The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-03-20
Especial Correspondence
Raleigh, n. c., March

Sale1gh, N u, March Ii.
In a hospital here, in the children's
ward and in a Cameron memorial cot
is boy of 10 years, whose history is one
of the romances IN real life which are
some times more strange than the i'm
aginings Of fiction. Eight years ago the
boy, then only years Of age. was in
the same hospital. and at the same
time a man was an inmate there, who
did not even know the little fellow, yet
their lives have since strangely blend
ed. The boy was patient and lovable
and the kindly matron centered her af-
fection upon him. The boys father,
drunkard and worse, nearly eight years
ago brought his four little children
here from his home in the country, put
them out of his wagon at the capitol
square and then and there left them,
veritable babies in the wood, and dis
appeared from their sight forever. Yet
though they were thus cruelty turned
adrift all four have found happy homes
and the kindest of kind foster parents,
for all were adopted. The little boy,
whose mother had died but a little
while before, was adopted by the man
who had been sick in the hospital and
who had heard the matron speak Of
the little fellow So tenderly. He told
the matron that he adopted the boy
because she loved him so. And now
the little fellow is back again, this
time with a disease of the hip which
is happily durable. He is a model of pa
tience and cheerfulneSs. Day after day
he has been there with one leg in a
fracie and kept straight by weights.
The boy cannot recall the memory of
his real father. He knows, however,
that his present father is not his real
one. The foster father and mother live
in the country, but come to see him as
often as they get an opportunity. They
are devoted to him: He. is their all.
Will the "coon song" and the cake
walk never cease? 1t appears not. At
performance after performance out
comes the young woman or man and
sings the song about what his baby
has done and always gives the cake
walk step, an imnOSSiDle sometime
which no negro ever originated.
negroes have as their ideal what the
negro minstrelS do. And the music of
the day still dwellS upon the coon and
his disreputable relationship, the razor
the noble game of craps and that sort
of thing. 1t was a strange mixture OF
the sublime and the ridiculous, to see
in theatre not a thousand miles form
here, at a performance of Quo Vadis
the. Apostle Peter give his blessing tC
<the Roman noble and the Christian
maiden and then as soon as the curtain
fell, to hear the orchestra swing into
the rafting rag-time music of ''Koon-
vile Koonlets."
The other day North Carolinian who
has Travelled all over this country and
a great deal in the old world made the
remark that there was only one North
Carolinian who was known the world
over, and that this one was DR.. Cat
ling, the inventor of the revolving CUR
of that name. He said he deplorec
this, that there was no great writer
statesman or inventor, and added thai
there had never been one in all the
states history. The fact is that the
North CarolinianS are a singular self
contained and easily satisfied people
This is one of the states without any
city in the true sense of that word, and
where the mass of the rural population
is sc ,reat that it dominates the towns
com, ,letely. The proportion of people
who travel, as compared to the mass
is infinitely small, yet it is to be doubt
ed that there can be found anywhere
a people more simple in their tastes
and independent and homogeneous.
The state library has been rearrang.
ed and in a very admirable way. Over
the doors Of one of the cases are the
words North Carolina" In this case
are the books relating to this state ol
of North Carolina authorship which
the state possesses.