Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-05-28
PARSON WEEMS.
Ono of the Most Curious Characters In
Our Country's History.


To the little hamlet Of Dumfries,
Virginia, belongs the credit Of having
sent out into the world one Of the
most curious characters in all our
country's history.
It was in the above mentioned viii
lage, in the year 1850, that the subject
of this sketch, Mason Locke Weems
first saw the light of this world.
BY the advice Of friends young
Weems went to London to prepare
himself for the ministry. Returning to
his native Virginia he filled various
pblpits, being finally called to the rec
torate of the historic Pohick church,
near Mount Vernon, Of which Wash
ington was a vestryman.
Notwithstanding the fact that Par
son Weems had in his congregation
the Father of His Country" and 9TH
er social magnates Of the Old Do
minion, his salary was so small that
he could not live upon it. Here was
a condition, not a theory" and the
ftstrson had to decide whether he would
keep on along the old way or take up
some new business that would give
him a little more Of the "needful."
He took the latter alternative and
became a book agent, representing
we'll known Philadelphia publisher.
Selling enough of his worldly goods
to buy him a horse and saddle, he
filled up his saddle bags with books,
strapped his fiddle behind him and set
out to dispose of his wares to the best
possible advantage.
Riding through the southland he
stopped wherever he could find
crowd and began to tell stories and
crack Jokes, and when he had got his
audience interested in his yarns he
would spring upon them the main bus
mess of the occasion-the subject OF
his books. AS a general thing he sue
ceeded in exchanging them for the
cash, of which he was in such press
ing need.
The parson was a fine fiddler as well
as an accomplished story-teller, ana
when he could not sell his books by
wagging his tongue he would set his
fiddle e-strings to vibrating, and as
rule the results were more gratifying.
On one occasion, the story goes, Mr..
Weems was playing with might and
main at young peoples dancing par
ty, when the screen behind which he
was hiding fell down, revealing the
fiddler, in his sacred grab, very much
to the scandal of the beholders!
About 1900 the book agent and nd
dler turned to literature, meeting with
such success as seldom comes to an
author. Weems' Life Of Washing
ton" is said to have been lone OF the
most popular books ever written by an
American" going through some sew
enty editions.
THE Life of Washington" was fol-
lowed by biographies Of Marion,
Franklin and William Penn, all OF
which were successes.
Parson Weems, while an intensely
interesting writer, cared little for the
trifles over which some people haggle.
1t made no difference to him whether
story was true or false, so long as
1t was attractive. The parson was
probably all right at heart, but he
dearly loved taking yarn
That is why he published to the
world "and the rest Of mankind" the
story of George Washington and the
cherry tree 1t was a very pretty sto-
ry. pretty enough to be true-and that
settled it.
But whatever we may think OF Par
son Weems' usefulness as an historian,
no one can doubt his patriotism. He
was a patriot to the core. Nobody In
his opinion, was greater than George
Washington, and no cause holier than
the one for which Washington made
SD many sacrifices.-New York Amer
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