The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-02-26

one Of the gems Of this grand old
State, celebrated alike for the
grace, the beauty and the virtue of her
women, the bravery and chivalry of
her men, the sacrcdncss and hospital
ity Of their homes, that first saw the
light Of day. 1t was upon her sacred
soil that ] learned the first footsteps
in the pathway Of life, and beneath
her sunny skies spent the days of
my early childhood. Dear to me is
this inspiring present, and dear to mo
the hope Of her glorious future, but
dearest to me are the rccollcctions of
her past achievements.
dead,
Who never to himself hat h said,
This is my own, my native land
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn
ed,
As home his footsteps he hath turned,
From wandernt. on q foreign strand!
If such there breathes, go, mark him
we'll,
For him no minstrel raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his maine,
Boundless his wealth AS wish can claim {,
Despite those titles, power and peif,
The wretch, concentered all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And doubly dying shall 30 down
TO the vile dust, from whence he sprung.
Unwept, unhonored and unsung."
When can first remember Anderson
L, little toddler at my mother side,
al was peace and plenty, and a glo-
,us and happy civilization existed
uure, the result Of refined training
and the adherence to honorable prin-
ciples for gcneratio 8. There was
little to disturb these happy condi-
tions, which gave charm to life and
made all mankind as kin. Families
had known each other for generations,
and the tender traditions which be-
longcd to each, for which men would
fight and die, we're respected and
cherished alike by all as priceless
heritage. The men were brave, the
women virtuous. A lofty tone of cul-
ture. high purpose and honor animated
the people, which was the admiration
Of the world. In those days no man S
word was safely questioned, and dis
grace and death was the price Of wo-
man s virtue.
The mastcr.and servant lived here in
mutual dependence upon each other,
and this mutual trust and dependence
often made them more than friends.
Under the direction Of the one and
by the labor of the other, the fields
yielded their plenteous harvest, and
the fruits of their toll was often re-
garded as common property between
them. A perfect understanding as to
the relative position Of the owner and
the slave existed, and so long as the
difference between them was respect
ed, there was peaceful and amicable
relation between them which needed
not the interference Of those who
would not, or could not, understand
it, and by whose interference these
happy conditions have passed away
and are forever gone.
It was in this charming era that I
was born, and the impress Of those
times lives with me as delightful
memory. Those we're happy days for
all, and many things connected with
them can never be enjoyed by sue
ceeding generations. For instance,
the character cf the old negro
"mammy" of the family, who pillow
ed your infant head upon her loyal
heart with the tenderness and devo.
tion Of mother; who added to your
comfort and happiness by her con-
stant care; was the companion of your
waking hours aad mingled her bless
ings with your childish play; who,
when you were aweary, crooned her
sweet lullaby. so full of tenderness
that you were soothed into repose.
Can you not recall her tender solici-
tude at your illness, when, with ma
tcrnal affection she watched your
every symptom, and was at once your
angel of mercy and the strength and
Comforter Of your anxious mother,
whom, perhaps, she had nurscd, aud
was the first to catch the in fant cry
from her lips as she was from yours;
who was, indeed, the stay of the house
hold, and took into her heart with
loving affection, every member there
Of. In times of trouble, she was the
appellate court upon whose sympathies
you could rely, and she never failed
you in trying ordeal. 1t was her
words Of tender appeal that excused