The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-08-15

| Cardiff for France, aud he had come TO
W ales to get the papers about his birth. NV
Wlfe felt that my home was not good enough
Tor Henry to sleep in, so she insisted t41at
ne go TO the hotel and she would bring
Elizabeth around in the evening TO see him
Stanley asked about a willow which
he remembered he had planted at the
corner OF the house when he was a boy. IL
was mere twig he had pushed in the
ground, and taking his mother by the hand
they walked outside to look at the tree 1t
mad grown wonderfully and was higher
IMAM the house. the long limbs being down
trailing the ground Stanley looked UP,
ana as the remembrance Of his boyhood
days came bacd, the tears rolled down his
face. His mother also cried again. The
women who collected TO See Ellenor Jones'
son told me often since how Stanley and his
mother stood under the tree and went.
holding each others hands.
I'm the evening Elizabeth went around
TO the hotel TO see her brother. She was
Then about % years Old. My wife and the
sister had not seen or heard of him for four
teen years. the girl was shy in the presence
or the well-dreSsed stranger, but the meet
ing between them was affected. He gave
them each present of 10 shillings, 81 so
IN our money. His father was still living
IN the town, and for the moment Henry
forgot that he had sold him to a sea cap
tain.
COW FOR HIS FATHER.
He was generous. aud gave him enough
money to buy COW. His return was the
talk of the village for long time, but he
left for Cardiff at midnight. He said he
had TO be in France at a certain time, or he
whould lose his situation. When | came
home from work Ia the morning Henry had
gone, and had not seen him. II l had
known a WI n IA I iDIx a
have returned home, but my wife thought |
would not be interested in him. He prom
ised TO send for Elizabeth, his sister, to put
her in school, but he never did.
AFTER that we heard of him through the
newspapers as being il Africa hunting for
Livingstone. Preacher Davis, at Cardigan,
followed his career, and sent me the papers
from time to time. Once nothing was
heard from him for four or five months
and everybody thought he was dead. Mr..
Davis died, and since then | have read
about Stanley whenever 1 could get the
newspapers. Stanley never wrote to his
mother after he left that night for Cardiff.
| supposed that he was in Africa and
couldn't reach her by letter.
There were many gaps in the early life Of
Stanley which Mr.. James could not fill I'D.
His memory was defective and in some
cases he didn't know. If he had known
a great man, he said he would have kept a
better record. Under the circumstances,
having never seen the boy and feeling no tie
OF blood, it is surprising that he remembers
as much as he does.
PROUD OF STANLEY
Mr.. Davis is very proud of the explorer.
He has often talked about Stanley and the
relation he sustained to his mother among
his friends, but as the people talked Welsh
the fact that Staniey's step-father was
living was not discovered by the public I'M
til now. According to published biogra-
phies OF Stanley, he was born near Den
bign, Wales, in 1910. His name was John
Rowlands. 1t will be seen the last name
given by Mr.. Davis agrees with this. At
the age OF 3 he was sent to the poor
house at st. Asaph, where he remained
until he was 49, receiving there
fair education He then shipped as a
cabin boy to New Orleans. Mr.. James
never knew exactly what became of the
boy after the sea captain died, but he uu-
derstOod a rich merchant named Stanley
from New Orleans had picked him up in
London. He adopted his foster fathers
name The biographies also state that Stan
ley revisited Wales in 1864, and in 1868
sailed with the British expedition for Abys-
snia. Mr.. james 10 not sure Of the date
when Stanley paid the visit to his mother
but it may have been in 1864. The chances
are that it was in 1868 when he went with
the expedition, for he told his mother he
was in a great hurry and needed the bap-
tismal papers, or he would lose his job.
Watkin James is now living with his
fourth wife at Homestead. He came to
America With his family in 1879, and set
tied at Johnstown, where he kept hotel
near the Lincoln bridge. About five years
ago he moved to Homestead and escaped
the Johnstown food.
When asked why he did not write to Stan
ley to tell him who he was, he replied that
Stanley was great man. and he was afraid
to bother him. He was content to pIod his
way alone. with the people ignorant that
he was married to Stauley's mother Now,
that he is getting old. he would like to meet
the explorer and have long chat with him.
He piled the reporter with questions about
Stanley's visit to Pittsburg last winter. He
wanted to know if his wife was hand
some woman, and when the reporter told
him about Stanley's little negro servant,
whom the explorer had brought from Af-
RIGA, he smiled good-naturedly.