Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, December 18, 1879, Image 1
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"V"OL. 25. YORKVILLE, S. C., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1879. NO. 51. .
- ? ... I i mi j* m/
ffiflgtapliical J>fcetch.
COL. WILLIAM CAMPBELL.
by rev. robert lathan.
William Campbell was of pure Caledonian
blood. About the close of the sixteenth
century, during the latter years of the reign
of Queen Elizabeth, his ancestors emigrated
from Scotland and settled in Ireland. At the
foot of the heath-clad Grampian Hills, and in
Ulster Province, they stood up, unflinchingly,
for Christ's crown and covenants. Their descendants
became a part of that noble people,
which are known in ecclesiastical history, by
the name of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians.
In 1726, John Campbell, the great grandfather
of Col. William Campbell, came to
America. He first settled in Lancaster county,
Pennsylvania. In this Scotch-Irish neighborhood,
he remained for about four years.
In 1730, he crossed the Susquehanna River
__j Af/>tinf?inq and nermanentlv
miu U1UD JLVIUgo tuuiauw?u., ? , w
settled in what was, at that time, called Orange
county, (now Augusta county) Virginia.
When John Campbell came to America, he
had five grown sons and five or six daughters;
and one son, at least, was born in Pennsylvania.
From this fact, we may infer that he
was past the meridian of life. On emigrating
from Pennsylvania to Virginia, only three of
his sons accompanied him. The names of
these were Patrick, Robert and David. It
was the last who was born in Pennsylvania.
Col. William Campbell was the son of
Charles Campbell, who was the son of Patrick
Campbell, the oldest son of John Campbell,
who came to America in 1726. Charles
Campbell died in Augusta county, Virginia,
leaving one son, William, and four daughters.
Elizabeth, his oldest daughter, married John
Taylor; Jane, his second, married Thomas
Tate; Margaret married her cousin, Col. Ar
thur Campbell, and Arm, thp??Un*L-?ra-1
youngest daughter, married Richard Poston.
When Charles Campbell died, the burden
of the family devolved upon his son. For
this arduous and responsible position, he was
eminently qualified. Being an only son,
great care had been taken in his education.
He was, in his early youth, placed under the
best instructors the country at that time afforded.
He was not, as is too frequently the
*
case 10 ine present uay, put wamujmg cto?tthing
and thereby prevented from acquiring
a correct knowledge of any Ihing. Ou the
contrary, he was given sufficient time to acquire
a clear and practical knowledge of the
English language, a thorough knowledge of
several branches of mathematics, and a general
knowledge of ancient and modem history.
Some time after the death of Chaa. Campbell,
and previous to the Revolutionary war,
William Campbell, with his mother and sisters,
migrated to the Valley of the Holston.
In 1765, a number of individuals set out
from Augusta county, Virgiuia, to explore
the western wilderne^. The leading spirits
in this expedition were John Campbell, oldest
son of David Campbell, and Dr Thomas
Walker. In this wild froutier region, John
Campbell purchased a home for his father's
family, near the head-waters of the Holston
River. To this survey was given the name
of "Royal Oak," and in the space of a few
years the father and mother of John Campbell,
with their sons, John, Arthur, James,
David, Robert and Patrick, and their daughters
Margaret, Mary, Martha, Sarah and
Ann, removed. To this settlement, founded
by his uncle David, William Campbell repaired
with his mother and four sisters. In
1748, however, his father, Capt. Chas. Campbell,
in company with Dr. Thomas Walker,
Colonels Buchanan, Patton and Wood, explored
this region. The range of mountains
which the Indians called VVasioto, and the
beautiful stream which Hows on the west of
this range, which the natives called Sbawanee,
they named in honor of the Duke of
Cumberland, at that time Prime Miuister of
' rn, . J- _.:n n_j
Jlingiand. me mountain range is sua caiieu
Cumberland Mountains, and the stream is
called Cumberland River.
The military history of Col. Wra. Campbell
began in 1774, when he wa3 about twenty-nine
years old. In that year was fought
the battle of Kanawha. A number of occurrences
had taken place in the past which had
alienated the Indians. These untutored men
of the forest, were unable to distinguish between
wrongs, and we may, in justice to them
add, that the first white settlers of the American
soil, in too many instances, seem to have
acted on the erroneous principle that the Indian,
because he was not blessed with European
civilization, was possessed of no rights.
In 1772, a treaty was made between Virginia
and the Cherokees, by which a large tract
of territory was granted to the State of Virginia.
Proper steps were taken to have this
land settled. The Watauga Association had
been formed, ?and it was thought that all
things would work peaceably. Alexander
Cameron, a deputy agent for the British government
residing among the Cherokees, ordered
the white settlers of Watauga to move
away. A number of Cherokees interceded
for the white settlers, asking that they might
be permitted to remain, provided they would
make no farther encroachments. Some did
N remain; but it was not long until they became
uneasy and desired to obtain, from the
Indians, a lease of the land which they occupied.
This lease was grauteck for eight years.
No doubt, the white inhabitants thought that
eight years increase would be sufficient to give
them a decided superiority over the natives
of the forest.
It was announced that on the day the Watauga
treaty would be signed, that there would
be a horse race. To see this race, a number
of people had come from the neighboring set
tleinents. Many maians were mere, utaiug
part in the sports of the day. At the close
of the day, an Indian was killed by some one;
110 one knew _hy whom. The cr^supposed
clue to it was that some time previou^ ,'
meu by the names of Carter and Parker, had
opened a store in the region. This store was
robbed, it was supposed, by the Cherokees.
Of this, however, there was no certainty. It
was conjectured that the Indian murdered on
the day that the Watauga treaty was signed,
was killed, by way of retaliation, for plundering
the store of Carter^nd Parker. Be this
as it may, it served toJ&rther estrange the Indians,
and render^fhe existence of the white
^ titey^^^smoreltefarious. An outbreak of Inwas
prevented, for
B|^^^^Hb9&ss settlers were attacked
lluono attempted totold
his family to Kentucky. About five families
joined him and at Powell's Valley, his party
was strengthened by about forty hunters, all
well armed. The company now consisted of
about eighty persons. On the fifth of October,
while passing a narrow defile, these bold
pioneers were startled by the wild battle crj
of Indians, concealed behind natural fortifications.
On the unsuspecting emigrants thej
poured a deadly fire. Six of Boone's men fell
dead, and one was wounded. Boone's eldest
son, a youth of about twenty years, was among
the killed. These together with several other
acts of bad faith on the part of both the white
settlers and Indians, resulted in a great battle
at Point Pleasant.
The apparent immediate cause of the battle,
was the fact that the authorities of Virginia
had sent out a large corps of surveyors and
woodmen, to locate and take possession of land
in the wilderness of Kentucky. These locations
were to be made under royal grants and military
warrants. The Indians regarded this
an invasion of their rights, and began the
work of massacre, in detached parties, all
along the frontier of Virginia. The Shawanese
were the most hostile of all the tribes. Their
warriors swarmed over the forest from the Alleghany
River, to Sulivan county, Tennessee.
One of them entered the camp of his people
with the scalps of forty men, women and children,
as a trophy of his reckless daring and
merciless cruelties.
Both the whites and Indians now began to
prepare for war. There was no alternative.
Both, by acts of cruelty done by the other,
were driven to desperation. The blood of
slaughtered friends cried for vengeance. The
Governor of Virginia, in whom the people
had little confidence, called out troops from
various sections of the State. These troops
were placed under the command of Colonel
Andrew Lewis. The back-mountain men
heard the cry of their afflicted countrymen,
-ind hastened -to--the scene of
Pleasant, at the mouth of the Kanawha, was
named as the place of rendezvous. By the
ninth of October, the greater part of the white
troops had reached the.point of destination.
They encamped in front of the Shawanese
town. Two men, who had gone out along the
banks of the Ohio, hunting deer, were surprised.
One was killed and the other wounded.
The next morning, James Robertson and
Valentine Sevier, who had also gone out before
day, on a hunting expedition, were fired
upon. They rushed to the American camp,
and reported that they sa\^a five acre plat of
land literally covered with red men. Just at
sunrise, the battle begau. The conflict lasted
all day. Under cover of night, the Indians
retreated, carrying with them the most of their
killed and wounded. The loss sustained by
the Virginians, was two colonels, six captains,
three lieutenants, and sixty subalterns and
privates killed ; and one hundred and forty
wounded.
In this battle, the most bloody and best
contested in the records of Indian warfare,
Coloml William Campbell commanded one
of the companies, which constituted the regiment
led bv Col. William Christian. In that
fearful conflict he stood side by side with the
Shelbys?father and son?and a number of
others of the back mountain men who witnessed
with him the defeat of British arms on
King's Mountain, six years afterward.
In 1775?the year after the battle of Point
Pleasant?it became evident that a war betweeu
Gieat Britain and her colonies in North
America was inevitable. On the morning of
the nineteenth of April, the battle of Lexington
was fought This was the first act in the
drama. The blood shed in that skirmish,
between a few militia and British regulars,
dissolved the tie which bound an affectionate
child to a harsh and unsympathyzing mother.
Neglect on the part of the mother, had begotten
contempt in the mind of the child. The
spirit of liberty was diffused throughout the
whole land, from seaboard town to mountain
hut. The sentiment of the American people
was, "Give us liberty, or we will sacrifice our
lives in defence of it." The martial drum
and fife were heard in every settlement. The
border communities were among the foremost
in the strife. These bold pioneers had never
received any British favors, and little if any,
British sympathies; and now that the .conflict
was actually begun, they resolved to ask
for no British protection. This resolution
they faithfully kept. .
So soon as the back-mountain men heard
of the battle of Lexington, they espoused the
cause of the colonies. William Campbell
xt__ Tr:????? ,?u?.
was aiuung me lirai ui v ngium s suug nnu
offered his services in defence of his country's
rights. He received a captain's commission,
and commanded a company in the first regiment
raised in that grand old Stale that gave
birth to George Washington and Chief Justice
John Marshall. This commission he held
for about one year, or until the latter part of
1776, when he resigned. The Indians, whose
, vengeance had been slumbering for some
j time, began now to threaten the border set!
tlements with utter extermination. To this
they were encouraged and incited by emissaries
of the British government. William
Campbell's family and friends were constantly
exposed to the maddened rage of these infuriated
red men of the forest. That he
might assist in the defence of the homes ol
his neighbors and kindred, he resigned his
commission and returned home. His worth
had already become known, and his neighbors,
in appreciation of his merit, made him
lieutenant colonel of the militia of Washing!
ton county, and on the resignation of Evan
Shelby, in 1777, he was made colonel of the
regiment.
When the news of the advance of General
j Ferguson, into the western district of South
Carolina, reached the border settlements oi
j North Carolina and Virginia, Col. Campbell
was preparing to march, by way of the Flow
er Gap, into the Southern borders of his nativ<
! State. It was known that Lord Cornwallii
I contemplated marching his forces through th<
L^nnHriprn colonies, and after having crushet
i these into submission, to form a junction witl
: the norther^ portion of the British army
| This junction etTeCted, it was confidently ex
I pected that the rebellion would be at an enc
. and the rebels exterminated. The plan wai
; wise, and upon its being frustrated hung the
| destiny of the American colonies. Colonel
| Campbell was aware of this, and, consequent
I ly, he resolved to lead his bold riflemen for
ward and throw them in front of the invader
Hence, he at first cooperated with Shelby
Sevier and others, when the attack upon Gen
eral Ferguson was proposed. ' When, howev
er, the plan was fully stated, he entered intc
forces were imrae
B4i
i diately summoned, and with four hundred
of as brave and as expert riflemen as ever
1 marched to meet a foe, he joined 8helby, Se'
vier and McDowell at Scyamore Shoal, on
the Watauga, on the twenty-fifth of SeptemI
ber, 1780.
After the battle of King's Mountain, Col.
Campbell returned home; not, however, to
' remain idle. In January, 1781, Lord Cornwallis
broke up his camp at Winnsboro;
; South Carolina, and made a second attempt
; to lead his forces through the two Carolinas.
1 Ten days after his Lordship left Winnsboro,
i Tarleton was defeated by Morgan at the Cowi
pens. The retreat of General Greene, before
Cornwalli8, commenced in a few days. During
that retreat?about a month before the
? ^ n.i i
battle of Guilford Court nouse, v^oiouei
Campbell, with a corps of back-mountain
riflemen, joined the army of General Greene.
As was eminently proper, he was attached to
the legion commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel
Henry Lee.
On the fifteenth of March, 1781, the battle
of Guilford Court House was fought. The
British claimed that they gained a victory.
The only evidence they had of this, was the
simple fact that they held the field of conflict,
The loss on the part of the Americans, in
killed and wounded, was about four hundred;
while the British loss was more than five hundred.
In the battle of Guilford Court House, Lee's
Legion and Campbell's riflemen were posted
on the left At the first cnset, the first American
line, which was composed of North Carolina
militia, broke and fled, although not a
single man of their number had, as yet, been
killed. This enabled the British to advance,
comparatively, unraolestod, until they reached
the second American line, which was composed
of Virginians, commanded by Stevens
and Lawson. This second American line
nobly^did-its duty, until overpowered, when
TT5"lsFt, under Lawson, wheeled and fled in
confusion. During this whole time, the battle
raged without intermission on the American
left. Lee's legion and Campbell's riflemen
were attacked, with great energy, by the
British Seventy-First regiment, commanded
by General Lesslie, the regiment of Bose and
?* n 1 1
the tirat battalion or guards, unaer nonou.
The British centre and left still pressed forward
and drove the Americans in their front
from the field. To the Americans the day
was now lost, but the troops under Lee and
Campbell held their ground, and only retired,
and that in comparatively good order, when
the British cavalry was massed against them.
In this contest, the courage of Colonel Campbell
and his riflemen was most conspicuous.
He was the last to leave the field, and, although
wounded, retired with grim defiance
pictured on his face.
After the battle of Guilford Court House,
Col. Campbell accompanied General Greene
in his return into South Carolina. He took
part in the battle of Hobkirk's Hill, and in.
the assault of Ninety-Six, he led the attack
on the left.
As a token of regard and a reward of merit,
the Legislature of Virginia, in 1781, promoted
William Campbell to the rank of
Brigadier-General, and ordered him to report
to LaFayette, in Virginia. This officer gave
him the command of a brigade. A short time
previous to the siege ofYorktown, he took
sick and returned to the house of a friend,
where, after a short illness, he died in the latter
part of the month of August in the thirtysixth
year of his age. The following is the
order of LaFayette on the occasion :
"The General has no doubt that the army will
unite with him in regretting General Campbell's
death?an officer whose services must have endeared
him to every citizen; and in particular to
every American soldier. The glory which General
Camnhftll has aoouired in the affairs of
King's Mountain and (Juilford Court House, will
do his memory everlasting honor and ensure him
an high rank among the defenders of liberty in
the American cause. The General wishes it had
been possible for himself and the officers of the
army to have paid those honors to which his
rank, but particularly his merit, so highly entitle
him. But bis great distance from the army,
and our present situation, render it impossible.
The Lieutenant of the county will assemble a
corps of militia and pay military honors to the
deceased General. General Stevens is requested
to name a deputation of four field officers, who
will immediately repair to Rocky Mills, and. in
the name of the army, pay General Campbell
their last respects.
August 25th, 1781. LaFayette."
After the battle of King's Mountain
the Legislature of Virginia presented Col.
Campbell with a horse, a sword and a pistol,
and the Continental Congress passed the following
resolution:
"Resolved, That Congress entertains a high
sense of the spirited and military conduct of Colonel
Campbell, and the officers and privates of
the militia under his command, displayed in the
action of October 7th, in which a complete victory
was obtained over superior numbers of the
enemy, advantageously posted on King's Mountain,
in the State of North Carolina (South Carolina)
and this resolution be published by the
commanding officer of the Southern army in
General Orders."
After the battle of Guilford Court House,
Colonel Lee addressed the following note to
Colonel Campbell:
"Sir: I am very happy in informing you that
the bravery of your battalion, displayed in the
action of the 15th, is particularly noticed by the
General. Henry Lke."
March 17th, 1781.
On account of the complete overthrow of
Ferguson at King's Mountain, Lord Cornwallis
threatened, that should Colonel Campbell
ever fall into his hands, that he would have
him instantly put to death. Colonel Campi
bell resolved, so soon as he became apprised
of this threat, that in the event Lord Corni
wallis ever fell into his hands, that his fate
should be that of Col. Ferguson. At the battle
of Guilford, this would have been the
case had not the militia fled.
In person, Colonel Campbell was large and
i well proportioned. He was fully six feet
i high, with well developed muscles. His
grandson, William C. Preston, is said to have
[ borne a close resemblance to him: So much
i so, that an old lady at whose house, on one
f occasion, William C. Preston called for breakl
fast, remarket!, after eyeing him for a consid
. erable length of time, that he was very like
i the man she dreaded most of all men on
3 earth. "Who is that?" inquired Mr. Pres}
ton. "Colonel Campbell, the man that hung
1 my husband, at King's Mountain," was the
i reply.
In his manners, Colonel Campbell was grave
nd dignified. In conversation, taciturn and
1 tou-ughtful; but as a writer, expressive and
3 elegant. A contemporary, in speaking of
j him, sa^'s he was "dangerously brave." He
I decided promptly and acted vigorously. At
- the very blgiuning of the battle of King's
- Mountain, h^ horse, a noble black, called
. "Bald Face," became unmanageable. Colonel
, Campbell was' furnished with a horse, by a
relation; but when the battle was raging
fiercest, he was 6Cen on foot, with his coat off*
> and his shirt collar wide open, at the head of
/
The sword used by Colonel Campell at
King's Mountain, and perhaps during the
whole time of his military career, was a gift
from his grand-father Colonel John Buchanan,
and is now in the possession of General
John S. Prestoli, of Columbia, South Carolina.
Colonel William Campbell married Elizabeth
Henry?sister of that prince of American
Orators, Patrick Henry. They had two
children?a son and a daughter. The son,
Charles Henry, died in infancy. The daughter,
Sarah Buchanan, married General Francis
Preston, and became the mother of Senator
William C., and Gen. John S. Preston of
Columbia, South Carolina.
With regard to the religious sentiments of
Colonel William Campbell, we know nothing.
It is possible he was a member of the Presbyterian
Church. There is a tradition that
two of the officers, besides Col. James WilHflma
whn were f>nM,ped in the battle of
King's Mountain, were elders in the Presbyterian
Church. It may be that Col. Campbell
was one of them. Be this as it may, it is
certain that all those?both officers and privates?were
of Scotch-Irish and Huguenot
blood, and Presbyteriau sentiments. They
were all the grandsons of those who had been
persecuted on account of their religious sentiments.
Morally, Colonel Campbell was temperate
and free from vicious habits; by education
and every instinct of his nature, a gentleman.
Colonel Campbell was a man of wealth.
In fact, it yas a characteristic of the ScotchIrish
race to "gather gear by every wile that's
justified by honor." Duncan Campbell, his
ancestor, who came from Inverness, in Scotland,
to Ireland, became the owner of a large
estate in Ulster Province. His grand-father,
Patrick Campbell, possessed a large landed
estate near Staunton, Virginia. Hiu father,
Charles Campbell, inherited a portion of this
estate, and he acquired by his wife, Margaret
Buchanan, a large fortune. At his death,
Charles Campbell gave all the property he acquired
by his wife to his daughters, and the
paternal estate, together with what he had
added to it, he gave to hisson William. This
estate descended to his son-in-law, William
Preston.
"?hiistw?si is
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS t
Twos the night before Christinas, when all through the bouse,
Not a creature was stirrlug, r ot even a mouse;
The stocking* were hung by the chimney with care,
in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug In their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced through their heads ;
And mamma In her 'kerchief, and 1 In my cap,
Hod just settled our brains Tor a long winter's nap;
When out on the lawn there arose such a emitter,
I nrose from my bed to see whnt was the matter
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the window and threw up the sa?h.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave the lustre of mid-dny to objects below;
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear .
But a miniature sleigh nnd eight tiny reindeer;
With a little old driver, so lively and rguick,
I knew In a moment It must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer! now, Vixen !
On, Comet! on, Cupid, on, Dunderand Blitzen !
To the top of the porch ! to the top of the wall!
Now, dash away, dash away, dash away all!"
As leaves thnt before the hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle mount to the sky,
80 up to the housetop the coursers they flew,
With a sleigh full of toys?and St. Nicholas, too!
And then in a twinkling I heard on the roof.
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my hend nnd was turning around
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound!
He wns dressed all in fur from his hend to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on bis hack,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes?how they twinkled ! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his noite like acherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow;
And his beard on Ills chin was as white as the Bnow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight In his teeth,
And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath ;
He had a broad face, and a round little belly,
That shook, when he laughed, like a bowl of jelly,
He wns chubby nnd plump; a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and n twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know that I bad nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went rttnight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then lurned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside bis nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose,
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle ;
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight;
"Mebrt Christmas to ai.l, and to all a good-night!"
CHRISTMAs'cAROLS.
It was Christmas Eve all over the world.
In a thousand homes loving hearts, happy or
sad. were filled with thoughts of kindness, and
sympathy, and love. Busy hands were weaving
offerings for the morrow, a:ad busy feet
were hastening homeward to cheerful; waiting
firesides. In a pleasant homestead a
young girl of sixteen was busily engaged in
adding the finishing touches to some dainty
bit of workmanship. She formed a pretty
picture herself, as she sat curled up in the
deep window sill, where fire-light, brightning
in twilight flashed its warm color over her
shining hair and delicate cheek. Her soft,
dark eyes shone with a. subdued but earnest
light, and the lithe figure managed the dainty
material of her work with a graceful and deft
manipulation attractive to the beholder. The
beholder was a gray-haired man, who occupied
thegreat arm chair in the window corner
of the fire place, and who leaned upon his
cane and watched the pretty maiden, fair
young Rosamond, at her work, and smiled to
think how like she was to another Rosamond,
he had known, and loved, and buried, in
the years so long gone by.
"Keep good watch, Grandpa," said the
fresh young voice. "Don't let anybody scad
along your side unbeknownst," as Biddy says;
"I'm afraid Papa will steal a march on me.
I would'nt have him to see this for a pretty.
Isn't it a beauty ? Won't he be pleased with
it? Come now, Grandie, dear, don't look so
solemn and owlish. It's Christmas Eve. What
are you thinking of so deeply?"
The old man looked up and smiled.
"I was thinking, Rosa, of how good and
how pleasant it is to have Christmas come,
and to have one day in all the year on which
there is so much good will. I was thinking
how all these love gifts that we make to each
other, and all the kind feelings we have towards
one another, go to form a precious lovegift
to the Lord of Christmas. Indeed, the
"peace on earth and good will to man" that
prevails on Christmas Day, is the "Glory to
God in the Highest."
"That's beautiful, Grandpa, dear," exclaimed
the girl. "Its a genuine Christmas Carol.
I always did say that my Grandpa's fireside
lectures were sermon and hymn all in one.
Oh, dearie me, here comes Papa up the steps,
with his arms full of bundles. Let me run."
And gathering up her work Rosamond went
from the room.
At the same hour that Rosamond's papa ascended
the steps of his beautiful home, another
father entered the door of an humble cottage
not far distant. He bore no Christmas
bundles in his arms. His eyeii were sad and
his manner dejected. Before the cheerful fire,
whose ruddy blaze lit up the small, low
room, a young girl was kneeling while she
toasted slices of bread for the evening meal.
"It's Christmas Eve, Papa," she said, with
a lively nod of welcome. "Sloop down and
give me a good, sweet kiss; this fire is toasting
my cheeks as well as my slices. Mamma
is putting Bud to bed. He went sound
asleep on the rug and wouldn't wake up.
Tea is all ready now. f wish Harry was here."
May be it was the cheerful .ire warmth, or
maybe the bright young face a id cheery tones
of the little daughter that wrovght the charm
?I only know that the sad eyes brightened
to a smile as the father looked lovingly into
the upturned face of his child. The room
was'cosy and comfortable, although the furniture
was plain and the adornments of the
simplest kind. The table was spread for tea,
anvl the cloth and cups and saucers, and
plates were speckless and shining, and laid
Mk^th scrupulous nicety. The teapot simmer
ed on the hearth, and within a smooth oval
of hot ashes lay the mealy brown jackets that
were to form the evening meal. The mother
entered the room and greeted her husband
with a smile. At the same moment a boyish
voice was heard at the door, and a pair of
stamping feet on the doorstep kept time to a
sort of rude melody that the boy's voice sang
to the words:
"Now it is winter, and I am discontent,
My coat is somewhat like an ugly rent,
And all the snow from off the top of the house
Came down into my bosom?squash-ker-souse."
"Harry Minturn, you noisy youngster," exclaimed
the girl, gayly, as she sprang to open
/Inrti* "trrViTT TuVinrn kovavnii hppn ? You're
covered with snow!"
"I should say so," said the boy, shaking
himself.
"Dame Hickley's old slant roof avalanched
just as I popped under the eaves?hence my
eostchume. I don't care. It's Christmas Eve,
and I've earned fifty cents carrying bundles,
and have got two jobs for to morrow. We'll
have a Christmas supper if we don't have
plum-pudding and turkey dinner."
"S?8b," interrupted his sister. "Get off
your coat and come to tea. We've elegant
roast potatoes aud toast."
Somehow the brave cheery hoy, and the
equally bright and brave sister made the
homely room seem almost radiant, and the
sad eyed father and patient mother sat down
to the frugal meal with a Christmas carol of
thankfulness in their hearts for the peace was
theirs in the gift of their noble-hearted children.
Tiue, they were poor and in sore trouble,
but the trouble came not nigh them in
the same manner that it had come to some of
their neighbors. They had not ungrateful,
rebellious children to wring their hearts with
anguish. And they chose to praise God for
the blessings He had given them, rather .than
to repine for what He had denied them.
"We must lose the cottage, Mildred," Mr.
Minturn said to his wife when alone with her,
"but we must not lose our trust in God. Let
us sing a hymn of praise. Our home will be
sold next week, but we can celebrate our last
Christmas in the dear old place with a pleasant
sound of carols, can't we ?" >
on Rnoomrtnd wonf. from hfir errand- I
father she sought her own room to put &y her
little treasure.
"A love gift to the Lord of Christmas,"
she repeated to herself. "That is beautiful?
but I have no such gift. None of mine are
meant for Him. I never think such good
and holy thoughts of myself."
She glanced over the army of presents she
had with such interest prepared. "Something
for every one who will be likely to give me
something," she said aloud. "And I'd never
a thought of any one else. Christ's birthday,
and no gift for Christ."
At the table Rosamond's father said: "I
heard to-day that the Minturn cottage is to
be sold next week under a mortgage. Minturn's
been unfortunate lately?out of employment
so long. It will go hard with him
to lose his home. It won't bring over eight
hundred dollars at auction, and the mortgage
calls for three hundred more. The interest
and costs will consume another hundred.
He won't have much left."
"What a pity," said Mrs. Gale; "such a
good man, and such a nice family. Can't
something be done?"
"I don't seg what," said Mr. Gale. "He
asked me to lend him four hundred dollars
and take a mortgage, but I couldn't just now.
It's too near the close of the year. I need the
money in my business."
"It's too bad. How sad they must be tonight.
It quite spoils my Christmas."
After tea Grandpa called Rosamond into
thfl lihrarv.
"Come, Rosie," he said, "what am I to do?
It's too hard for our neighbor Minturn to lose
his home this way. I could help him by making
a little sacrifice."
"Oh, do help him then," said Rosamond.
"But if I do somebody must needs do without
the Christmas present I intended to bestow."
"Well, Grandpa, who would be so selfish
as to care ?"
"I am afraid my little Rosie will," said
Grandpa. "My one gift is intended for her,
and it is to cost four hundred dollars. I have
selected it, and intend buying it to-night, and
having it sent up in the morning?unless, indeed-"
"Oh, Grandpa I a present for me to cost
four hundred dollars! It is?it is a new piano?
Oh, you dear, beautiful Grandpa. Just
what I had so longed for. My old, worn-out
hurdy-gurdy is a real trial to me."
She had quite forgotten everything and
everybody save the much wished for piano
and the generous and doating grandpa. Suddenly
she recollected.
"Oh, Grandpa," she said, "I understand
you now. Either I must give up, the piano
or the Minturns must give up their home."
She threw her arras around her grandfather's
neck and hid her face, and the tears that
would come upon his shoulder. It was a
sharp struggle between self love and Christlove.
The dear grandpa's words came to her
mind?"a love-gift to the Lord of Christmas"?and
she whispered, as she kissed the
old man's silvery locks, "Dear Grandpa, we
will not buy the piano. We will make a
love-gift to the Lord instead.".
"Rose of the world," murmured her grandfather
fondly, "you make my heart sing for
joy. No music that you could ever have
drawn from the piano I had hoped to give
f* tto mo misiVi /lolmlif QQ
JVM U UUUiU HUTU J A\sk\A\j\A 111V OUVU UVlig w V tav
does your sweet voice now, when it speaks in
accents of unselfish love. It chimes in my
heart a true Christmas Carol."
"Then each has sung a carol to the other," ,
said the young girl, her face beaming with
smiles, "only mine would never have been
sung at all had not yours been sung first.
Aren't we bappy, Grandie ? I feel almost as
if it were my home that was saved."
"We mustn't be selfish on Christmas Eve.
Get me my coat. I'll go down and speak a
good word to Minturn," said the good old
man. Tears were in his eyes now. When
Grandpa returned Rosamond was sitting at
il?/v rtl/1 miAhA n n/1 +U A ?imi|n in nun ammnrv Q
uic uiu piauu, ouu tuu miuiij ytcic oiuguig p
Christmas Carol?
"Chime, bells, ohime,
Glory be to God aboveChrist
has come to live and love,
Chime, bells, chime."
"The old hurdy-gurdy sounds splendidly
to-night, Grandie, dear," cried the young
girl.
"Rose of the world," said grandpa, softly,
"it is because of the love-gift."
And the Christmas Carols chimed lovingly
all the dreamful night, not only in the hearts
of the dwellers in the abode of plenty, but in
the grateful hearts of those who sang carols
while yet in darkness, and to whom the Lord
of Christmas has sent his servant with a
promise of help in the time of trouble. "Glory
be to God in the highest, and on earth peace,
and good will toward men."
Mistletoe at Christmas-Tide.?The
hanging of the mistletoe is a cause of much
frolic and laughter in the house. It is the
rule that whoever is passing under the mistletoe-bough
must submit to being kissed then
and there by whoever chooses to take that
liberty. As a bough usually hangs from the
centre of the ceiling, spreading over a large
spaced it follows that there must be much
dodging or much kissing; I am inclined to
think that there are both.
The origin of this use of the mistletoe is not
known; but we do know that more than eighteen
hundred years ago, when the glad stars
sang together over the manger in Bethlehem,
and wise men brought gifts of gold, frankincense
and myrrh to a young child in the
peasant mother's arms, England was a chill
mist-covered island, inhabited only by savages,
who wore garments of skins, and lived in
huts of mud and stone. Among these savage
Britons there were pagan priests called Druids.
These priests were a mysterious folk,
who lived in dense woods far a way from other
men, and who, in the gloomy solitudes of the
forest, performed strange secret ceremonies.
The "sacred groves," as they were called, were
of oak ; for the oak was a divine tree, according
to the Druidical religion. Within these
sacred groves, the priests, it is recorded in
history, offered their sacrifices, and in some
manner not known, they employed the mistletoe.
But all mistletoe was not sacred to the
Druids. They would have none but that
...U ftl. on/1 woo nnnriafioH
VTIJ1U1I 1/lUlig bU bllO 11UUB auu n** w
by the sap of the divine oak. To them, the
apple-tree mistletoe, which modern England
uses so freely in her holiday festivities, would
be a worthless and common thing.
When, in later centuries, England was
taught the Christian religion by priests who
went thither from Rome, the people, though
professing a belief in Christ, retained many of
their heathen rites and customs changed from
their original meaning and purpose. At any
rate from Druids has come the modern usage
of the mistletoe-bough, strangely preserved in
festivities which commemorate the birth of
Him whose pure worship destroys all heathen
superstition.?St. Nicholas.
THE BABY'TSTOCKINGS.
Hang up the Baby's stocking,
Be sure that you don't forget;
The df ar little dimpled darling,
She never saw Christmas yet.
But I've told her all abont it.
And she opened her big blue eyes,
And I'm sure she understood me,
She looked so funny and wise 1
Dear! dear! what a tiny stocking;
It doesn't take much to bold
Such little pink toes as Baby's
Away from the frost and cold ;
But then for the Baby's Christmas,
It would never do at all,
Why, Santa Claus wouldn't be looking
For anything half so small!
I know what we'll do for the Baby! ,
I've thought of the nicest plan ;
We'll borrow a stocking from Grandma,
The longest that ever we can,
And we'll hang it up in the corner,
Just here by the chimney, so,
And we'll write a letter to Santa,
And fasten it on to the toe!
Write: this is Baby's stocking.
That hangs by the chimney nere;
You never nave seen her, Santa,
"Cak oVia a*i 1 tt anm a f Kiu trnot>?
JL- Vi OUU VUIJ VUUtU VUW J I
But she's just the blessedest Baby !
And now before you go,
Please fill the stockings witb goodies,
From the top clear down to the toe.
CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS.
No two nations, two families, or two persons
have the same way of celebrating Christmas,
or any other holiday. The Chinese have
feasts which correspond to our Christmas.
It is a popular festival devoted almost entirely
to the amusement of children, and in offering
sacriGces and paying homages to certain
deities, male and female, who are supposed to
take interest in the welfare of the young.
Special honors are paid to the "8even Star
Mother," or "Mother of the Measure," who is
supposed to dwell among the Seven stars
which form the dipper in the Great Bear constellation.
This goddess is believed to have
power to give children long years of life,%nd
her favor is especially sought.
The cakes they eat at this time must be
round, like the moon; and the candies, of
which they devour great quantities, are made
into all sorts of queer shapes. This Chinese
festival takes place early in October.
The Christian idea of Christmas, with its
love, charity and forbearance, is most fully
realized in Sweden, where some of the pagan
ceremonials are still indulged 'in. The
courts are closed; old quarrels settled; old
feuds forgotten; while on the Yule evening
the shoes, great and small, of che entire.household
are set close together in a row, that during
the coming year the family may live together
in peace and harmony. Isn't there
sometning particularly pretty auu appropriate
in that custom ? - In ancient Borne all
walls of separation were broken down during
the Satturnalia, or feast of Saturn, which corresponds
with our Christmas holidays; and
in Italy, at the present day, masters and servants
not unfrequently meet, and are seated
at a common Christmas-table.
In the time of Queen Elizabeth the Christmas
holidays lasted over a month; everybody
made merry under the mistletoe bough, and
fun and frolic raged furiously.
The Germans have grafted many of their
ancient religious observances upon their present
mode of celebrating Christmas, and all
their ceremonies are symbolical. They beat
the fruit-trees, or shake crumbs about their
roots, that the year may he fruitful, and are
much given to processions in which* the
Christ-child figures conspicuously.
St. Nicholas is the Santa Claus of Holland
; in a certain part of Switzerland he has
a wife who is known as St. Lucy. She distributes
gifts to the girls, and he looks after
the welfare of the boys. In many parts of
Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands,
St. Nicholas still distributes his gifts on St
Nicholas eve?the fifth of December?instead
of on Christmas eve.
In Belgium on the eve of the good bishop's
voyage among the chimney tops, the
cnildren polish their shoes, and filling them
with hay, or oats, or carrots, for the saint's
white horse, then put them on the table, or
set them in the fire-places.
The room is then carefully locked. Next
morning it is opened in the presence of the
assembled household, when, wonderful to relate!
the furniture is found to be topsy-turvy;
while the little shoes, instead of horses' fare,
are filled with sweetmeats and toys for the
good children, and with rods for the bad ones.
In France, though New Year is generally
observed rather than Christmas for the distribution
of presents, it is the Christ-child
who comes with an escort of angels loaded
with books and toys with which to fill the little
shoes so carefully arranged by the fireplace.
In Poland, and elsewhere, it is believed
that on Christmas night the heavens are opened,
and the scene of Jacob's ladder re-enact*
1 - 1 i it. *?
ea ; OUl ic is umy perumieu iv hid eaiuw iaj
see it. Throughout northern Germany the
tables are spread, and the lights left burning
during the entire night that the Virgin Mary,
and the angel who pass when everybody
sleeps, may find something to eat.
The Christmas tree is of German origin,
and is the principal feature of the majority
of the Christmas festivities in some parts of
our own country* All our customs have been
transplanted from tlie old world.
The Bambino is the Santa Claus of Italy,
and is a representation of the infant Saviour,
being nothing more nor less than a large doll
very richly dressed and cherished with exceeding
care.
The singing of Christmas carols is a very
pretty custom still practiced, to some extent,
in partAf England, Germany and Scotland;
ana Americans visiting those cpuntries during
the holiday season are particularly impressed
with the sweetness of the songs that break the
stillness of the wintry night, and regret that
the custom is not more generally observed.
* Our own Christmas-tree comes from Germany
; our Santa Claus from Holland; the
Christmas stockings from Belgium or France;
while the "Merry Christmas" and "Happy
New Year" were the old English greetings,
shouted through the streets in the long, long
ago.
IpSttUftUMM gWMtlMJ.
GENERAL JACKSON'S WIFE.
ONE WIFE AND THREE MARRIAGES?HI8 DEVOTION
TO HER MEMORY.
Jackson was a young lawyer. He was on
his way from Tennessee to some town in Kentucky
to attend court He was passing
through what is now either Warren or Barren
county in the Green river country, which was
then but thinly settled, and most of it covered
with forest Approaching a lone cabin in
the road, he heard the cries of a woman, which
grew more and more distinct the nearer he
approached the house. Spurring op the ani- /
mal he was riding, he soon reached the c&bin,
and, alighting from his horse, entered it to
find a shoemaker beating bis wife with a great
strap of leather. The sounds that he had
heard proceeded from her throat Disregarding
the old admonishment never to interfere
between husband and wife, he caught the
man's arm and compelled him to diseist from
his diabolical pastime. Then half shoving
him, half kicking him into the yard, he tola
the fellow to clear out "You confounded
scoundrel 1" he exclaimed; "leave the country
immediately, and nev<ar let me hear of
your showing your ugly face to this woman
again. My name is Andrew Jackson ; I am
a lawyer. I am going up here to court, but
I will return to this place every day or two
until I am sure that you are so far away that
you can cause the lady no more disturbance.
If she has no one else to protect her, I will do
it" ,
The positive manner of the young advocate
convinced the cowardly husband that his adversary
meant what he said. 80 he took Jackson's
advice and cleared out
Jackson visited the woman, as be had avowed
he would, and from becoming interested in
her case became interested in her and she in
him. In the course of a year he procured a
decree of divorce for the woman from her
husband, and then married her. The marriage
was a quiet one and occurred near Nashville.
The name of his wife's first husband
was Roberts, and her own maiden name was
Donaldson. Hopkins says that she was an
illiterate, woman, but had a very kind heart,
and was always a good, true, and worthy
jvife of Jackson.
Soon after the marriage, Jackson determined
to emigrate'to what was then the Ter-?
ritory of Mississippi. Here the report became
current that he had not been married to
iltA tHAVMAM Vftl^U It A HTAfl llltinA "T
cue rvuiuau yyicu nuuui uc nao uviug. a*
was married to her/' he said, "in Tennessee,
in the presence of two witnesses, but if it will
be any gratification to any of these people here
to have us married again, I am willing."
"And sure enough," said Mr.- Hopkins, "off
be goes and is married again."
Some time aftirward Mr. Jackson and hjr^^H^H
wife went to Kentucky. There they found
that Roberts, Mrs. Jackson's first husband,
had been circulating the 'report that they
never had been married. Being willing that
all parties should be satisfied on this point,
Jacason went off and procured another license
and again was united in marriage with the
woman he had rescued from the wrath of an.
irate shoemaker. Thus, though he never had
but one wife, General Jackson was thrice
married.
The knot so well tied never grew slack.
Jackson always loved his wife. Mr. Hopkins
tells us an incident illustrating his devotion
to her. Hopkins remained over night at
the General's house after the death of his wife.
One morning he rose very early and started
to walk toward the old family cemetery. He
approached rather close to the grave of Mrs.
Jackson, and was surpised to find the Gen-,
eral himself kneeling over it. ' He retraced
his footsteps as soon as possible, but not too
soon for the quick eye of the old soldier to see
him. Afterwards he spoke about the matter,
and said that the act in which he,, Hopkins,
had beheld him was no uncommon one. Every
morning, he said, he went to the grave,
for he thought that the proper place for him
to conduct his religious devotion was by the
remains of his wife, who had been so dear to
Uiwft Ail/) wiKa UnJ OA nunnf on/) OA okt/)ini? O
UiUly OUU T?UVJ UOU OU (MJU OU H
faith in the graciousness of the Ruler of the
Universe.?From the Denver Tribune.
A ROMANCE IN CHESTER.
It was our pleasure to-day to be a witness
to the marriage of Mr. Frank N. Pooser of
Benton, Alabama, and Miss Elate Curry, of
this place. The ceremony was performed by
the Rev. G. A. Trenholm at the .residence j A
of the bride's mother, Mrs. M. J. Curry\ A .Jfj
number of the friends and acquaintances, of
the family were present and aunipp?Wtftef^ 4R
est was manifested in thej^lll^^masmuch
as it was airof romance that
is rarely ever met In the usual proey matrimonial
world. The happy couple^which a
few hours ago assumed the happy , bans, although
having been engaged for nine months, ^
had never seen each other, and never known
'the bliss that's in a mutual glance.' Thev
became known to each other through Mrs. T.
N. Bennett, of this place, who, while at West
Springs last summer, more than a year ago,
made the acquaintance of our hero, who was
on the watch-tower for a partner. Mrs. B. gave
the bride to him as his "sweetheart," but it was
not until a month afterward that he began the
correspondence which has been consummated
under such happy circumstances. The
couple, not knowing the name of each other,
corresponded under assumed names. At the
expiration of three months they agreed to unmask.*
They then exchanged pictures, shortly
after which a matrimonial proposition was
accepted by Miss Curry. It was mutually
understood, however, that the contract thus
entered into was to be null and void, if, after
meeting, either of them should be disappoint"?*
AimAA^a^An roV*o4- AIIIAV +/V
cu jlu tucil ca|a^muuu jyuab ifajv vbuu uugub w
be. The result of their first meeting is better
explained in the letter below than we could
possibly do. The engagement existed some
time, when finally the happy day was fixed.
In the meantime, it was arranged that a
friend of the groom should come to Chester
and reconnoitre for him. On a favorable investigation,
tKe following telegram was sent
to the anxious lover in Alabama: "0. It."
This set matters right, when the groom immediately
left for Chester. The denonement
we know. v
A feature about, this romantic marriage is
the fact that the ^mother of the bride was
kept in complete darkness as to the correspondence
and intentions o?her daughter until
last Thursday morning, wheiidhe groom wrote
a note to call upon his afiSanceB^or the first
time.
Immediately after the ceremony, the^groom
sent the following letter to a'friend in ^Alabama,
which we have been allowed the privvN.
lege of copying:
Chester, S. C., December 2. 1879.
Dear Sir: Our meeting was the happiest that
ever God bestowed his- blessings upon. Both
hearts satisfied and overflowing with love for
each other I And to crown this happiness, we
were made man and wife this morning at half
past 11 o'clock in the presence of many friends.
The community did not know of the affair until
my arrival. Of course it has created some sensation.
I will return to Alabama about the 11th and
hope to meet you and other friends to share
me tne nappmess wuicu jb bo nvuiy uuu?,
dear K Is more than I dared hope for, and
that is found in lovely woman."
Mr. Pooser and his young bride left for
Orangeburg in this State, the home of his
birth and the dwelling place of his parents,
where they will remain a few days. We ioin
the many friends of Mrs; Pooser at this place
in wishing that the journey of this loving,
trusting couple may be one long dream of
I love, happiness and prosperity.?Bulletin*