The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1903-12-09

greater part 07 my knowledge owe, to
Pastor Storrs. Greek and Hebrew he
gave me to add to the languages l was
beginning to own, and he unlocked all
bis accumulations Of learning. 1t was
q monks life that lived; austere and
without incident, but bracing as the
air Of the hills. The whole system was
monastic, though aoomination allghted
on that word in Longmeadow. took
the discipline into my blood. 1t will
20 down to those after me.
There man had to walk with God
whether he wanted to or not
Living was inexpensive, each Item
being gauged by careful housekeeping.
It was a sin to gorge the body, and
eodly conversation was better than
abundance. Yet the pastors tea table
arises with & halo around It The rye
and Indian bread, the doushnuts fra
grant as flowers, the sparing tea, the
prim mats which saved the cloth, the
wire screen covering sponge cake-how
sacred they seem!
The autumn that came to Long
meadow Napoleon Bonaparte was
beaten on the sea BY the English, but
won the battle Of Austerlitz. defeating
the Russian coalition and changing the
map Of Europe.
celt sometimes q puppet while this
man played his great part 1t was no
comfort that others Of my house were
nothing to France. Though I did not
see Louis Philippe again, be wandered
In America two or three years and
went back to privacy.
The missionary spirit Of Longmead-
ow stirred among the Williamses, and
many Of them brought what they
called their mites to Pastor Storrs for
my education. If were made a king
no revenue could be half so sweet as
that The village vas richer than
many q stonier New England place,
but men were struggling then all over
the wide states and territories for ma
terial existence.
The pension no longer came from Eu-
rome. It ceased when returned. from
France. It's former payment was con-
sidered apocryphal by Longmeadow,
whose very maids, too white, with a
pink spot in each cheek, smiled with
reserved amusement at student who
thought It possible he could ever be q
king. spoke to nobody but Pastor
Storrs about my own convictions. But
local newspapers, with their omnisci-
ent grip on what is in the air, banded
the subject back and forth.
We sometimes walked in the bury1ng
ground among dead Williamses while
he argued down my claims, leaving
them without a leg to stand on. Re
yersing the usual ministerial formula,
"If what has been said is true, then It
follows, first. secondly" and so on, he
used to say:
"EIeazar, you were brought up
among the Indians, conscious only Of
bodily existence and unconscious Of
your origin; granted. Money was sent
let us say from Europe-4or your
granted. Several persons,
among them one who testified strongly
against his will, told you that you re-
sembled the Bourbons; granted. You
bear on your person marks like those
which were inflicted on the unfortu-
nate dauphin Of France: granted. You
were Indignantly pursued while
abroad; granted. But what does 1t all
prove? Nothing. It amounts simply to
this: Ycu know nothing about your
early years. Some foreign person
perhaps an English Williams-kincly
interested himself In your upbrilging.
You were probably scalded in the
camps. You have some accidental
traits Of the Bourbons. A man who
heard you had larger pension tnan
the idiot he was tending disliked you.
You can prove nothing more"
/ never attempted to prove anything
more to Pastor Storrs. It would have
been most ungrateful to persuade him
was IN alien. At the same time he
prophesied his hopes Of me, and many
a 1udicious person blamed him for
treating me rs something out of the
ordinary and cockering up pride
A blunter Williams used to take me
by the button on the street.
"Eleazer Williams" be would say,
"do you pretend to be the son Of the
Frelch king? tell you what! will
not let the name Of Williams be DIS
graced BY any relationship to any
French monarch. You must do one OF
two things-you must either renounce
Williamsism or renounce Bourbon
ismr'
Though there was liberty Of con-
science to criticise the pastor he was
autocrat Of Longmeadow. One who
preceded Pastor Storrs bad it told
about him that two Of his deacons
wanted him to appoint ruling elders.
He appointed thesa and asked them
what they thought the dutles were
Shcy said he knew best
"Well," said the pastor, "pnc OF the
ruling elders may come to my house
before meeting, saddle my horse and
hold the stirrup while I get on. The
other may wait Mt the church door
and hold him while get of. and after
meeting bring him to the steps. This
is all Of my work that I can consent to
let ruling elders do for me-"
The Longmeadow love Of disputation
was fostcred BY bouts which ruling
elders might have made it their busl-
H|S'EEBH}|IEElg| 4zzj25I|Ex@ !||||