Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1886-10-06
MARInN'S nIPINMACY.

One OF the stories Wnlcn uSeu 10 SClmu-
late the patriotism of American boys is
that of Marion's inviting British officer
to dine with him on roasted potatoes and
cold water. The story has been doubted
by certain critical historians, but DR..
Joseph Johnson, of South Carolina, says it
is substantially true. He heard it when
child from his father, to whom it was
told just after its occurrence.
But the story as originally told illus
trated Marion's diplomacy rather than his
poverty and self-denial.
The officer, young man, sensitive. hu-
name, and high-toned, had been sent,
under flag of truce, to Marion's camp to
transact some business with the general.
After the business had been completed,
the generals aide invited the officer to
dine with them.
He would have had good dinner, if
Marion, seeing bis character, had not de-
termined to make an impression on his
sensitive nature favorable to the Ameri-
can cause.
The young man had been invited to
dine with Marion, and having excused
himself to the aids, was provided by his
host with dinner of sweet potatoes roast
ed in the ashes of the hearth, and served on
bark platters. The officer noticed that the
general, in peeling his potatoes, put the
Skins carefully on one side Of his plate,
instead of throwing them on the ground.
Oscar, the generals servant and foster
brother, waited on them. He was always
called "Budde," corruption of brother,
by Marion, who, after dinner, said to
him
"Budde, bring US something to drink"
Oscar brought gourdful of water, and
handed it to the officer and then to the
general.
"Budde, bring up Roger" and the gen.
erals horse, being led up, was fed with the
potato skins.
The officer saw and was conquered. He
returned to the British camp and resigned
his commission, saying he could not fight
against men who were SO conscientious
in their opposition to king and parliament
as to drink nothing but water, eat nothing
but potatoes, and feed their horses on the
skins.
ANIMALS ADVANTAGE OVER MAN
Let US suppose the mental powers gradu-
ally diminished, while the bodily powers
remained unimpaired. Suppose that pro-
cess confined, until the mind no longer
troubles itself about unseen things, but IS
content with drawing inferences from ac-
tual present sensations, so that the looking
forward-the taking thought for the NOR
row, which is the principal source OF hu-
man mental suffering-ceases to exist.
You then approach the constitution OF one
of the higher mammalia. 1t is constitu-
tiop in which the chief sources of human
pleasure remain untouched, while the
chief sources of human pains are either
removed or diminished. In such a con-
stitution as compared with man, the re-
duction in total pleasures should be rela.
lively small, while the reduction IN total
pains should be relatively large. Grant
to an animal 80 constituted unstinted food,
and it ought in theory to be happier than
human being, the Limitation in its pleas
ures being more than cOunterbalanced by
far greater limitation in its pains. 5,
Imagine a graminivorous quadruped
with iimitless pasture and you have
state of things in which you ought to find
the maximum of happiness Of which or
panization is capable. Granted that the
totality of its pleasures would not equal
the totality of human pleasures, by far
more would the totality of its woes fall
short of the totality of human woes: II
such an animal can not taste the pleas
ure of the knowledge of good and evil,
neither has it to taste the miseries OF pow
erty and loneliness, ofloss of wife or child,
or failure in business, of knowing not
where to procure food or where to lay ITS
head. The problem how to make ooth
ends meet never vexes the mind OF the
ruminant; monotony has no terrors for the
OK; no fear oppresses it. of another's rival
ry no jealousy of another's ssuccess. Even
when disease and decay overtake it it
knows nothing of that which makes dis
ease terrible to man-the knowledge that
it must end in a separation from those
whom he loves.-Nineteenth Century.