The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-10-23
TT BITETH LIKE A SERPENT,
STINGETH LIKE AN ADDER
Sad Story of a Life Rich With Promise of Lofty
Achievements Lost i'm the Slough of
lnebriety.

see those loved ones who have gone
! on before.
do not remember seeing him, but
there was no one with whom ! was
more familiar than old Father Sihon
smith," / heard SO much of him when
a boy. He was a local Methodist
preacher: and, from what / heard my
mother say, he was an Israelite indeed
in whom there was no guile. He was
| not college bred: on the contrary his
education was limited; but he was a
soul winner and knew how to strength
Ell the faith of believers.
BILLY Smith," his son, lived and
died in the Soapstone neighborhood
northwest of Raleigh, where his de-
| scendants are quite numerous. His
two daughters, Hester Ann ana Sarah
| Jane, married two brothers-Alfred
and Simeon Williams who lived about
seven miles from Raleigh on the Fay
| ettoville stage road. | refer to Faith
| er Smith" because as | have heard,
he was one of the original members
of the church. But, l did remember.
/ Gas | sat and thought) the faces of
old father Jewell. George Crowder.
Samuel Whitaker. Samuel Walton,
Jonathan Smith, John Walton. James
Rhodes and of scores of others who
came into the church later on, whose
names / dare not undertake to give
! lest ] might overlook some.
| / remembered so we'll scenes that [
Witnessed, as we'll as the voices. in
| sermons. prayers, songs and shoutings,
! | used to hear in the by-goneS. My
| father had regular appointment
there and he generally closed his SER
mon with an old time exhortation, and
cousin Betsey Rhodes was almost sure
to shout, and that would start others:
and such a season of rejoicine there
would be among the saints. They have
all gone up on high. and doubtless they
sing and shout and tell their trials
and their triumphs DER. as they sit
under the shade of the tree beside the
river of life.
| l saw cousin William Crowder and
brother Simon Turner last Sunday.
both older than |. They are two of
the oldest members of that old time
church. and like two ripe apples. re-
naming upon the tree, are only watt
ing to be gathered. / saw a few Of the
descendants of the old time congre-
CATION; but. the old people | used to
see We're not there.
How sad it makes us feel to go
where our friends once We're and find
them absent-gone away, to return no
more But the glad thought brings
Joy to the heart: we shall meet again:
We can't keep things straight in this
world of optical illusions. for the rea-
son we do not all see alike. do not
feel alike, do not believe alike. And
the root of all these differences is. we
don't wish to agree.
I'm no pessmst, but I'm only too
! conscious of the fact that the world
is badly warped and twisted and fus
: of kinks that are giving US trouble,
5 upon troubles of all sorts, sizes and
shapes.
| 1t is fact that cannot be denied
| that old Human Nature" IS a croakeI
$ and grumbler, and as ungratefule as
a hog. and, withal, a great liar; ana
yet, strange to say, he imagineS he's
a gentleman. True, he walks on two
feet, sleeps on feathers. pretends to
= be a Christian, ana expects to wear
crown in heaven, by ana by; bur
for all that he's a disgrace to himself,
and to the world he lives in. I'm talk
ing about that fellow you call HUI
man Nature"
Every other kind of nature comes
up to its standard, and is true to all
, the laws and requirements of the Gre
, ator, but old Human Nature" who
claims to be the boss of all creation.
is always getting off the track, and
doing the very opposite of what he
knows he ought to do, and what his
Creator told him he must do.
| belong to that family and [ hap
i pen to know, both from experience
and observation, what / am talking
about: and ] am sorry l have to con-
fesS that, although he's now about
six thousand years old, Human Ma
ture" has not improved a bit since
Adam and Eve, on account of their
high headed disObedience, took that
4 awful fall; and Cain, in d fit of anger,
killed his brother.
The old gentleman has made prog
reSs along certain lines, it is true; as.
for instance he dresses better than
hon hn cir,
| made of leaves and skins, eats better
prepared food, sleeps in a more gem
/ teel way than he did when he slept I'M
der a bush or down beside an old
log, and he's learned to travel around
faster and easier, and to get the news
quicker; but he's never left off keeping
bad company, for he still goes with
the animals, especially with the hogs.
and is just as much in league with
snakes as he used to be, when Eve
and he entertained and took counsel
of that gentlemanly serpent who
cheated them out of their estate, By
making them believe a lie which he
manufactured for the occasion.
! said Human Nature is a Croaker.
migrate, and liar. and, of course, j.
stands me in hand to prove those
things. l can do it, and not half try:
for, the old gentleman is SO well
known / need not go out of the neigh-
mean against him; nor need I call on
the stand those men of old who said,
he was conceived in sin and born in
Iiniquity;" his heart was "deCetful
above all things and desperately
wicked his mind was ''enmity
against God, not subject to the Law
of Cod etc.
The first specification is he is a
Croaker; or, what is more fancifuiiy
termed, a pessimist. He sees no good
in anything, nor in anybody. For h1n
there is no sunshine, moon shine nor
starlight. To his mind there is neither
truth, virtue, honor nor justice. There's
nothing sweet, nothing beautiful, nott-
ing lovely: on the contrary, every
thing is bitter, ugly and vicious. He
has no aspiration for, in his concert,
there's nothing better nor higher uLan
he. He thinks everything is bad and
constantly growing worse; and, that
nothing is ever done, by any one, from
| a pure motive. His own thoughts and
purposes being evil he measures OH
ers by himself.
Yes, he's Il grumbler and a grow
Ter, and makes all around him miser-