The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-09-21
county, South Carolina.

Colonel Thompson in his little law
Office in the beautiful mountain town
of Walhalla a few days ago. The col
onel was in a personally reminiscent
mood, and for hours talked of The
past. At the age of82 the fire is still
in his clear eyes, the red blood mantles
his cheek. He carries himself with
that ease and dignity, which naturally
assumes itself on a man whose life is
crowned with honors and dignities in
the service of his country and for its
people. =,
The personal appearance Of the man
is worthy of note. Dressed in neat
black, in keeping with the season, with
standing collar and Andrew Jackson
black tie, low-quartered shoes, neatly
polished, and spotless linen, his gentility
was pronounced. But it was when he
began conversing that the charmNo of his
individuality made itself felt. The in
nate gentility and culture of the man
is distinct without the need of an in
terpreter, In touching on the great
conflict and the cause that led up to it
the coloneI's co%nservatis was remarkable.
One became singularly impressed with
his one desire and aim to sSy nothing
that would offend the living or injure
the dead. The consideration shown
and the fine manner of eliminating the
personal equation from any part of the
conversation bearing on the secession
convention or the civil war itself would
have penetrated on the most indiffer-
ent listener. As Laertes WAS admonish.
ed by Polonius. Colonel Thompson
gave no unproportioned thought his
act" And yet this man, q member of
the convention that set the irrevocable
step forward, bringing on the great con-
hict, who afterwards became an officer
of distinction and gallantry in the Con-
federate army talked briefly and mod
estly of himself at all times, and with
extreme prudence and moderation of
others at all times reiterating that he
did not want to say anything that
might offend the living, or wors still,
injure the dead, who could make no de-
tense. How nice a distinction to OBJ
serve in this commercial agel Here
was one who lived and e1erted an in
fuence in the ~portentous times just
prior to the civil war, lived through
that bloody epoch and has lived long
afterwards to see his native land smile
and blossob like the rose-with all his
faculties remarkably clear and his mind
peculiarly alert and abreast with the
present.
Robert Anderson Thompson Is the
very best product Of the manhood that
was the glory Of the old school, yes.
Of the old school, where honor, honesty
temperance in all things, manliness cul-
ture and gentility are synonyms of that
cavalier strain that made the history
of the old South a dream as gorgeous
and magnificent as the story of the field
of the cloth of gold. Knighthood was
in flower when that plowboy walked
from his home over to Pendleton and
entered the Messenger Office as a bound
apprentice. And It was history-mak-
ing times, too. An Englishman named
Miller, who was tried in England be-
fore coming to America for publishing
the famous "Junius Letters" attacking
the reign of George III, edited the Pen
dleton Messenger at the time John
Caldwell Colhoun was a frequent loaf
er" in the Messenger Office, and Pendle-
ton was the eliminating center for all
the representative, illustrious, promi-
nent and near-prominent folks OF that
day and generation when away from
Charleston. The little apprentice kept
his ears and eyes open, and his person
free from the vicious habits that early
beset some members of the craft.
Serving four years, and after get
ting his advance from 'deviI' to jour
newman printer, Robert Anderson
THOMSON went to Laurens, s. c., and
worked on a paper owned by Bailey
Brothers and edited a yankee named
Clink. This editor afterwards married
q sister of Colonel James b. Irby, the
father of the late United States Senator
J. L. M. Irby. One of the Baileys was
a physician and the other ran a drug
store" They were Charlestonians. One
dav DIR. Bailey drove up in his buggy in
front of the printing Office, and after
going in for awhile, returned to his seat
in the vehicle and started to drive of.
His horse became frightened and ran
away, throwing the buggy against a
bricI wall near the store Of Mills and
Robertson, Oh WeSI Slue VI euo houhooo
court house square. The doctor was
hurled against the wall and killed out
riaht. Col. Thompson was a spectator
of this tragedy. After a stay Of two
wears in Laurens, Colonel Thompson
went to Columbia to work on the first
dailypaper ever started in the State
capital, which had for it's editor DR..
Gibbes. While in Columbia he board
ed with a Baptist minister. who, as I
recall, was active in organizing a Sons
of Temperance society, and Colonel
Thompson became one of its members.
"My grandfather Gaines came from
Virginia" continued Col. Thompson,
land we held our heads just as high IS
ANYBODY. 1 was born June 18th, 1928,
on a farm neal Central, South Caro-
lima. When I was ten or twelve years
old I went out to pillow up that new
ground and the plow stuck in q root
and finally the root popped and scat
tered me and the plow all over the field.
ThaSrueus with the stump led me into
the printing business. When l entered
the Pendleton Messenger as prentice
q man named Bridwell was the printer
in charge; he was q brother OF Zion