Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1898-11-12
Letters from the People.

the Sea Coast,n which. although
quite readable in the nam, is mis-
leading and untrue in its essential
characteristics. The writer speaks
of the Eastern Shore Of Virginia and
Maryland with evident intention of
being humorous. Well, the article is
amusing. not at the expense of the
people of the Shore, but at the wan-
ton and ineXcusable ignorance of the
writer He says II use the masculine
genderl, in speaking of this sand
strip, TT forms what is called the
Eastern Shore of Virginia and Mary
land. desolate and dreary stretch,
with the same primitive kind of pop
ulation already described"
1t is curious how the lego" will crop
out in every utterance of some peo-
pie. The writer Of the said article
will never be convinced that wisdom
will not die with him. am acquain
ted with the "sand-strip" along the
coast of Virginia and Maryland. and
have yet to find more generous
and noble people. They are not as
we'll versed. perhaps, in the lore of
egoism, huffoonery and withcraft as
some others, but they are not the
primitive semi-savage brutes as Mi.
or Mrs. Rene Bache would have us
believe. The most primitive thing
that | can see in connection with
them is the exceedingly primitive or
ticle of our friend. This same sand
strip is the most productive and
posperous. in material prosperity, of
any part of this great country it has
been my privilege to visit, notwith>
standing the avaricious greed OF the
commission men of a higher civil.
zationn who seem to think it a capi-
tai joke to rob those people of their
honest wealth They live in good,
we'll painted and well furnished
houses. dress we'll and up to date in
style, and many of them would put to
the blush some of those modern soci-
stv bellies of a New England metrop-
oils, if such thing as a graceful,
modest blush is not too primitive for
her indulgence, by their graceful car
riage and modest demeanor. They
can converse we'll on topics of which
the average Metropolitan knows alb
solutely nothing. Mr. b. tells what
he conceives to be a good joke, in sup
port of his primitive assertion. of an
old fellow who testified in Virginia
court: He gave his age, in squeaky
treble, as 60. Nonsense said the
Judge, you are 70 or over. u assure
YOU, ledge, that am only sixty in
sisted the witness, and stuck to the
statement, until finally somebody who
knew him contradicted him. Then
he broke down and said appealingly !:
.Jedee, own up that l didn't count
ten years l spent on the Eastern
Sho': but would yougn Now, l
suppose that is such a good one that
he laughed. Oh! how he laughed
like the Irishman who saw q great
bull boring his horns into the ground
and thought what fine joke it
would be to jab his nose against the
ground. He laug hed land he laughed,
and he laughed. and then wallowed
on the ground and laughed, and be
then leaped nimbly over the fence
and seized hold of the bulls horns,
and the bull with one toss sent him
sailing back whence he came. He
picked himself up and went limping
away, having learned something by
experience, and said: BE dad. And
what foine thing Oh had me laugh
first" If the joke upon which MIR.
B. seems to rely illustrates anything
at all, it illustrates too much. BY
his own statement we learn, first, that
the old fellow who lied about his age
did not belong to the Eastern Shore;
second. he was testifying in Vir-
ginia court, where the truth was
squeezed OUT of him; and third, as we
20 to the same market for cloth of
the same stripe, the old fellow must
have come from Mr.. Bache's own
country.
The Eastern Shore is noted, not
alone for it's material prosperity, but
has just claim to some distinction
in the civil and political world. Some
of the ablest jurists and best states
men have hailed from this ''desolate
sand strip" 1t is the home of the
GUSTS family, out of which came
Mrs. Washington. 1t was the home
of Governor Wise, Judge Gunter,
Judge Bailey and others.
II also has as good schools, such as
are not excelled perhaps, by any in
all the land of their grade.
I think Mr.. B. would best walk a
little further from the waters edge
when he traverses that country again
and he will not see his own image 80
much and can more nearly approx
mate justice to others.
: L. E. SPENCER.
Doverville, s. c., Nov 4. 1898.
EDITOR ENrERPRIsE:-If it is just
| 4l>aeaa.a 70 ror mill COY, O faM