The Tupelo journal., 1906-03-02

PEN.pICTURES OF THE OLDEN Time
BY COL W |. CLAYTON.

~ 49,
| think God knew what was best
for man when he gave the COM
mand to multiply and replenish
the earth. | am led to make
this remark on thinking of an
old bachelor whom | knew at
Fulton, and remembering his
sad end. His name was Coleman
Robinson, a brother to Mrs. DR..
Barnes, who lived about one
mile north of Mooresville, in old
Itawamba county, now Lee. He
was well educated, his father
being considered rich in those
days, and after completing his
education in school he studied
law obtained license to practice.
set up an Office in Fulton had a
fine library of law books and
many literary works besides,
and was himself a great reader.
He had left his Office at Fulton
when / came to the bar, and
gone back to his fathers old home
in the country some fifteen miles
south west Of town, he having
inherited the old homestead and
goodly number of slaves.
There was no end to his read
ing, as the saying goes, and he
seemed to be as anxious to sue
ceed at law as any of us, but he
had absolutely no appliable ca
pacity. He could not manage a
case in court. You know it is
often said of those lawyers who
say but little in the court, but
manage business well out side
and write up their papers cor
rectly, they are good judges of
law, but are not good pleaders'.
That's what many people call
public speaking at the bar. |
heard this said of Coleman Rob
inson once and l repeated the
remark to Duke Shelley, and
Duka's reply was, well if
he knows it, it is about in him
in Jumps undigested." Coleman
finally quit holding himself out
as a lawyer, and was elected as
county surveyor, and did consid-
cradle work as such and for. sew
eral years. He was re
financially, and sdl-t ~
much involved, and many suits
were filed against him both in
the justice courts and the circuit
court, and he always appeared
as his own lawyer, and made
the best defense he could. Not
long after the war, we had a
county court, presided over by
the probate judge and two justice
of the peace, and had a court
once each month. Among other
provisions Of the county court
law was one that when you took
an appeal from a Justice court
you took it to the county court,
and after it was tried there you
took it to the circuit court if you
wished to GO further with it. In
one of the cases which was
brought against Coleman Robin
son before a justice of the peace,
not being satisfied with the decls-
ion of the justice, he appealed
directly to the circuit court,
ignoring the county court alto
gether. When circuit court con-
vened the plaintiff moved to dis
miss the appeal because taken to
the wrong court. The judge
asked Mr.. Robinson what answer
he had to make to the suggestion
that he was in the wrong pew:
Coleman arose, long, slim and
gaunt, and said, IF your honor
please, I paid no attention to the
county court, but considered it
an interloper!" Of course he
went out of court, a wiser, IT not
a richer man.
Having read and seen much OF
literature, and noticed how the
people admired the poetry Of
| Buck Owen, Coleman concluded
to try his hand with the muse.
So after carefully coming over
and rewriting several times, he
had two lines which he thought
would do to submit for criticism.
So he carried them to Buck Owen,
the prose poem writer, as well
as a real poet, both OF rhyme
and blank verses, and submitted
them for his judgement. When
| Owen looked them over here is
what he found. "As she slips
she slides along. A trusty
friend is hard to find!"
Well really, how much better
poetry could some Of us write II
we were put to the test?
When Coleman Robinson had
passed the middle of life ne had
lost every thing he inherited from
| his father, and went and lived
/ with a colored man named George
/ Burnett the rest Of his life, and
George cared for him as well as
lhe was able as long as he lived.
/ George had married one of the
/ Robinson slaves, tho he himself
Il = "a n