The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-08-16
BY N. 4. AGEE.

In ali discussions about the Noahs, of Ark-itect fame, and of blueback spoilers. I. am with you on the Noah side of the question. Whether the naval ark-itect built his ship accord ing to the French and English schools of instruction. or the curves and lines of the U. sS. Naval Academy models. we know that his ship served its pur- pose, successfully fioated, weathered the storm and landed its passengers safely, without the loss of one human or animal of It's precious cargo. This is a better record than made by our liners and ironclads.
 The old patriarch did right to erect an altar for thanks to God for their safe delivery and to plant vineyard. But there was No seeming necessity for getting drunk. Perhaps the old man was so rejoiced that he and fam fly were saved from, the flood and he become the founder of new race of people. or the medium for perpetual ing the old, he had to get overjoyful, or maybe he drowned his sorrow for the destruction of mankind and his friends and neighbors, (for he must have had some of these and no doubt felt lonesome) in potations of wine.
 He was not drunk. however, aboard ship. and on duty at the helm, for which let ns, be thankful. and not crit- icise him to0\ severely.
 As to comparative proficiency or cor- rectness of spelling between the dis ciples of the other Noah and the mod ern system of reformers, am not pre- pared to decide, as I am neither Q school teacher, nor an editor. But do know that pupils who were taught. yes, I say taught, from the blueback Webster in former times were made to spell correctly If Webster was correct they were correct. There was spelling class in school every Fri- day, not confined to words, in the "speller." but tested by a dictionary. There was great rivalry and competi- tion among the boys and girls as to getting and keeping at the head of the class. What about those other books then in use, the speller and deflner and Columbian orator. etc?
 What have become of the books oth- CT than school books that used to amuse if not instruct, young readers? I remember when a boy of 10 or IF years how was interested in Jack Downing, Richard Hurdis, Lorenzo Crockett. This last amused me most. Crockett was a pioneer in Tennessee, a backwoodsman of great renown throughout the State. He was de- scribed as the ugliest. hard featured man in the State, and noted for tine grin on his face. He was great hunter, a Nimrod. far ahead of Roose- welt, who kills tame lions, whereas. Crockett made a speciality of wild coons. But according to this truthful biography, one coon baffled him and his trusty rifle. On one occasion, ac- cording to this veritable narrative, he failed to dislodge a coon from his bed on the tree by powder and ball, and after repeated trials, which only elic- tied grins from the coon, he undertook to outgrin the coon and bring him down by that means, but the coon laughed and grinned the more, and in- stead of old David's grinning the coon off the limb. he grinned the bark of the tree. One of the. comic songs or ballads or verse thereof sung by circus clowns and other clowns of that day, was.
 'aThe jaybird sat on swinging limb,
 He looked at me and looked at him, q cooked my gun and he seed mi And the . va. he flew was sin t
 David Crockett represented his Stat' in Congress at one time and attracted much attention and observation by hii huntsman's dress and the romantic his tory which attended him. This mus have been before 1886, for in that veal he joined the Texas patriots, who rev olutionized against Mexico and fell a the Alamo with Travis and others. / HI self-sacrifice was afterwards recog nized by Texas by naming 6 County fol him.
 Again, what has become of the book and literature of the early authors il Alabama? I remember, when smal boy, to have read Sewall's Poems ant Talberts hymns. Sewall lived at o near Jackson, Clarke County, and pub lished small volume under the abov' imposing title. Some cenSorious critics nav have called 1t doggerel. It wa mostly satirical, ridiculing the habit and personnel of some people and lam booming public men of that day.
 He ridiculed, as I now remember, thu battle of Burnt Corn with the Creel Indians, and Coloniel Collier, the com mander of the militia, saying that the! ran away and turned their boots hee to toe or reversed to mislead- the enc my. and make them think our folk were going towards, instead of from them. This book must have beer printed at the St. Stephens job office as early as. 1920. My father had a cop! in his house, where read and laughed over it in 1887 or '38. had forgotten the book, but these reminiscencel brought it back to mind. have triet In vain to secure a copy of the old vol ume from his descendants, but thu book seems to be extinct
 So as to Talbert's hymns. published