The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-09-23

! not inspire him to keep step; and. a.
! for a Pretty girl. she had more terrors
for him than a battery of artillery, 4
brigade OF infantry, or a laundering
squad Of cavalry. But deep down
in the grain. there was true manhood.
| This "calm. unsighing son OF the
I, woods" had a profound nature. not
easily stirred. but he was Anglo Saxon
TO the core.
/ When h fiery Prince Rupert flashed
| his sword at lie mead OF the royal army
I Of King Charles ]. his cavalry charged
ike the simeon OF the desert. but they
I were like RE stanA vail OF asr-
Jackson at Bull Run bx the ,tks~
Of Captain Praise God Barehonss ~
Cromwelfs troops: and IL the Cavalss-
was the embodiment OF the Knirht a..
| rant OF the Middle Ages. the Puri,s,
/ typihed the men who stood IN the nas~
al Thermopylae face TO face with grim
death And so the m-ounta!neer. who
|. tracked his gaHa on the banks OF
Deep and Aarat rivers. did not go into
battle with the tigerish grace OF the pov
who fioated IN his day throughout the
fairyland OF Abema-ie and Pamlico
sounds-but he went
II was interesting to watch these two
types OF the North carolinians gradu-
ally understand and appreciate eaca
other. Their was something In the
sou or the mountaineer which was
caught and dazzled by the devil-may-
are clan OF his lowland comrade: he
did not understand IL, but Il strongly
attracted him all the same. On the
other hand. his sturdy. prosaic, prac-
teal nature. though as little under
stood by his reckless compatriot. ex-
torted his respect-specially as IL was
often very helpful TO him during the
war. The Underwater soldier was gen
erous to a fault-so generous that he
Was ssarf xnanh nearly all the alma
and found a convenient, friend in tho
provident denizen OF the noun
tains. who. used to having but little
money In his life. and when he got hold
Of IL took care OF IL, but was willing
10 lend -for a consideration as old
Trapbois says in Scotts 'Fortlnes Of
Nigal."
Now, nearly all the difference above
set forth resulted from environment
and geographical position. The man of
the lowlands was Of an old. conserva-
tive, long settled community, and was
in the world; the man OF the hills was
Of a new. slowly developing communi-
ty. and was out of the world. I know
for a fact that not one out OF ten OF
the latter ever saw a locomotive or a
railroad until he took a train on the
North Carolina or Wilmington and
Weldon railroad to go to the front.
n a still smaller percentage ever
saw a steamboat.
The above line Of thought recalls
The Virgtnian." n OF the most
powerful realistic novels Of the
time-second. in my estimation. only
to The House With Green Shutters"
n stronger than either The Gentle
ma from Indiana" or. .Th evoice OF
the People" So admirable Is the tech
nique and so skillful the weaving OF thu
threads of he story that the author
without a trace OF awkwardness,
tale through his whole career-dealing
with him as cowboy. in his merry
"larks." as Joe Gargery calls a frolic
in Dickens Great Expectations" and
in his hard work, too: following him
In his promotion as foreman; marry
ing him to the plucky. pretty deseen-
dant of Molly Stark (and STEPS over
the dead body of his enemy 10 10 I'D.
and leaving him partner in a prosper
Gus business-without ever calling him
anything but The virginian."
But the s~trangest thing about that
book is its missioner. 1t might prop
erly lave been called The Georgian
or, THE Mississippian." or, The North
Carolinian," but not The VIrginian."
From the extreme western border TO
Lynn Haven bay. where they catch oys.
ters as large as a mans hand, there
has not in a hundred years been such
a type of man In the Old Dominion. 1t
Is the one state in the union which
does not raise characters" and grow
idiosyncrasies-it is too conservative.
too old. too long-settled. Such a type
might have existed in Colonial days
no, he could not either: for the de-
velopment of The Virginian'' there
were necessary the COW boy. the cattle
ranch. the mining camp. and civiliza-
ton bridging its way with steel rails
to the Golden Coast.
Within the past few days IL has beer
my pleasure to meet Col. w. L. DeRos-
set. of Wilmington. who was the guest
OF Mr.. and Mrs. w. L. Holt on Hay
noun He is very interesting and en-
Pertaining in conversation: and. as his
life has been full Of honors and useful
ness, he would have much to tell, but
for his modesty.
From his superior vantage ground OF
three score and ten years, he straight
ened out a kink in the local history Of
this correspondent. in the article de-
scribing the visit OF the Wilmington
Light Infantry-of which he was then
| commandments Fayetteville In the A.
les The pretty girls did form an es-
cort OF honor TO the Wilmington sol
| dfers, between the city and the steam
er's wharf. all right enough, as the
writer narrated it; but Ii was on the
companys arrival, for they went hence
not home but TO Raleigh. making the
journey by land over the road on this
side CT the Cape Fear river.
Col DeRosset relates that. after hos
pitable reception and treatment here.
they We're told. on their departure for
he state capital that they would frd
lunch waiting for them at the toll
house probably toll house kept by Hin
ton James On Harrington HID; on
their arrival at that point the piece
de resistance" OF the lunch was found
TO consist OF about IS bottles of whls-
Key. and they were duly stored In the
baggage wagon, together with two gal
Ions already in cargo. The ante-bel-
lum wilmington Light Inantry were
not easy to throw" for Col DcRosse1
solemnly assured this historian tina.
n lunch" all disappeared by the
time they reached their journeys end
and ther was not a nan drunk exceo.
one sick soldier, who tool a dram By
ADVICE or the surgeon-and he was