The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1917-06-06

memory. Besides, his fiercest attack
was made on South Carolina. Think
of sitting there and hearing that
Englishmen denounce South Carolina
as a "hotbed Of cut-throats and as
sassins." Think of his describing
the soldiers of Lee and Stonewall
Jackson as "tatterdemallions in rags
and tatters," so ignorant and litter
ate that the "brave, educated soldiers
of the North felt Inundated at hav-
ing to fight against such a despicable
enemy" Yes, 'humiliated" was the
word he used. My wife sat beside
me, a South Carolina girl, daughter
of a Confederate General. The Alb
beville Daughters can imagine what
her feelings were. She had seized
my hand and held it with such a
grip that I could feel her fnger-nails
sinking into my palm. I felt her
trembling with emotion. She whis-
pered, "Let us 60, I can't stand
this" I begged her just to wait and
see it through.
At the close Of the lecture, a gen.
tleman in the audience got up and
in proper style proposed a vote of
thanks to the eloquent lecturer. Be-
fore the motion was put I asked the
chairman to indulge me with per-
mission to make a few remarks. He
did so.
Before going further, let me state
that DR. Parsons had told how he
had gone from Richmond, Va, to
Charlotte, N. c., with a negro preach
er as his travelling companion; that
when he and his reverend negro bro
Their went into the dining room of
the Central Hotel the negro head
waiter informed him that his colored
friend could not dine there, and re-
quested him to leave; that he,, Par
sons, demanded to see the hotel pro-
prietor, who said the waiter was
quite right in refusing to wait on a
negro, that his was a white folks
hotel, that this talk took place in the
office, which soon began to be filled
by a crowd of young men who SEEM
ed bent on mischief; that they used
and insulting language
and ordered him to get out of the
hotel and to leave the town on the
next train. The reverend lecturer
waxed magniloquent as he told how
he protested against such %barbarous
and vowed that he would
the powers of Queen Victoria
and the British government and de-
mand satisfaction for this shameful
and unlawful treatment of a British
But, believing that his COL
red brother and himself were in
of death, they went back to
The chairman having given me the
floor, I thanked him and said that I
with the gentleman who, in
making his motion, had said that
the lecturer was both eloquent and
interesting, but that I rose to pro-
test against giving a vote of thanks
for a lecture which from beginning
to end was a most bitter and SLAM
derous attack upon the Southern
States and the Southern people by
3 man who knew nothing about them
Of his own knowledge. I said that
the lecture was an insult to the
people, and to the brave
soldiers who had fought under Lee
and Stonewall Jackson; that, too,
It was an insult to the audience, 30
made up of the intelligent
xorkingmen of T~illicoultry.
This was received with applause, '
which my brother pulled my
:oat-tails and said, "Stop! Stop!
This is very supplementary" He
will assert to this day that ! said, ,
Parliamentary law be damned" If
did, I trust the recording angel y;
made no entry Of it, for my record
IS to the use of profane language
8 really better than that Of the /,
admiral who "hardly
,ver" used a "big, big D.. Besides,
he ]provocation was great and I was /,
not speaking in cold language. /,
1t would not become me to write
,ut my recollection of all I said.
You can readily imagine what I
have said, and you may be &,
;ure 1 said it. I had captured my
audience, and their repeated ap- }
,lause helped me greatly. 1t is
if I give some of the main
I showed that far from hav-
ng made a "three months tour" in {