The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1906-03-16
pEN-pICTURES OF THE OLDEN Time
BY COL w L. CLAYTON.

with a family where the doctor
had several patients just at Il e
proper stage of the disease sor
spreading it to others. But Pry-
or was not good subject ard
the doctor had to send him off 10
the army nor-immune as to mea-
sles. Pryor at once became a
favorite with his officers, never
shirking duty, never missing a
roll call nor fight till the battle
of Chickamauga, where he re-
ceived what was thought to be
a rather slight waund in the ley,
but which proved to be mortal. |
suppose there were few soldiers
who made the record he did, be-
ing never sick, always at his
post, and yet mere youth when
he was killed. The fate of these
two young soldiers, and the grief
and sorrow consequent on their
loss, is but an epitome of the
condition of almost all the
homes in the Southland during
the war. On every mountain
high and valley low; in the coun-
try and in the city; in the pala-
tial residence and the cottage on
hillside, the same wall went IN
on account of our lost loved ones.
May the nation never put on the
war paint again, and particularly
may there never again come d
time of internecine conflict.
d. N. Cayce was another old
timer of Fulton, of whom / wish
to say something. He had re-
moved from Fulton several years
before | went there, and settle
in Iuka, having been al success
full merchant, and retired with !;
competency. | knew Col. Cayoe
in my boyhood days as | did WI
ley Clifton, seeing him occasion.
ally and hearing much of him.
He was a man of,medium height,
heavy set, compaetly built, hav-
ing a large head, high and broad
forehead, and very expressive
face. He. was very polite and
possessed a kind and noble heart.
You never saw him but that he
was as neat as a pin, wearing a
boquet on the lapel of his coat
when flowers were to be found,
and his Difference to women was
proverbial. He was very fond
of young misses, and nothing
gave him greater pleasure than
to drive them round in a fine
turn out. After the war Colonel
Cayce came back to Fulton to
live with his son, Judge Cayce,
and though pretty old, he still
possessed push and energy,
bought him farm out in the
country east of the town and at
tended to his farming interests
like a young man for several
years. Many will remember him
as one of the old land marks of
old Fulton. His kindly nature,
supurb personal appearance, ge-
nial companionship, cordial and
yet gentle treatment of women
and his Chesterfieldian politeness
will be remembered for many
days in the old town. May the
clods rest lightly on his grave,
and the flowers he so much loved
in life, bloom and spread their
fragrance by his side. In the
push and hurry of life in this
bread winning age, where every
thing is moving at lightning
speed, we seem not now to have
time to pin a flower on our coat,
wreathed in evergreen as a back
ground, and have too much to do
to look back with kindly and pa.
tient attention to the old man
who so loved nature that he de-
lighted to bask in her genial sun
shine, roam amid her leafy trees
and entwining bowers and drink
in the glory of her gorgeous sun
sets. If we could take a little
time from the utilitarian side of
life, when God has given US the
time and opportunity to do it, and
view the beauties of nature, Ell
ther in the vernal spring time,
when the flowers bloom and the
rivulets gurgle, or when the
leaves of autumn are golden, or
carnation or brown, falling to-
ward mother earth in circling
folds, it would have a refining
and mellowing influence on our
lives. Every gurgling stream
that passes by our side as we
walk on the mountain side; ev-
cry leafy grove we traverse,
viewing the squirrels leaping
from bough to bough and hearing
the birds sing;every waving prai-
RE, studded with beautiful and
ever varying wild flowsrs, over
which we pass; every grove of
moss grown and over-topping
trees we bow beneath, offering up
our prisons othe God of nature;
every ocean scene we view, send
ing up its white caps toward the