The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-11-25
A REMARKABLE STORY.
The Louisville Courier-Joirnal's Mountain
Correspondent Finds tho Man Who work
ed on the Bench with Andrew johnson.

The Louisville Courler-JoIrnal's Mountain
Correspondent Finds the Man Who Work
ed ON the Bench with Andrew johnson
Special Correspondence Of the uricr-Jo'sr''al
VANcEBURG, KY, Oct. 25.
| stopped to-day and asked for dinner
at the door of neat little log house.
It was near the division line of Lewis
and Carter counties, but in which OF the
two am unprepared to say. 1t was a
very. hospitable.looking house, with a
neat front yard, surrounded by a paling
fence. There were flowers in the yard,
and a green vine clambered over the
porch. All the outbuildings were COM
Portable, and the fields stretching away
in the rear ofthe house bore evidence OF
careful cultivation. There were on un-
slightly brush heaps, brier patches or
stone. piles, and the fence corners were
clean. A trimly.clad little woman, in a
dress of some light material, responded to
nv summons and invited mein. a broad
shouldered fellow came up from the stable
and took my horse. The young woman
ushered me into a pleasant room, which
supposed they call the "dining-room;" l."
It was very pleasant room. A bright
rag carpet was spread in front of the
hearth, a table under the window was
covered with books and papers, and there
was a.shelf filled with books in little
niche beside the chimney. A cabinet
organ filled the other corner. A baby,
chubby faced and ired- checked, slept in
a cradle which was gently rocked by an
old man. This old mans face was scanned
ano furrowed and his hair and beared
were white, but he did not seem to be as
old as one would at first judge. The lines
deep-graven in his face were care lines,
and sorrow or sickness had whitened his
hair and beard. Dinner was on the table,
but the little woman who had invited me
in brought out a jar of preserves, a dish
of fruit and some cake, and arranged
them among the substantials. The broad
shouldered man came in directly and l
was introduced to him. he was the hus..
band of the pleasant.faced woman, and
the old man rocking the cradle was his
father. Two boys came into the room as
we were sitting down to the table, and
they called the little woman mother. 1t
seemed to be very agreeable family, and
/ was glad stopped. The old man took
the head of the table, opposite a leg OF
mutton, and I was placed on his right;
Opposite me on the wall hung fine steel
portrait of Andrew johnson. There
were other pictures, but this one stood
out prominently. The frame was gilt,
very heavy, and protected FROM the flies
and dust by gauze. Itgrcw in proportion
as looked toward it from time to time,
and it finally became the only object in
the room. After dinner I stepped close
under it to make better examination.
It was certainly q fine picture, and the
bold signature of the great commoner was
not lithograph fac smile, but written
autograph.
"That is fine picture" l remarked.
"YEs, THAT'S ANDY!"
replied the old man, and he walked up
beside me and ran his hand lovingly over
the face of the picture.
"You knew him, then?" I again asked
beginning to get curious.
"Knew him." answered the old gentle
man, stepping back to give the reply more
emphasis, "why, stranger, Andy aud l
worked together on the tailor's bench, in
Raleigh, forty.odd years ago, and he was
the best friend I ever had"
ssHe was the best friend he ever had,"
was the refrain echoed by the two boys,
the broad.shouldered man and the pleas
ant.faced woman.
1 felt confident there was an interesting
story behind this, and I begged the old
gentleman to tell it. He nodded his
head, and I drew my chair up besides
his. The boys and their father and moth
er drew up their chairs also.
81 knew Andy" he began, waving his
hand towards the picture, "a good many
years ago, when he was ragged little
boy running around Raleigh. His ia:
ther was poor man, and got drowned
when Andy was about nine years old.
He lived with his mother, and vas good
sou, although he was very little and
couldn't do much. He used to come to
our shop a great deal. That was in the
good old days before they made shoddy
cloth or ready-made clothes. We had
nigh on to forty hands in our shop, aud
there we're three other shops in town fully
as large. Raleigh was not as big then as
it is now, but I doubt very much if one
tailor could make good living there
these days. Well, as was saying, Andy
used to come to the shop every day. I
was always q great reader, and. although
Andy
DIDN'T KNOW ONE LETTER FROM AN
OTHER,
He was always pestering me out of work
hours to read to him. He was pert sort
of a boy, and always told him he would
be a great man some day. One fall bust
ness was brisk and the boss wanted
prentice. He took in Andy, and the
boy was right glad to get something to
do to help along his old mother. A
prentice usually worked the first year
for his keep and clothes, but Andy
couldn't leave his mother, and the boss
agreed to give him what it would cost to
feed and clothe him in money. In them
days prentice served seven years, and
Andy worked out his time. The day he
was free he come to us and says; Boys.
know it is the custom to treat when
you get out of your time, but I haven't
got the money and you'll have to excuse
me- You see he gave all his money to
his old mother, and we all knowed it.
said to one of the boys that day, says l,
ANDY will be a great man one Of these
days. but they just laughed at me: An
dy worked about a month in our shop as
iour, and then he went away 10 Able
vile and worked five or six months
The boss wrote for him and he came back
and worked steady till spring. He used
to talk great deal about the West, and
one day he says to me, Tom Lomsden,
I'm going to quit Raleigh and 60 to Ten.
nessee.' l said, 'all right, Andy, do what
you think best, but you are bound to be
great man some day He laughed
but the next day he called for settle
ment from the boss, and that night he
left Raleigh. [ can see him now. He