The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1920-03-30
man to keep him away from his state;
historic institution.
Decides on Farming.

man to keep him away from his states
historic institution.
Decides on Farming.
But an attack Of measles at the end
of his sophomore year left his eyes
so impaired that he could neither lin
ish his education nor engage IN any
clerical occupation. He was not es-
pecially strong, though possessed Of a
stern will and a sound constitution.
So he decided to go to work as q
farmer with his own hands. He had
rot the capital to buy and to equip
a large place. He laid his lines of
procedure with remarkable sagaclty
; for one of his years-and 1t was all
his own plan. He was II years old.
He sought good climate by going to
the slope of the Blue Ridge below
Asheville on the line of the Southern
railway. He bought some wild noun
tain land there cheap. He built
one-room cabin, and lived alone. He
decided to specialize on Niagara
grapes. He cleared the land with his
own hands, cut and planted the
posts for the wires. studied viti-cul-
ture with a close and practical appli-
cation that made him a master OF the
subject. His grandfather had been
one of the "agriculturaP governors
probably did more for scientific
agriculture than any other governor
of the state except Tillman. Robert
seemed to have inherited that quality
in full measure. He planted corn
and vegetables between the young
grapes and lived on the place as he
went along without going into debt.
No mountaineer ever lived simpler
and harder than this scion of the
wealthiest and most partrician a. of
Southern families. He also made
friends with his mountain nelghbors
in a plain, manly fashion.
He succeeded. His grapes paid
well. He built cottage home, then
other houses to rent to summer resi-
dents and then he married'a daughter
of retired English gentleman, of
the British foreign service, who had
settled in the famous French Broad
valley of North Carolina. He contln-
ued to prosper, adding to his interests
and investments, every cent OF 1T
built up on the labor of his own
hands. At 80 he was practically in
dependent, and was likely at 40 to be
weather. than his grandfather had
been with six generations Of slaves
behind him.
Then came the tragedy. A man who
had been employed to prune the
vines in a part of the place got drunk
and when Mr.. Allston asked him why
he had neglected his work at critl-
cal time, the man took pistol from
his pocket and shot him through the
heart without word of warning.
Robert Allston's character was pro-
nounced to be more like that of some
ideal hero in a story book than an
ordinary mortal. Courteous to all,
the humble and poor especially; def
erential to his elders, sound in prac-
tical judgment, a Christian without
bigotry, a gentleman without trace
of snobbery, pure in morals, high in
ideals, utterly without apparent con-
sciousness of his high lineage, he was
one of the finest types Of the Ameri-
canism of the new South that ever
grew up from the old.
Mr.. Allston left one son and two
daughters. The boy lately distln-
guished himself in the war. He used
to say that some day he would build
a house in the mountains big enough
to hold his share of the family treas,
ures at Chicora and White House,
but now many of them are gone in
the smoke of the old mansion on the
Pee Dee. However, the three splen-
did children are exemplifying the
strength and beauty of the old stock.
Ambassador Phelps once met young
Robert Allston and remarked that
the war was not in vain which emancl-
pated such a young man.