Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-03-05
Singleton laughed aloud as he be-

held the picture. fOrSy hoSo ~
warmly suffused when thus apprisee
of the presence Of his superior.
mot an unreasonable application
lieutenant" was the remark Of Single
ton, when his laughter had subsided
were there any sort Of proportion be
tween the shield and the region Whicf
YOU wish to protect. In that precinc
your figure makes large exactions. 4
turtle, rather than terrapin, woult
be more in place. The city has out
grown its walls"
"a melancholy truth, Major Single
ton," answered the other, as he arose
slowly from his recumbent posture
and saluted his superior with the clap
crate courtesy Of the gentleman OF th'
old school. 1.-The territory Is too larg'
certainly for the walls; but l am
modest man, Major Singleton, and
stale proverb helps me to an answer
Half a loaf, sir, is said to do better
than no bread; and half shelter, II
the same spirit, Is surely better thar
none. Though inadequate to the pro,
lection of the whole region, this shell
might yet protect a very vital part
Take care Of what we can, sir, is
wholesome rule, letting what can, take
care of all the rest
"You are a philosopher, Mr.. Porgy
and I rejoice in the belief that you
are fortified ever better in intellectual
and moral than physical respects. Bu,
for this, sir, 1t might not be agreeable
to you to have to hurry to the conc!u-
sion of a repast, for which, l perceive
you are making extraordinary prep.
arations." q,
Hurry. Major singleton-hurryy {,
demanded the epicure, looking a little
IL ofrt L hurried
in my life. Hurry Is vulgar, major
decidedly vulgar-a merit with trades
men only"
1T Is our necessity, nevertheless
lieutenant, and I'm sorry for your
sake that It is so.. We shall start FOL
the Santee before sunset this after
noon. This necessity, I am sorry tc
think, will somewhat impair the val
ue Of those pleasant meditations which
usually follow the feast"
Porgy's face grew into profound
gravity, as he replied
Certainly, the reveries Of such 9
period are the most grateful and pre-.
cious of all. The soul asserts its full
influence about an. hour after the re.
past is over, and when the MIND
seems to hover on the verge OF
dream. I could wish that these hours
should be left unbroken. Am to un,
derstand you seriously, major, thai
the necessity Is imperative-.hat wss
are to break up camp here, for gooo
and all?"
THAT is the necessity. For the
present we must leave the Ashley
We move, bag and baggage by noon,
and push as fast as we can for Nei-
sons ferry. Our place Of retreat here
...t1I x4t ha y,onnh lon nlaGe OIL
refuge. It is too we'll known for safe
ty, and we shall soon be wanted fol
active service on the frontier
'T confess myself unwilling to de-
part This Is a goodly place, my deaI
major; better for secrecy could scarce
be found; and then, the other advani
tages. Fresh provisions, for example
are more abundant here than In Dor;
chester. Pork from the possum, NUT
ton from the coon; these ponds, 1 am
convinced, will yield US cat quite
as lively II not quite so delicate as the
far-famed ones Of the Edisto; and
need not point you more particularly
to the interesting commodity which
lies before u.s."
"These are attractions Mr.. Porgy;
but as our present course lies Tor the
Santee, the difference will not be SC
very great-certainly not so great as
to be insisted upon. The Santee Is
rich in numberless varieties OF fisn
and fowl, my own eyes have Toasted
upon terrapin of much greater dimen-
sions, and much larger plumbers thar
the Cypress yields"
"And of all varieties, major? the
brown and yellow-not to speak OF
the alligator terrapin, whose fla
vor, though unpopular with the vul.
gar, is decidedly superior to that OF
any other? You speak knowingly
major?"
have lived in the swamp for weeks al
a time. The islands Of the swamp
there are much larger than here; and
there are vast lakes in its depths
where fish are taken at all hours OF
the day with the utmost ease. You
will see Colonel Marion, himself, FIRE.
quently catching his own breakfast;
IT like that-a commander should
always be heedful Of his example
That's a brave mana fine fellow-a
very sensible fellow-catches his own
breakfast Does he dress II, too, ma
jor?"
"Ay, after a fashion"
Good, such a man always improves
I feel that I shall like him, major
this commander Of ours; and now tina,
you have enlightened me, sir, on the
virtues Of the Santee, and our able
colonel, I must own that my reluct-
ance to depart is considerably lessen
ed. At late noon, you said?"
"At late noon."
"I thank you, Major Singleton, fol
this timely notice. With your leave
sir, I will proceed to these prepara-
tions for dinner, which are rather pre-.
cipitated by this movement. That
rascally head, there, MAJOR kicking
away the gasping head Of one OF the
terrapins as he spoke, seems to un'
derstand the subject Of our conversa-
tion-of mine at least-and opens Its
Jaws every instant, as If 1t hoped some
one Of US would fill them"
He contributes so largely to the
filling Of other jaws, that the expec-
tation seems only a reasonable one
You will understand me, lieutenant, as
an expectant with the rest"
"You shall taste Of my ragout, my
dear major, a preparation Of"
But Singleton was gone, and Porgy
reserved his speech for Tom, the cook
who now appeared with his gourds
and other vessels, essential to the due
composition of such dishes as our ia,
friend had prescribed for the proper
exercise Of his inventive genius.
Major Singleton was one Of that for
tunately constituted and peculiar race
of men who are of all others the bes,
fitted for the conduct of a militia SOL
diery. The restive, impulsive, eager
unframed, and always independen,
character Of our people Of the south
and west, requires a peculiar capacity
to direct their energies, reconcile them
to unwonted situations, hard usage, In
cessant toll, and the drudgery of
service, so much Of which is held to
be degrading to a citizen. Singleton
possessed the art in perfection Of get
ting good service out of his followers
and keeping them at the same time ir
good humor with their superior. He
could be familiar without encouraging
obtrusiveness; could descend withou,
losing command; could wink at the
humors which 1t might be unwise tc
rebuke, yet limit the mercurial spiri,
within such bounds, as kept him usu.
ally from trespassing beyond the small
province Of his simple humors. lr
obeying him, the followers Of Single
ton somehow felt that they were serv-
ing a friend, yet never seemed to for
get their respect in their sympathy.
When Singleton left Porgy, 1t was
simply to walk the rounds Of his en-.
campment In this progress he hao
his friendly word for all-some words
In every ear. Of kind remark ano