The morning journal-courier., 1908-08-06
A Georgia Friend Adds Beau
tiful Tribute to His
Memory.
POET OF SOUTHERN DARkY
How He Seemed TO Those Who Knew
Hlm--Hls Simplicity and
Genulneness.

the work ana fame or Joel Chandler |
Harris. But they were more than proud
of him, they joyed in him and they
loved him. A most eloquent tribute was
that paid to him by Methodist min
lister, Rev, James w. Lee of Atlanta,
who devoted his sermon to his friend,
The address In part follows:
1.-THE best representations Of his life
will come from those who have seen
him and measured him from a distance,
from those who have lived far enough
away from him to get completer idea
of the great world OF imagery of
beauty and Of innocent and whole
some Illusion he has created. II we had
been brought up In the sun, we could
not form such an idea of its vast
oceans Of light as do those who are
bathed in It's waves from some of the
, outlying planets, millions of miles from
It. The feelings OF those brought up
with Mr.. Harris and living all their
| lives in close proximity to his simple,
4 beautiful life, may be defined as those
Of love and complete admiration. II has
never occurred to them to engage in
/ the critical business OF forming dry
and intellectual estimates of his mys-
/ terlous mental powers, They have felt
them and rejoiced In them, and with
that they have been content. The peo-
pie of Georgia feel very much toward
Mr. Harris as the citizens of Venice
feel toward their clty-they love him
too much to describe him. outsiders
may take intellectual interest in him;
the interest we take In him Is emo
tional and affectlonate. We have re-
garded him as the property of our
hearts and not OF our head. He has
moved In and out among u.s. the gen
ial, palpipating form Of time that has
gone. He has made to live over again
in new age. the days Of our fathers
and mothers. He has shown US the
kindly faces and the warm hearts OF
the old time negro mamas who nursed
us. He has caught In the chambers Of
his imagery and TRANSMITTED into eter-
! nal form, life as It was lived on the
southern plantation. He has arrested
and given IDEAL everlasting setting to
a period about TO pass forever on the
downward stream Of time. He has
thrown the color OF his genius into our
fields and woods He has idealized our
region and given It permanent place
In the worlds literature. He has taken
the raw material Of myth and legend
and folklore lying about In q disor'
ganized way In the minds Of our popu.
: lation, pulverized II, sublimated 1t, ant
4 converted II into current coin for cir
culation throughout the world of let
tiers. As tha poet Burns by lifting the
Bonnie Doom from the realm Of matter
TO that of thought, caused II 10 flow
through all lands, so Mr.. Harris tool
the common rabbit of the Georgia
!, briar patch and gave It ideal form, s.
that now II triumphed over its enc
mics everywhere in the universal mint
of childhood,
: The wealth he created was of tn
sort that breaks through the limita
tions and confines OF fee simple. exclu
: sive titles. II cannot be claimed. o.
cornered or confined II is of the kim
which when once produced increases II
proportion TO tine number of person
who glare into e. II is the kind tina
i belongs to the universal spirit of man
. mention so.Ne Of the lessons from hi
: life
l. Mr.. Harris illustrates for us wha
U enc may find In the depths of his be
e ing. when he seriously sets about ex
plo; .,r the interior domain of his ow
soul f,r hidden treasure. All III
e wealth T.; beauty he has turned into tn
Ia modern mind Is simply what he discoy
l. cred packed away in the recesses of hi
own personality Those Who were In
- innate with Mr.. Harris will call t
mind his habit Of shaking with merrl
merit always Just before giving expires
sion to some quaint or exquisite sent
ment, as II he saw the striking qualit
Of the thought he was about to ute
before II completely took form !
speech. Rv living constantly with tn
farc,os and beautiful scenery he ha
accustomed ninself to look for in HI
own hpd lie kept himself at a per
4 Tetual level of GOOD humor. He a
ways impressed me as one who was be
Ing constantly sustained by unseen re
surces of good cheer He radiated d
aturally as a candle shines. lie ne,
er had to leave home to find pleasure
He was rarely ever at banquets give
by his fellow citizens, all Of whom h
loved He had such q happy lot {
sports and innocent jewellers banque
ing day by day IN the halls Of h
Imagination that he was hardly evc
able to see his way clear to leave thes
inside guests for those he might fir
outside, BY command Of the Presder
y Of the United States he was forced y
ono occasion to go out and sit dow
!, with the great, as the world measure
,, greatness ard MIR. Roosevelt had Il
Is. insight that enabled him to know Hi
MS he was causing acute discomfort ID
81 man If WON he was very fond
was so sweet and Hlpretentious TIL
to a stranger, he seemed to have I
aims at all. He never referred to hin
self, hc never asserted himself he ne'
er ADVERTISED himself No man ev
wore tie honers that unbidden can
to rim With less seeming self-gratGlI
ton. II he had received notice tn
he had been elected president of Il
whole world Of letters, ] believe
-. would have responded, that he pr
I'll ferred to stay in West End and 10
after his garden. What he had Gbl
el in giving the world his ideals, he f.
al anybody cord 60 If he would o.
practice the industry he had. He to
nd me one day that every young pars,
r. lad head full G dreams and fame
ls and hat the only difference in pc
sons was found in the fact that son
OF people, by hard effort, corralled the
I'd faHcie5 and dreams. as ranchmen
eo THAR cattle, and others did not. |
said any roren could write an 4