The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-06-18
A G OF FACTS
About Persons and Things Gathered Her.
and There by Our Raleigh Corr->paud-

another collection. much larger. IN the
library and this has recently been rear
ranged. II consists OF the following: OIL
portraits-General J. Johnston Pettixrew.
General James II. Lane. James Ircdell
Bu-gwyn. Thomas 5. keenan,. William
Johnson. A. Il. Andrews. Julian :. Carr.
". c. Kerr. Henry l.. Wyatt, y. Collin
Hughes. Thomas f. Wood. Charles NJ.
Stedman. +. Hayne Davis. Crayons-
General Albert sydney Johnson. A. NJ.
Waddell, Basil &. Manly. Wharton j.
Green. General l.. OBJ. Branch. General
William Mackae. Z. Burke Haywood.
William +. Beasley. William Il. Wood.
Governor Thomas NJ. Holt. John 4. Gil
mer, Richard Stanford. William J. Yates,
W. l.. London. Walter l.. Steele. w. NJ.
Robbins. Edward n. Hall. General w. D..
Fender; General Collett L~eventhorpe
General w. l.. Lewis. John +. Hoke.
General Bryan Grimes. Governor a. NJ.
Scales. William l.. Saunders. IL. Il. Ihrie,
General John r. Cooke. Photographs
General w. r. Roberts. General James
Il. Gordon. General William L. Davie.
Rev. y. b. Cobb. John NJ. Odell w. II. n.
Cowles. Peter +. Hines, William Hin
secretary Of state forty years.. Francis
l.. Hawks, F. II. Cameron. Henry w.
Miller. jefferson Davis. Engravings-
Charles +. Johnson, Dennison OlmStcd,
Manuel Fetter. Elisha A. Mitchell. Heze>
kiah G. Leigh. David Schenck. William 4.
Graham. Joseph Graham, w. G. Thomas.
R F. Lee. S~tonewall Jackson. Joseph r,
Johnston. Daniel Webster, Jefferson
Davis A. H. Stephens,
How many people know that North
Carolina has yet two royal gifts? One OF
these - the clock in the tower OF the
court house at Hillsboro. which yet tells
the hours, and the other the charter OF
Wake county. Both gifts were from His
Most Gracious Majesty. King George the
Third. And yet EIre are people who have
used some of their time in trying to eX-
plode what they term the Wake Myth"
These unbelievers and romance destroyers
decline to believe that Esther Wake was
Governor Tryon'S sister-in-law; that she
was as lovely as the sunrise: that this
county was named in her honor: that its
first county seat was Bloomsbury, named
in honor to My Lady Tryon's town-house
in London. These unbelievers and doubt
ers are of a piece with those who cast in
situations against the authenticity of
the Mecklenburg Declaration.
The old Presbyterian church here will
be torn down either this year or next, to
make way for a better building. In this
old structure the sessions of the house
of were held during those year.
between the burning Of the old capitol
and the completion of the new one.
One of the gifts your correspondent has
made to- the state library is the key of
NliC Soull uool VI lllt o1b dDilo IL va
taken Out while the building was in flames
and the man who took ii saw. as he look
ed in at the open doorway. the famous
statue of Washington. sitting there. coldly
calm. with the fire Wreathing about ii.
The fire ruined this pride of Canova.
The head was never ound. 1t was said
it was carried away. This is probably un-
true. Most of the statue is in the state
museum. Portions of it are scattered
over the state. One fragment is at the
exposition at Charlotte. Efforts
We're made to restore it in 1898: of cousc
they failed. Much of it is so colcined that
it breaks into powder.
OF all the letter-bcoks of the old time
governors which rest in the book cases in
the executive office that Of Governor
Thomas Burke is the most Interesting.
One Of the first letters copied in it is from
Samuel Johnson. date3 Edenton. l775. in
which the writer says he has just seen
the legislature in session and that it was
a very poor body. He expresses his fear
that the colony is breaking away from
the mother country, and evidently had
but little faith in a republic.
The beauty of the ~penmanship Of these
old letters as well as the elegance Of their
language strike one most forcibly. Both
would be considered a sheer waste of time
in these electric days. when the type
writer doth the machine and the one
with her golden hair %ahanGinG down her
of time were the two auxiliaries Of the
letter writer's of the Iong-ago.
This is the period when athletics of the
brain and body go fittingly together.
Your correspondent suggested to Presi-
dent Alderman at the university COM
mencement last week that there ought to
be on commencement day a fine and
varied display of athletics, filling in two
hours in the afternoon. He very prompt
ly decided that at the next Commences
ment this should be provided. and that
it should be. like the literary exercises,
Open to the public free.
The popul:sts do some queer things.
about t. " action in requiring Senator
Vance = ign their demand before they
would :,aree to vote for him.. This popu-
list was asked: Suppose Vance had not
Signed-might he not have been e~lected?"
Maybe So, was his reply. Then he went
on to say that the populists did not really
expect Vance would sign; that they had to
do something to make a start OF their
"trusty and well-beloved' Harry Skinner
was the discoverer and apostle. Then this
populist very cody added that of course,
the poulists and others never thought SO
much of Vance after he did sign the de-
mands." Now, that was a true display Of
human nature. A moral turks in all this,
and it isn't much Of a puzzle to find 1t,
either.
While at the town Of Hatteras. last
March, it was stated by the keepers Of the
l1o-SdNlnR stations ana OIneTS mat OILY
Maltese cats were on that island, and 1t is
a long one. Scores of these cats were
seen, many of them very large and Of
great beauty of fur.
The largest telescope in this state,
owned privately, is that of Colonel A. w
Shaffer, of Raleigh. 1t is of four inches
aperture and was made by Brashear. OF
Pittsburg. 1t is mounted in a brick and
stone observatory, and the equipment Is
very complete. A gentleman of Whining
ton ownes a 3-inch, also by Brashear.
The items in the newspapers about the
singing of the old North State by Bob
Taylor. of Tennessee, last week as a
compliment to Governor Russell and
party, and the fact that the bands at
Nashville. are TO play il for the North
Carolina veterans, recalls the fact that II
is the only state song" save Maryland.
My Maryland" which was written by
James r. Randall. William Castor. per-
haps. in all respects North Carolina
greatest man. wrote the "Old North
State His fine face looks out from the
canvass in the supreme court room. The
lady who played the air of this state song
the first time. lives here. These many
years she has been an invalid. Her home
is but a few yards away from the office
x-h{ob Tr1Oo CoStnn ncr1nied and her