Milford chronicle., 1927-01-14


honest negroes were almost always
respected and well treated. The home
OF thrifty colored man burned to
the ground a few miles from where
we lived. The unfortunate man
went around on horseback among
white folks and within a week col
lected $4,000 to build new dwell
ing.
Until the Civil War negroes occu-
pied the gallery in many of the
country churches of Delaware and
white folks were expected to keep
out. On communion occasions, after
serving the congregation, the minis
ter would invite the cOlored people
to partake and their religious fervor
was always in evidence. 1 once heard
Rev. Samuel Thomas, D. D., say that
IN an old time Methodist love feast
he had seen Governor of Della
ware sit spellbound with tears flow
ing down his cheeks while listening
to the crude but fervent experiences
of the old colored folks at the meet
ing.
After the war "The Freedman's
Bureau" built a new church for the
colored people in our community. At
the dedication Thomas R. Wilson
and l, as boys, sat near the front.
Rev. Andrew Manship preached the
sermon. He talked very plain to the
colored folks and referred incidental
Iy to hen roOsts and said it was just
as wicked and wrong to steal a duck
as it was to take a chicken. He la
bored hard on the collection and aid
ed greatly by donating a picture of
himself to anyone who would give
rs cents.
An interesting individual to lne
sixty years ago was the bound boy"
from the city. Chidless married peo-
pie or farmers whose sons had
grown up and left home would Sc
cure city orphan to do chores and
work on the farm. These boys al
most invariably found good homes.
They were well treated, well fed and
clothed and sent to the public school,
church and Sunday school the same
as other boys in the community.
Modern philanthropy has provided
asylums, schools and orphanages for
orphan boys and girls but my can
did opinion is that life on an old
fashioned Delaware farm has never
been excelled.
When the wintry winds of March,
1871, swept over our farm they
echoed the sorrows of a stricken
home. My mother was nearing the
end of long illness and we all knew
that her end was drawing near. One
afternoon 1 heard from her lips the
words of cheer and counsel that only
mother can give. Her last request
to me was that when she was laid to
rest, l should leave home, go out
into the big world and take care of
myself. l was not yet sixteen. She
knew little Of the great world out
side and her request has remained a
mystery to me but I accepted her
words as a dying mothers benedic-
ton.
l remained home until school clos
ed, and the crops of the year plant
ed, cultivated and harvested. On Au-
gust 28th, the horse and carriage
were brought out, for my benefit for
the first time, and my older brother
/ took me twelve miles to the railroad
where for the first time I entered a
railroad car, was young and un-
sophisticated but hopeful and deter
mined.
Let us drop the curtain on 1871
and raise it upon the year, 1926. The
intervening fifty-five years have
been a period of progress, rapid, on
ward and revolutionary. We have
outgrown and almost forgotten the
past. We live in a new world sur
rounded by new civilization.
Marvellous inventions, new meth
DDS OF travel upon roads smooth as
glass, the spread of knowledge and
the inspiring influence of developing
enterprise have made our land the
wonder of the world. Much of what
remains of the past has become a de-
cadent fossil. Only here and there is
left a remnant, an heirloom or a
cherished landmark of years and ac-
tiVlties that are past and gone. We
nave learned to see things from new
standpoints, to think according to
modern conceptions and to express
ourselves in the terms of new
language.
The ancient world we are told haC
seven wonders and they were al
lifeless monuments, made of mortal
and stone. The present age can boast
of legion of wonders, all of which
bear relation to the progressive spir'
it and life impulses of the people
The telephone, the automobile, the
wireless, the phonOgraph, the radio
the X-ray, antitoXin, antiseptics
electricity in hundred forms ant
the moving pictures are only fev
of the many discoveries which be
wilder and bless the age in which w
, live. This is not only an age of grea
? men hut of great women as well
not only of great inventions but o
: great events.
The characteristic Of the twentiet
: century is change. We travel so rar
/. idly that yesterday is like face
. page of ancient history, forsaken an
! forgotten. He who takes life ser
/ iously is looked upon as an antiqu
e or joke.
] 1t is claimed that few things S
f accurately reflects the intelligenc
e and characteristics of an age as ii
E poetry. The muse like mirror ha
D followed the race almost since tn
days of Adam.
- This popular regard for poetry wa
/. impressed upon my mind at an Ell
o tertainment held some time ae
10 when everyone, including mysel
: was convulsed with laughter Will
e a professional elocutionist reclte
e the following:
NTor1y bod n IiftIa Iauob