The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-10-09

uenting upon and bewailing the sim
fitness of catching fish on Sunday
night. After awhile we saw the light
coming back, and the old mother
croaned frequently and grew eloquent
in her righteous denunciations OF Sab
bath breaking. At length the hight
stopped right in front Of the mousse,
and. in a shrill tone of voice, Huldy
called out:
Susan, o Susan, send Aleck "a
negro boy) down here with tub, ana
I'll send you a tub of flounders
AIeck was lying on the steps asleep,
but instantly the old mother sang out
in a sharp tone: "Aleck, run ana
get the tub and carry it down there
to Hubby. Run, L tell you!' Aleck
oheyed and soon he came up the sailo
hill with a tub of founders that must
have weighed thirty pounds. Inc
mother put on her spectacles to look
at them, and forgetting her pious de-
nunciations, she exclaimed: Am
they as nice as you ever saw? Won
we have a breakfast in the morning?
Mother" said the daughter,
wouldn't think you'd eat fish caught
on Sunday night"
eff we don't eat them they'll spoil, ;"
the mother replied, and the daughter
and | did not argue the case with her.
but returned to our own thoughts and
romantic observations, while the moth
ed and Aleck were cleaning and salt
ing the founders. That night 1 saw
my first founder, and the one the
darkey carried along the street the
other day was the last one | ever saw;
but he evidently was of the Hubby
Grissom tribe.
Speaking of Federal Point, wish to
say, 1 never lived among a cleverer
people, The men We're pilots and
made plenty of money to keep their
families well supplied with everything,
even the luXurieS of life. At that time
a great many sail vessels traded at
Wilmington, and the plotting business
was very sure as we'll as emunerative
All along the coast they had look
outs''-poles forty or fifty feet high,
from the top OF which frequent obser-
VaticnS were made seward; ana if the
top of a mast hove I'm sight, the four
men, to whom that lookout be-
lopgeG, would launch their boat and
with both oar and sal, they would
strive to reach that vessel before some
other crew did; for, perhaps three our
four crews. from other 'look-outS,' y
would be racing toward that vessel.
The race was very exciting. Some
times SO close, in fact, that men from
two or three boats would be climbing
upon the sides of the vessel at the same
time. But the man who reached the
steerage wheel first, claimed the yes
sci, and, from the moment he laid
hands on the wheel until the bar had
been. passed, he hadN full and entire
control of the vessel. In short space
Of me that pilot had made, perhaps.
twenty-five or thirty dollars. He was
the bar pilot. Having crossed the bar
into the river his authority ended. and
another man. a partner, called river
pilot" would step forward, take hold
of the steerage wheel and pilot the
vessel to Wilmington, where both Of
them would be paid off. If there were
four men belonging to their company,
the money paid those two was equally
divided between the four.
guess the story that Methodist
preachers are fond of fried chicken
must be true. An incident occurred
not long since that furnishes circum-
this matter. A Methodist preacher of
Raleigh was out in the country, and
stopped at the house of a brother
Methodist. Just before dinner, (the
brother not being at home), he was
asked by the lady to stay and dine, but
she remarked that her dinner would be
soup principally. The preachers
lelI, ana iOOhIIlS Sl+SG(tIIN
at the floor, while visions of fried
chicken ran through his mind he at
length said: SISTER, as Brother Smith
is not at home l guess | had better
go over to Brother Browns"
But the husband came in about that
time, and in a sort of whispered con-
iii another room, the wife
related what had happened. The hus-
band thought the preacher might af
ford to forego chicken one time and
without any apologies, he was invited
to the table; and, supposing that soup
LAS all they had. he had his plate re-
filled time or two. In fact, the good
sister concluded, though she said moth
ing, she had found one Methodist
preacher who surely didn't love
chicken, judging by the way he de-
V"ured soup. When he had filled up,
SO ne mad no room for anything more,
the dinner was brought on the table
but, SO far as eating any more was
concerned, he was out of it. He was
emphatically ''in the soup" The good
lady took in the whole situation. and.
IL is needless to say, she enjoyed the
affair hugely. The preacher has de-
clded Tat he will be a little more
temperate, in the future, in soup
drinking, chicken or no chicken.
In answer to several inquiries I will
say the book of "reminiscences will be
put to press in few days. The price
IS $l.50. Let the orders come in.