The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-04-26
AMONG GOOD PEOPLE
Who TIL the Soil and Reap tho Grain.

AMONG GOOD PEOPLE
Who TIL the Soil and Reap tho Grain.
Il I have been travelling overland-visit
ing the unpretending towns that are of
the great highways. 1 wish that every
body could do it go as to restore the
equilibrium. a man can read the grea
daily newspapers until he becomes E
cynic, a skeptic and believer in tota
depravity and falling from grace. By
the time he gets through the murders and
robberies and defalcations aud arson and
suicides and hangings and strikes and
anarchy and all the horrible things that
are happening every day he is almost
ready to surrender and give up all hope;
of humanity. 1t makes him gloomy and
despondent. But let him skip over these
things for o few days and get out into
the country where the good old-fashioned
people abound and he will feel better.
I tell you the woods are full of them
I am more and more convinced that the
country is the place to find virtue and
peace and simple habits and limited
desires. The fashion and follies and
general devilment of the gay and .giddy
world do not reach these people. But
they read and think and work and withal
are cheerful. I have found region out
here in west Tennessee where the
country people are not moving to town
where they are farming diligently and
raising stock, where every mile or SO you
will pass comfortable home with ever.
|. greens and flowers in the front yard,
The most of them are in easy reach of q
railroad, and every few miles there is a
little village with two OF three stores and
as many churches and an academy, and
to this hamlet the neighboring people
gather, and here their children 60 to
school, and here they attend church on
the Sabbath. In these prosperous
neighborhoods I could have found
warm welcome in a hundred homes. At
one place l found the young people pre-.
pairing to act ''Tom Sawyer. as drama
tized. At another they had q debating
society just such as We used to have in
my boyhood. Their last question was,
(which has done the most good in the
world-the printing press or steam ?"-
and one Of the boys immortalized himself
in his first effort by saying, "Mr. Presi-
dent, forty and six years ago this country
was howling wilderness-forty and
six years ago this country was a bowling
wilderness-forty and six years ago this
country was a bowling wilderness. Not
remembering any more of his speech he
remarked as he sat down, "And wish it
was now" found many an old Geor-
gian out here and whenever I met them
we had love. feast. How dear to
us all is the home of our childhood.
How tenderly do these people talk Of the
good old State they left in the long ago
when they were young aud the far west
Was their hope, their desire, their
Elderado. l was discoursing an old
Georgian to-day, 8 schoolmste whom I
had not seen for forty years, and II let him
do most all the talking and could read
his emotions as he spoke of his old home
and of Ben Hill, and the Forrells, and
Jude Bull, and Bingham, and Bacon and
Ridley. He said he was in the court.
house at LaGrange, and Ben Hill vas
sitting near him, when Thomas W.
Thomas came in and handed Mr.. Hill a
letter. That letter contained a challenge
from Alex Stephens to fight duel. Mr..
Hill read it but did not exhibit the
slightest embarrassment or excitement.
He vas engaged in the case &C bar, and
putting the letter in his pocket, attended
to the case and made an admirable
argument and gained the case. Then he
took my friend by the arm and asked him
to go with him to his Office. There he
showed him the challenge and remarked !:
"Of course will not-I cannot fight Mr..
Stephens. Ny whole nature is shocked
at il. 1t is horrible barbarity and
proves nothing. I will decline and pub.
lish my reasons" The next morning he
showed his reply to my. friend. 1t was
copied and approved by him and some
other personal friends, both Wings and
Democrats indorsed it heartily. That
whitening reply--that unanswerable
rebuke is still fresh in the memories of
Georgiaus, and did more to abolish the
code of honor than had been done in
half q century. Mr.. Stephens published
Mr.. Hill as coward, but it amounted to
nothing. Mr.. Hill continued to advance
in popularity and lost nothing in friends
/ or renown. Mr.. Stephens had in public
speech spoken of the know nothing party
leaders as traitors to their country, and
Mr.. Hill replied by saying that the
parallel was on the other side; that the
whig party had for many years showered
its honors and its favors upon Mr. Ste
phens, and now he had turned from il
and betrayed it like Judas lscariot did
his Lord and Master, and the only differ
ence was that Judas repented and hanged
himself; but he was sorry to say that
Mr.. Stephens was still unrepentan'
and unhanged. For this language Mr.
Stephens challenged him. And there
| were giants in those days. We discussed
many notable men and somehow got onto
the preachers, and he told me about his
father having heard DR.. Capers, OF
Bishop Cspers, as be was afterwards, anc
| as he preached those wonderful sermons
strong men were struck down like they
| had been shocked by thunderbolt. He
| .,:l 4L.., MAO ua1ar hofnre nor ainoa qny