Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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WIM N \ r\i.ii; DKLAGE HAB III H HOME HOlSE." Ktateburg Cottage Yct Shelters Me? morial* of tho Highborn French Mut?I Whom Thomas Sumter, Juu., flrought Home from Bra til gj His nrfcie. The hills stand 'round about Jerusalem, even so stundeth the Lord I 'round about I In pe? pie from this time for ever mere " Looking east irom the car window on the I'amden c.ivision of the South? ern railway one can sec hills rising uwuy from the river swamp?Just quiet old hills with deep valleys In between, and some one on the train 1? apt so say something about the "high hills of San tee." The neighbor? hood Is called Stuteburg, and the sta? tion "Olaremont. 1 It does not look attractive, nor are the Heids on either side particularly pleasant to look upon. But come with me, and we will take our way up the depot lane and out Into the Camden road?once the Ktrg*! highway between Camden and Charleston. Let us take tho road Hrtt| leads by the Baptist church, the "High Hills church" as It Is com? monly called. It is a long road, and perhaps, more than likely, the horse is old, and the hills now are getting very steep, with heavy sand In some places, and high clay banks in others. The road winds around the Baptist church. In and out among the graves, until we come out by Mr. Stuckey s Held and then by Acton?because our destination is "the Home House," an unpalnted cottage on a hill. Every? body's house la on a hill In this part of Stateburg, and the roads are bad, but If you love the place you do not mind that. Leave the world you live in every day with Its toil and money grubbing, forget there Is such a thing as dally mall and a dally paper, and dally dinner, and let us be happy here a while In the past with these gentle? folk, with old stories, old letters, old rusty swords, battered old cocked hats, and the like. "The Home House" was called so first by the negro slaves, who, work? ing on the plantation, turned their faces towards it as their special heav? en?a place to go and tell "Ole Miss" their troubles, their aches and pains And so they became accustomed to say, "I gwlne to de Home House," and It suited the place so well It has al Wayi *ern "the *T<>m* House" to the few wh. sfe)'k f' to love .t and all for which it standa So this sketch of It. m? worth whllt I t cauM' it is good to try und keep alive tho names and at Vast a part of the life story of some of those peo? ple who helped to make Btateburg and South Carolina in general the chivalrlc and historic places they have always been. Kipling's oft quoted lines come aptly now in these dark i days: i "Lord God of hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget, lest we forget." Natalie Delage. The Home House was given to his son, Thomas Sumter, by Gen. Sumter, and here he brought his pretty French bride, Natalie Delage, who is entitled to a puge all to herself. The Home House was then a big, rambling house with 14 rooms, and the grounds were laid out In innumerable walks. The rose hedges, the lilac walk, the wood , walk are remembered by persons liv? ing now. There the young couple lived, with their six children, the lives of whom are so interesting and ro? mantic that the writer would have to go far beyond the limits of this sketch to follow each to its fulfillment. So let me take the gentle mistress of it all, Natalie Delage. And old friend used to say "the name slips from the tongue like music." Natalie was born in Franco in the days whe.i the storm was gathering which/ saw its awful climax in the French revolution. Madam Delage her mother, was a lady-in-waiting at the French court and made her es? cape with her child, a governess, Madame Senat, and Madame Senat's two children. Better to evade the watchful eyes of the people, Madame Delage disguised herself as a peasant and divided the little party, going aboard two trading vessels bound for the new world?Madame Senat and the three children on one and Mad? ame Delage going alone on the other. What courage and fortitude her'a must have been! All was lost?the Princess Lamballe had that morning been torn to pieces by the mob. Mad? ame Delage'c pretty sheltered life, surrounded by the glitter and pomp of the French court, would hardly seem a fitting school to develop calm? ness and bravery in the face of frightful peril and heartrending sep? aration. But where many men failed this little hand, headed by Madame Delage, succeeded, and out on the open sea the two vessels parted. Madame Delage's vessel, caught In a storm, was blown ashore off the West Indies; the other vessel brought the cargo safe into the New York harbor. What a pathetic little group it must finve been?poor Madam Senat, Na _. _._ ? ? talie Deluge and Madam Senate's two j children alone on a foreign shore. 1 have heard that Madam Senat open? ed a little milliner's shop and, again, that she taught a class in French. Whatever she did she must have done well, for she supported herself and the three children and placed Natalie at a fashionable school. There the pretty little French exile met Theodosia BUIT, the petted darling of her father, Aaron Burr. Theodosia told her father of her schoolmate to whom she formed a lasting attach? ment, and Burr sought out Natalie, befriended her and took her for a time into his home, aiding Madam Senat in her efforts to get news oT Madam Deluge. At last when the dark shadow lift? ed somewhat and the French nobility began to return to shattered homes and impoverished estates, Madam Deluge, too, came back to the chang? ed and saddened conditions in the French capital and instituted search for the lost little daughter. Lottert passed and at last arrangements were made for the return to her moher of Natalie, now a girl of 1(? or 17. Protege of Aaron Burr. ! Aaron Burr at this time was in the United States senate, and his notes and letters to Natalie are delightful, throwing a wonderful sidelight on his strange, complex character. However busy that brilliant mind was, dream? ing of an empire over which he was to rule, he found time to write kind? ly, playful letters to the lovely girl, to arrange for her passage, to advise her what books to read and to tease her about her's and Thcodosia's jeal? ousies. These letters have never been In print, but one must bo given here: "I received your letter yesterday while seated in the senate, and neg i lected the public business to answer it. You and Theodosia craze me with your jealousies. She always accuses me of writing you the longest letters, and you accuse me of writing her the oftener. As I do not keep any very accurate accounts either of the num I ber of letters or the number of lines which they contain, you may for aught I know, be both right. But I suspect not. There is but one way to satisfy both, and that is to write to neither of you. I might have the book and the picture. Mr. Wimens can find a second-hand any day (?). "I embrace you my child, adieu. "A. B." "24 Feb., '97." Some of the letters are addressed to "My Dear Nat," and all breathe a kindly interest and affection for the young, homeless girl. There is a miniature of Natalie which shows her I bs a vary pretty girl with a little air of girlish wistfulness. No doubt tho ( child eould still remember the yells I of the "Sam Culotte" and the awfulI deeds committed in the name of Liberty. Bride1 of Thon. Sumter, Jun. Now with a light heart she was to return to her mother and her native, land. Her paaeage was arranged for and that strange fnte which shapes our destinies was busy too with the life that was to mingle with hers. Col. Thomas Sumter, son of the distin? guished Gen. Sumter, had obtained , the post as minister to Brasil and had his passage on the same boat with Natalie. How they met I do not know, but I can picture to myself the young man's admiration for this llower of the French nobility, and can imagine how the young girl's heart was won by her handsome suitor. At any rate I we know he had wooed and won an ! answer before the vessel reached the shores of France. After much oppo ! sition by the proud Madame Delage to this republican suitor of her daughter's she yielded. Perhaps Col. I Sumter told her of the thousands of acres his father owned; perhaps the , general prevailed on madame to give j her consent. We know she yielded j and the young people were married ? and went to his post in Brazil. Natalhi ' always remained a devout Catholic and her children were all baptized ? into that faith. Several if not all r j them were horn in Brazil. After years they came home to the Home House and nere we take up the ' story at Stateburg once more. There are charming stories of the French lady taking up bravely her life i on the plantation, mistress of a num? ber of slaves, the mother of six chil ; dren, and a member of a neighbor? hood who all worshiped at the Epis? copal church, the Church of the Holy Cross. Though wistfully her heart ; and mind must have crossed the water to sunny France sometimes, she took up her share in the life around her, wrote bravely to her mother and 1 visited sometimes her beloved friend, I Theodosia, now the wife of Gov. Al i ston, and living in Charleston. In a letter to her father, Theodosia writes: "Natalie is here, and aeceiving far more at.ention than I ever re? ceived." ? Her Home in Stateburg. The Home House was the scene, too, j of many gaieties?a small world : whore life was full and busy. It must have been a beautiful place. The lilac j walks led down to the grove, the burial ground selected for the family. : There the tine old general was laid to rest. In his 98th year he fell asleep, I I waiting for his hone to be brought around. Ho never lived at the Home House?his home was farther down I in Stateburg at a place called now "The Ruins." The 1 British burned tViis home and when his wife had died ' and his son was married so the good, brave man went to end his days at a I place called South Mount, now a windswept, desolat' hill with no sign of a dwelling. There he died ? and his body was brought down to his son's home and laid to rest in "the grove." In Natalie's dairy, kept all these years, there is, so one of her descend? ants tells me, this paragraph: "Today I have been out to the grove to select j the place for my grave." She lived to see her daughter mar i ried, and outlived her husband by a few years. After her death the old Home House was torn down and the ; cottage built of some of the ma? terial. The lilac walk is gone, the rose hedge is no more, most of the trees in the wood walk have disappeared. The Mortuary Chapel. In the cottage are some old French books. Some charming old letters, and a few bits of queer old furniture. "The grove" is there. "Madame," as Mrs. j Sumter was called, had never heard i of being buried in the earth?her peo ! pie wer?4 all laid in vaults. So after ' her death a chapel was built of brick, i with a French tiled roof, and her body , taken up and laid in the vault under ! ttye floor. Who shall say that life is purposeless? How far-reaching its iniluence, maybe, we hardly dare to think. The writer has not one drop of Natalies' blood in her veins and yet the French woman's life haa been a constant source of interest and ad? miration and inspiration reaching out over the years. The Home House is a place to go and dream, to open once more the closed door of the past and ' to live once again in the lives of ! those who were brave and beautiful and full of fine courtesy. It seems ! so well worth while. It must all lave been beautiful and how many distin? guished people went to the Home House and wandered over the pic? turesque hills. Some time they come again to re ' mind us of the things that can not t die, and their presence is felt in the old hills and valleys, where they ' fought their fight and won their vic? tories. Mary Watios Sumter. 1 ' "Em gets cold shoulder" says the Charlotte News. This is merely, it will be observed, a circumlocutory method of saying that Mrs. Pank hurat failed to draw the cold cash.? Rock Hill Herald. DECISION FRIDAY MORNING. Argument on Motion for New Trial For Frank Completed. Atlanta. Oct. 29.?Hearings on the motion lor a new trial for Leo M. Krank, convicted of the murder ol Mary Phagan, the little factory girl, today were ended before Superior Court Judge I,. S. Koan, who presided in the case. Judge Uoan tonight an? nounced that he would make publi? his decision Friday morning. Attor? neys for Frank alb god that race prejudh-e against Frank, who Ui a Jew, influenced the verdict. Attor i ney General Dorsey, on the other hand, insisted that the defendant had I been given an absolutely impartial ! trial. r BRIDGE TEETH By this work the den? tist is eble to fix per? manency between the teeth left to you artific? ial ones that are perfect in appearance and use? fulness. See Dr. Court? ney. He makes this work his specialty. Have an inspection. Get his cpinion. Sumte. Dental Parlors, Dr. C. H. Courtney, Prop Over Shaw & McCuilum. Greelyville BUSINESS SCHOOL Individual Training fer Boys ill Girls, THE course of all English brauche?, shorthand, typwritlng and book? keeping offers unsurpassed opportu? nities to the youths of your county at a very reasonable price. Board can be obtained in town. For parti? culars address, J. M. JERVEY, GREELYVILLE, ? S. C. LET US FEATHER TOBB NEST What you need to make home comfortable during the chill raw days of Winter, we have it. fl There are as many different kinds of furniture as there were colors in Joseph's coat. <I The kind we sell is the good, dependable kind, pleasing to the eye and built strong enough to last a lifetime and yet within the reach of the man or woman of moderate means. 72 PIECE ^Es^CORATED.D,N: FREE! 1 During the month of November we will give absolutely free of any charge whatever one 72 piece fine Decorated China Dinner Set with each cash purchase to the amount of $50 or more and with each cash purchase of $35.00 or more we will give absolutely free one 42-piece Decorated China Dinner Set. <f Come in and see us. We are always glad to show you the largest and best stock of Furniture and House Furnishings in Sumter. Cherry Bros. Carolina FlirilitUre CO. Cherry Bros. 18 N. MAIN ST. Sole Agents Globe-Wernicke Elastic Book Cases. SUMTER., S. C.