The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-01-22

| Pr. Deems preferred charges against
| DR.. Smith before the Virginia Confer
ence, every member of that body ex-
Ioept two voted to acquit Dr. Smith.
The North Carolina Conference stood
by Deems; the Virginia Conference
stood by Smith. The most notable
events of the Petersburg trial were the
public demonstrations given to Deems
| and Smith by their admirers. DR..
Smiths friends hearing that DR.,
Deems friends were going to present
| him with Bible, got up a counter
demonstration, and on the same even
ing that DR.. Deems received Bible
from his friends DR.. Smith received
a goblet. "a Bible and an elegant cane.
DR.. r. l.. Helm. of the North Caro-
lima Conference presented the B1ble
| to DR.. Deems, and DR.. Leroy M. Lee
| made the presentation of the goblet
and DR.. John S. Edwards of the Bible
and cane to DR.. Smith. Before that
| time the people of Petersburg had
presented DR.. Deems with g. costly ser
vice of silver plate, the presentation
speech having been made by K. *.
Collier ESQ. On the plate was this in
lscription: Presented by the citizens of
| Petersburg Va. to Charles f Deems.
d. D." in the dew of youth" as an
leyidence of their appreciation of his
IVi,tuouS life and exalted worth, ana
Especially as a. memorial of their adj
miration of his moral courage. his
lpowers of speech. his Christian spirit,
as displayed by him on the trial of
William A. Smith. d. D.. before the
lannual conference of the Methodist f.
lChurch. South. in Petersburg. Va
Deems, Smith, Lee, Tucker and al;
those who bore a part in those very
leNcitipg scenes and said so many haru
things of each other have gone to the
Land of Spirits. 1t is to be hoped that
| thew tOl'p1Np pnph other before they
Invent, and that each one received a
| welcome at the gate and found an
abundant entrance into the city of life
and light and love.
l repeat what l have often said,
the Christopher Duncan letter was a
good one and but for the fact that Mr.
fucker wholly apprC priated it &c him
self, raising a row over it. there might
have been further teaching along that
line and many boys, who become in
fdels, might have been saved.
| A preacher was telling how quarrel
some people make Il great deal OF
trouble over little OF nothing, and went
on to say that he heard of TWO neigh
| borS--tWO Women-Who got into Il
dispute about an inch or two OF space
along the line that separated their
gardens. and fl ON a little dispute they
got INTO a quarrel and called each
other hussey and liar and finally got
to pulling hair and finally TO gouging
each others eyes, and --.
| Up bounced a Wr1thy looking Wo-
man and Shaking her fist at the
preacher. shouted out: Bout half of
that's a lie, and | could scratch the
eyes outn that old hag that up and
told you bout it.
sam Jones says the hit dog will
boiler, and l suppose just as long as
aaroWs of truth are, being shot at ran
l - n,r n
letter. there will be hitting and "hol-
lering." No of course that preacher
llicver saw ror heard of that Wrathful
woman but she was guilty OF some
thing and she billed over y fellow
had better keep quiet when he gets hit,
grunt ard endure it, and then be sure
) t., get out of the range of the guns by
doing better and keeping better COM
Iany.
Old Blind Jerry was an old time free
NEGRO. who in my boyhood days went
from place to place in our neighbor-
hood breaking flax, for be il remem-
bered that in the early days of the
tnineteenth century people raised hemp
and most of the working people wore
flax shirts and pants made from hemp
grown on the farms After the hemp
had beer cut and had been exposed
to the weather long enought to rot the
| weed. it was put through KIND Of
machine call flax brake and thus
prepared for the wheel. A great many
ipeopie have those old flax wheels as
pallor ornaments, or rather as souVe-
Mrs Of the good old days when linen
towels as we'll as tow shirts could be
made at home. Blind Jerry broke all
the flax, as | have intimated, in our
neigh borhood. and to go from place to
place he hld a faithful dog that led
l I. oh
his neck to which "A string was attach
ed, the other end of which Jerry neld
IN his hand. The dog seemed to know
which road Jerry wished to travel and
ned take il. At any rate, Jerry and
his dog; CT rathc- | should say the log
land Jerry, would come at the appointed
ttime-the deg leading. That was all
right, and nobody thought less of
Jerry because he followed d dog, nor
less of the dog because he LED jerry
because the dog was sight to jerry and
Jerry was respectability to the dog
But, ] don't know just how to ra4e the
dog which leads Il woman around nor
the woman that follows a dog. ! saw
la colored lady being led by a bun
terrier not long Since. and she seemed
to be just as happy in the company of
her dog as that white lady at Selma.
| who the last time | saw her was hold
ing her dog in her lap.
| Yes, L was al the Selma junction the
other day, waiting for No. 10 on tho
| Atlantic Coast Line, While quite q num-
Der Of people were also waiting for
their several trains Among the rest
there was a lady who seemed to BE-
playing mother to a bull pup. When
| she came into the waiting room she
| brought the pup in her arms. and when
| she took a seat she held him in her
| lap, for a while. At length the pup
/ jumped down aud whined as if he
wished to go out and get little fresh
| air. The woman who had copy OF
Smart Set in her hands arose and fol-
lowed the dog, holding the end of
| tiny chain. She was a white woman,
land hers was little 'purpe'' but /
| could not help thinking of Blind jerry
and the old time flax breaking
| countrynran who saw the woman and
| her dog going around there. kept NOV
| ing about So as to keep his eyes on
| them. and every now and then he
| would say to himself: We'll, If that
amt the doggonedest mess | ever did