The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-05-19

| come now to the most interesting
phase of Miss Dix S most useful and noble
life to North Carolnians, her visit to our
State in 1913, nearly half century ago
She was already known to intelligent and
leading North Carolinians, for her great
services to humanity had been published
abroad. Her success in the State of New
Jersey in having an asylum erected-the
first perfect achievement of this good and
benevolent woman-was not unknown in
our own State. That was in 1915 or 1916.
She came to Raleigh two years later by
stage, the only way of travelling then,
and it was tedious and long. She also
visited Charlotte, two hundred miles
away, enduring day and night travel and
bad roads in a numbering stage. the only
mode open to her Then she met John w.
Ellis, afterwards Governor, and General
Rufus Barringer. later to win green lau-
rels in the great warfare for Southern in
dependence. and others. She essayed to
impress upon them her mission. and the
noble cause she so earnestly espOused.
Wherever she went. she met with cOur-
tesies and attention due to 50 worthy ana
admirable bencfactor, so grand
Il woman. At Raleigh she aroused
much enthusiasm. and no lit
tie humOr. as she told of hcT
prison explorations, and her visits to
almshouses and places of misery and
suffering. General Barringer in May.
1894. in his paper on The North Caro-
lima Railroad" read before the Historical
Society of the University of North Caro-
lima, said this:
THE helpless beings were not only Of
ten confined. on slight charges. and fire.
quently loaded with blinking chains. all
on the idea then commonly prevailing
here. of there being no other practical
mode of treatment, but the jails and poor
houses themselves were hOrrid to lookup
on. almost invariably filled with filth and
stencil. and the occupants often indis
criminately crowded together. This was
with Miss Dix no mere sentiment. and she
seemed to despise affectation in any cause
to high Christian duty. Every thought was
based on sound sense and direct business
methods Her name was already world
wide. her fame rivalling Howard and
Romilly's. She touched incidentally, and
without the least offense the general
backwardness of the State, n State ut
once so desirable to live in, and so in need
Il
say, but intelligent men and women OF
all classes and all sections saw crisis
was upon us
She wanted one hundred Thousand dol
lars. 1t sent SILVER of dismay through
the North Carolina politicians; it looked
impossible 1t would ruin any party or
any politician who would dare to favor
such wild Quixotic scheme of benevo-
lence. Were not the public streams of
revenue dried up; were not the voters Sc
verely economical and unused to great be-
nevolences? Were not the total revenues
of the State but ninety-siX thousand? So
talk of voting for measure under any
plea. even from woman of the best in
tentions. and the most intellectual force,
was too wild, too extreme for counte-
nance. The hospital for the insane looked
a dead impOssibiEty, but the philanthropy
list did not lose all heart or hope. She had
sat by the side of an admirable Christi
an woman's bed of death, and COM
muned with her in secret. 1t was Mrs.
Dobbin of Fayetteville, the wife of Jas.
G.. Dobbin. who was afterward Secre
tary Of the Navy. She looked with tender
eyes into Miss Dix's kind. benevolent,
very striking face, and loved her for her
sympathy and for her cause. She thanked
her with sincere gratitude for her tender
watching as she ministered to her in
what was to prove her last illness. She
felt drawn to her as only two noble ma
lures are drawn to each other; and eX-
pressed her profound admiration for her
friends EfewOrk. 1t was then she asked
Miss Dix what she could do to repay her
for her kind ministerings. The noble wo-
man said: ASK your husband to intro
duce and advocate another bill for the
erection of an asylum for North Carroll
na." Mrs. DObbin could not resist this ap-
peal and almost with 44er dying breath
she begged her gifted husband to repay
her own debt of gratitude to Miss Dix
by making another effort to pass the
Asylum bill. The appeal of a devoted.
faithful Christian wife did not fall upon
dull insensate ears, but melted the heart
of him who was soon to be bereaved.
There is nothing so pathetic in our legis-
lative annals as the cause of Mr.. DObbin
few days later. The good wife had been
deposited in the narrow house appointed
for the dead-dust to dust, and ashes to
ashes The Borrowing legislator speaker
of the House of Commons. clad in the
garments Of sorrow, heart very tender,
yet firm. so fresh ableeding, entered the
House and began at once to fulfill the
sacred pledge he had made to his dying
wife, and to meet the measure of plain
and sober duty he owed to the ministerng
friend of her who was gone, as well as to
the multitudes Of people all over North
Carolina, who were smitten and afflicted,
in sufferings many and deep, and with no
hope or aid of earthly solacement or de-
livery. A prominent and former citizen
of our State has given a most striking
picture of this scene, that is historic and
worthy Of the painters brush. DIR. Eu-
gene Grissom from his far away home
beyond the Rocky Mountains, with a
heart signing and burning to return to
the land Of his ancestors, wrote Of the
Speaker: Feeling keenly his own be
reavement, and cherishing sympathy for
the woes Of others, sustained by a pro-
found sympathy that moved every bosom.