF
the country, had never been to school perhaps |
a year in his life, and had gone into the pull |
pit when quite young, and without any |
knowledge from books, except what he had |
extracted from the Bible with great difficulty |
The day | saw him, he told me he had been
building a stone chimney, and he labored |
every day on the farm hard by.
Subsequent to this, l found him a vigorous
thinker, ana Il suIvuS1y narKeu anu
well defined character. He had powerful
passions, and subdued them. | have seen him
beside the corpses OF those he loved best, and
under circumstances of peculiar trial, and,
while | knew that wild conflict Of emotions
was raging within, | beheld the same placid |
expression which he uniformly wore l have
once or twice, only seen him manifest great
feeling by external Indications and it was
frigthfuI In the pulpit, he was man OF |
eloquence. He felt deeply and spoke what he
felt, without fear, favor, affection He not |
became sublime in his discourse,
often pathetic. His language was good, but |
showed want OF early and proper training. |
He was bold thinker and laborious student. |
[ have heard him utter the grandest ooncep- |
lions without the slightest idea that he was |
saying anything above ordinary discourse He |
drew large congregations. l have seen schol- |
airs. skeptics, white and black people, all in
tears under his glowing pictures OF the love OF |
God and the mediation OF Christ. Strong IN |
passion himself, some of his Outbursts OF elo- |
dueuce when describing the war with our APP |
petites and the glory of victory were thrill |
ing. | remember that his convictions upon the |
subject of slavery were very sharply defined |
Once in one of his ablest efforts, preaching !
from a text that | cannot now quote. about |
Shem Ham and Japhet, Mr.. Pace turned TO |
the negroes in an apartment to the rear OF the |
Dulnit and told them in plain but |
solemn. terms. that revolutions might come |
about and laws might be enacted declaring |
them free but that freedom from an Interlorlty /
to the white man is not freedom from expo |
sure to sale. The latter might be secured, the |
former never Pointing his finger to the east |
and looking with painful intentness into the |
distance, he declared that he heard mutterings |
of a coming revolution. but that the sons OF |
Ham would always be servants to Japhet |
because God had said so. Raising up his |
hands he said, oh black people. there Is |
freedom for YOU when Christ shall make you |
free and YOU shall have full compensation for |
all YOU may suffer here. his shall De In |
the great hereafter.
Mr.. Pace shrahk from all metropolitan ex-
hibitions, preached without pay, and never ac-
cepted invitations TO visit cities OF to preach |
merely for reputation. He felt that he had |
found his work and labored where he knew he |
could do good. He was a man who enjoyed |
humor; and so keen was his idea OF the ride |
ulous that he frequently suffered in reputation
for solemnity, when something homogeneous |
was thrust upon his attention at an unhappy |
moment.
Mr.. Pace is now an old man, and the last |
time ever saw him he was riding through the |
village of IS, going to some appointment,
carving IN his hand walking cane with the
face of man carved on the end. Without
this cane. YOU rarely saw him. From this good
man learned much of self-control | saw
him battle with his passions, and have heard
his pathetic calls for help. He often did wrong
and confessed. He is still living and stlll
preaching to the people the gospel in which he
trusts with an unfalterring confidence. Ills
residence Is still in Noxubee county, and he Is
in full accord with the Missionary Baptist
Church.
This Diary sketches other persons in your
State ! may send you others
Bill Arp on the Independents.