Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1881-10-14

COL. JAMES H. SKINNER AT
WOODSTOCK.

Reported fo- the Staunton VINDICATOR.1
WOODSTOCK, Sunday Oct. 10th.
e There are so many things in the Bible
that come to you, as one would say, ''all
of sudden This morning being a qui-
ct village Sunday morning; and next to
home Sundays these village Sundays are
the most restful 1 know, sat at the win
dow watching the people going to church.
On the balustrade of the piazza, in front.
[ espied little worm toiling wearlsomely
along. The distance was, may be, sixty
feet, and at his rate it would have been
weeks before he got over it. l swept the
distance with my eye in less time than
lightning could have traversed it. There
came to me then this verse: lone day is
with the Lord as thousand years, and
thousand years as one days" and it all
seemed clear in moment. Perhaps this
may not be orthodox am always fright
ened about orthodoxy when 1 try these
sort of subjects; but somehow it has always
struck me that the whole of the teachings
of the Bible are founded on common SENSE
human sense. and as live on, there crops
out every now and then something to con-
firm me in this belief If this won t do for
churchmen to read don't print it-you can
commence at the next paragraph below;
still would like to have it go in. There
must be many and many one like me,
who got this sort of bible education in
their youth, to whom every now and then.
-, Aacboc Of oonnnifipo
Marx this; that in every man there is some
where and some time-I can't tell the
place or the time, a little mirror that gives
back the little ray of understanding which
was given him from one mind, One On
miscient Mind. I know that earnest
preachers say every Sunday night, and
many other nights beside, this same thing,
but every now and then it comes to you in
a different way; from home as it were; that
far off home where spiritual enlightenment
is. And how far away; and how rough
the road, until we reach it we can never
say. L have known men, mark you, who
had had just such flashes from the lantern
as this, only far brighter, that when they
came to the side of the river. just buried
their heads in their hands IN doubt. st.
Paul said once behold show you mys-
terry" He was right. This mystery Is in
front of all of us. But none can pass be-
hind the curtain to raise it. Over the
graves Of all such as have tired it can only
be written, in the hope of glorious res
urrection.'' Only hope after all. No
man dare say more-only hope; but such
a hope 1t would be great thing for
common man of earth like me to 60 to
sleep with even the hope Of glorious res
direction hereafter.
MONDAY, October 18th.
This is different day from yesterday.
1t is devoted to politics. The seeding
time in the country has kept away nearly
all the farmers and the attendance at
court to-day is, 1 suppose, not half as large
as is usual. [ was surprised to see the
personal affection for Col. Skinner ex
pressed here. A voter, who could not have
voted for him since he had any opportunity
to hear Col S. on the huStingS, told me
this morning that he had come sixteen
miles to hear him. On questioning him
more closely he confessed to me that he
hadn't heard Col. Skinner since the cam
paign he had with Judge Harris. That
will show you what sort of remembrance
old man. at least so he appeared to me, for
his hair was white, said he had served un
der Col. Skinner. [ must say [ was sorry
about this old gentleman. because on ac-
count of his having served under Col
Skinner I was forced to drink glass of
beer with him which hadn't seen ice for
three weeks. You know what that sort
of thing is by experience. [ begin to think
that If have to take that sort of beer
with all the veterans that have served UNI
der Col, Skinner my time will be short on
this terrestrial.
COL. SINNERS SPEECH.
presume that there is hardly man in
Augusta, Democratic or Readjuster. that
won endorse the brief but veracious in
PRODUCTION of Col. Skinner by Henry AL
len: "Gentlemen, have the honor of in
PRODUCING to you one Of the truest men, in
every relation of life that this Common
wealth has ever produced" That was all
he said, and the burst of applause which
followed it showed that he had said just
what was in the peoples hearts.
Col. Skinner said that this was the first
time that he had appeared in this canvass
before the people. He was suffering under
severe physical disability. The people OF
his own county had but a few days ago
conferred on him the high honor Of a NOM
ination which be had vainly sought to de-
cline on account of i'll health. In advance
of that nomination the people OF shenan-
doah had invited him to address them to-
day. 1t was an invitation to look again
into the faces of people that he had looked
into often in times gone by, and he had
determined at any sacrifice to come. if by
coming he could benefit the good old yeo-
many to whom he owed nothing bu-
gratitude and good will and a hearty ret
membrance of former kindness. He stood
before them to-day as he had stood twenty
two years ago--a Democrat. (Applause.)
He was a Democrat then and had never
known change or shadow of turning. zap
plause.) He had followed none of the new
tangled political notions of the day. He
had been neither Greenbacker nor Re
adiuster. (Applause.) He wanted to speak
TO his Democratic Readjuster friends
friends. because he believed that whatever
views they held on the debt question they
were still Democrats at the bottom OF
their hearts. He had no words of unkind-
ness for single man among them, for be
thought they sincerely believed that by
the readjustment of the debt they could do
their State good service. But he also be-
lieved that they had gone into an organi-
cation which wonld never carry out their
no sxoru axistanca of which