Newspapers / Watauga Democrat (Boone, N.C.) / Jan. 5, 1899, edition 1 / Page 1
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BOONE, WATAUGA COUNTY, N. C, THUKSDAY, JANUARY 5, 1899. NO. I fttft P. I r i t:.r - if "; ill DI&TU. li'ollowina; Is th addree neliv "ered ly tlW Hon. It. Z. Limfeat f t ' 1117 liav JllT-triuif; in inniuc ncu honor of the late Judjre (lieene ''at the last term of our Superior Conrt: :'; The thought in rworded in Borne o! trip u-iar uookh naf if ' n Hh o u W t h i n k fo r h i m VW-Hvhit thf 'pain i if tie - brtve lMitVthe final 's pncl jre8SPd And tortured. iriiHfr- Ine'whAtth pains of death are when the whole body ilff ti i'toOyulsed nnd disHolved. It '" i ila answered that mnny u Mnine oeuiu ureweiu wiuj ipm lpain than lheurture of h fe limb, for the moist vital parts are not the qnickest (f senne. ' f Yes, brethren of the bar, we l-.v'whonvf' met to think of 1 1 ' "death nnd how our illustn l t ous dead brother, Jnde . Greene, met it. It may be that we en" n not. resist thecon elusion that the groans and convulsions of the friends of 'the deceased, dineolmed fare ".of the dead, the widow's weeds and the solemn obse quies present all the pains and terrors that death pos "seses; Men too often forget in contemplating the dread . Monster that God hasnrraed ail his servants with forces that disarm death and ex- tracts the dreaded stinjr. Stoic philosophy has lifted " the black veil from death's abiding place, and given to the weakest possesions of the mind the power to mate and master the fear of death. Therefore, death is no such terrible enemy when a man hath so many attendants a bout him that can win the combat for him. Revenge tri umphs over death; Love slights it; Grief fletth to it. And Seneca adds that a man would die though he were neither yaliant or miserable only upon weariness to do thasame thing so oft and over and over, : iFho, my brethren of the bar, I ask in the light ot the character and services to the State and hu manity of our dead brother, Judge Greene, can say that a mind fixed, and bent upon the" loftiest conceptions of man's duty in a high place like his is not in a large ineas ure fteed Iroin the terrors ol death? We all know that he that dies in earnest pursuit, is unconscious of the hurt. Those gifted young tren of promise, Worth Bngley and Lieut. Sbipp, who left this world in a rapid survey of Jordan's banks to find a crossing place, smashed the mailed monster that presides oyer Jordan's chilly waters with two God-like virtues, the highest human resolves and the hot pursuit of wor thy ends and expectations, Yes tis a blessed prerogative that the Creator basgivento man that in the path of right eousness and lofty aim there are attendants he can sum mon on the last battle field to mate and match death. To the man who dies right, death has this glorious at tendant, It openeth good .4ame and extinguishes envy. But as an excellent musician cannot utter himself upon a defective instrument, so -death in its 'second kind of flee, cannot open good fame nor extinguish criticism in a man without the trnitsnf no bility of ch'aractei. Kvil fame deserved is blacker than death, and death cannot ie duce a mountain of humin folley. Indeed there is a lin gering living d'Mh more to be dreaded than the destruc tion of the body. Who can imagine a greater calamity, greater pain than that which ovei takes a man who though living, doth follow at the funeral of his own repu tation. "Tis not length., of days but the goodness of them that makes a gieat life and destroys death." Our dead brother, Judge Greene, came very near indeed, com ing up to the highest stand ard of the christian philoso pher's idea of the greatest life. The last years of that life on earth weie tb greatest. No. in no sense did Judge Greene follow the funeral of his own reputation. Let me trace him as he con stantly advances up the lad der of human greatness until the dissolution of that match less form took him away from us. He was a splmdid Holdier in the Confederate army. I first met him in Ral eigh, as a member df the House of Representatives in 1874. He wasadmitedly the best looking and youngest member there. He stepped up to the front ranK of his profession as an advocate in the case of state vs. Doughs Dixon, tried in this court room beforeSeymour, Judge, and a jury at fall terml8cJ3 of this court. This was one of the greatest criminal trials of Western North 0'urolin.a. The prisoner was a young man of only 17 summers. He lived in the country about two miles from Jefferson. At a social party given by Mrs. Hardin Christmas, Dixon at her instance was a guest. A difficulty sprang up between Dixon and one of Jefferson's most promising young men, a Mr. Gentry, in which Gen try was slain, it was charged, by Dixon. The solicitor was assisted at the ti ial by Messrs Neal, Todd and Judge Arm- field. The' defense, by Messrs Greene, Folk a n d myself. Greene was the youngest law yer engager1 in the cause. He reluctantly consented at the urgent solicitation o f Col. Folk rind my st If, to address the jur. It was a masterful argument. It is.questionable whether it has ever been ex celled in this court rjom. Judge Armfield and Col. Folk were easily among the very greatest lawyers oftheSttite. They were the kings of the court room. They were much impressed with the, young barrister, and charmed, as were all who heard him, with the skill which he displayed in presenting the prisoner's theory of defence, and his dis closure of the rarest gifts as an adyocatq and orator. The causo of the State received such a blow tr,om his master hand that it never recorded and there was a verdict of acquittal after a few minutes deliberation by the jury. But it is of Greene as a judge that his greatest qual iriPM of 'head and heart shown brightest. Thatjudge has worn the judicial ernv'ne most worthily who employs the best resources that tend to prepare his way to just judgment, as God uned to pre pare His way by raising va' leys and taking down hills." Lawyers are invaluable aux iliaries to the court and the administration of justice. By their research and Jearnirig they should always be finger boards pointing the way to judgment and thus strength en the loins that mnk stea dy the seat of justice. Yet, my brethren, it, often hap peneth that combinations power, cunning advantages and great counsel may sheke the lions of the temple of jus tice. And there are some of the hills that the implied thought suggests should be taken down that the judge may place his judgment up on the even ground of right eousness and justice. That Judge Greene should have worn the judicial ermine with that grace anddjgnity which silenced all criticism proves the possession by him of the noblest qualities of head and heart. The shield of Hercu les would smash any pismv upon whom it. might have been placed. The judicial er mine lost none of its attrac tions while it rested on the shoulders of our dead friend. In fact his great life on the bench wrenched expressions of approval from unwilling lips! 1 was in the convention that nominated him for Su perior Court Judge. He was educated in the common schools nnd at Cumberland College, Tenn. The late Harvey Bingham, under whom he was trained for the legal profession, re marked when informed of his nomination tnat u r e e n would make a splendid judge. As an intimate per s o n a 1 friend nnd his instructor as a law student, I have been brought into the most inti mate contact with him. The more you know of Greene the greater he is. He has greater native capacity than . any man I ever knew. I pre dict a glor ious future for him if called to that high affice." Never was prophecy more fully realalized. Greene at once knew that patience and gravity of hearing wereessen tial points of justice. 1 agree with the old writers, that the parts of a judge in hearing are three to direct the evi dence in moderate length, reetition or impertenency of speech, select and collate the material points of that which hath been sard and to give the rule or sentence. All above this is too much and proceedeth either of vain glo ry nnd willingness to speak, impatience to hear or want of a staid and equal atten tion. He knew and illustra ted in his lite on the bench that an over-spenking judge was a deformed thing; It was my pleasure once to appear before Judge Greene in Catawba Superior Court in a great criminal cause. Two men were indicted for murder. Each tried to fix the crime on the other, and one of the person was a son af the deceased, which gave pecjliar interest to the case. The court room was crowd ed for three days. There was the most perfect silence du ring th entire trial. At one time a little whispering in the court room behind the bar attracted the attention of the Judge. He rained h i s head and a flash of his large, splendid eye, the wisdom -of his great soul, accompanied with 'three gentle tappings with n lead pencil and abso lute order was restored. His administrative ability com manded the admiration of the oldest practitioners. He did less talkingexcept in giv ing the rule and sentence of the court at the end of a tri al, than an.v judge I have ev er practiced before. His ca pacity to concentrate all the powers of his mind on any le gal proposition arid to give staid attention to the argu ments of counsels in'heir struggles at the bar, was a- mong his chief excellencies as a judge. The office of Superior Conrt Judge in North Carolina is the greatest, office in the Re public. I had rather be a judge wirh the ability to per form 'satisfactorily the func tions of the high office than to he President of the United States. It is the best law col lege in therworld. A young lawer on the bench with su perb natural capacity will soon become a Saul among his travellers here below. He was a social magnet of no mean qualities. As a conver sationalist, he was as attrac tive as this perfect picture, (holding a large portrait of Judge Greene in his hand) which has caught his match less form. That which is more comforting than all, Greene died right. JudgeGaston was engaged in active social con versation with a group of friends in the room in the State Capitol one evening. Nextmorninghe was a corpse. His biographer proclaimed it to the world that "Gaston died right." From robust health and buoyant spirits he plunged into the chilling waters of death. The passage was quick, from hot life to cold, dull death, like one lea ping into an jcy pool. Judge Greene was born in Caldwell county Nov. 11, '45. He fought the battle of life until Nov. 2., J98, at 11 o' clock, a. ra. Like Gascon, he spent the evening of the 1st of Nov. in his office heated up to its utmost comfort, to the late hour of 10 o'clock in the society of a party of his warmest social nnd political friends Messrs Hodges, the two.Blackburns, J. L. Hayes and others. Mrs. Greene vis ited bun at his office at that hour. He had been afflicted with asthma, and feeling somewhat the inconvenience of that malady, expressed a preference to utay in his com fortable office with a faithful attendant the remainder of the night, so that, she might not bedisturbedj, with a prom ise to inform her should he grow ill she retired tor t h e night: Next morning at 6 o' clock Mrs. Green hastened to her htfsband's bed only to find him in an unconscious state. She at once exerted her self to the application of res toratives, oil, liniments and rubbing the body. 4,Let me lift you up," fell from her lips to which there was a quick response in feeble accents: "Don't worry yourself, Mat- tie, you will hurt yourself." Mrs. Green, attendant and the physician did all in their power to arouse and restore the sinking man until a few minutes before 11 o'clock, when the great soul of Lean der Lawrence Greene broke its fetters and sped its way to the eternity beyond. The last throb of affection that his heart felt was thus ex pressed, said the stricken wife: "Do you know me?" "Yes, jes, Mattie." My brethren of the bar, it appears that the attainments of exalted power, love of do minion over property and all to which great minds aspire, are lost sight of in death, and the claims that a wife's hive for her husband has up on him are recognized in his last gasping expression 'Mat tie.' Take Greene all over and he was indeed a Saul in our midst. An ancient legend fit ly presents the end of this great lite. The India fig tree having grown to the period of fruitage is said to let its branches all fall down to the earth whereof she conceives again and then becomes the root of their own stalk. To man havingderivedhis being from the earth first lives the life of the tree, drawing h i s nourishment as a plant until made ripe for death he tends downward and issown again in his mother earth but re ceives a quickening for the eternal life. Incontemplation of his entire character and the hopes of resurrection the acquaintances and friends of our dead brothershould take pleasure in applaudingand ex tolling his virtues, The wid ow may well lift aside her weeds and the daughters proud of tne many excellen cies of their illustrious ances tor bid sorrow turn to joy, and with us here applaud his virtues, not that the cold, dull ear can catch the ac cents that applaud theliving virtues of Judge Greene. "Alike are life and death, When life in death survives, And his interrupted breath Inspires ten thousand lives. Eow to Prerent Pneumonia. You are perha ps aware that pneumonia always results Irom a cold or from an at tack of la grippe. During the epidemic of la grippe a few years ago when so many cases resulted in pneumonia, it was observed that the at tack was never followed bv that disease when Chamber lain's cough remedy was us ed. It counteracts any ten dene j of a cold or la grippe to result in that dangerous disease. It is the best rem edy in the world for bad colds nnd la grippe. Every bottle warranted, b or sale by M. B. Blackburn. A dispatch of Dec. 26th from Havana sayB that Adison Wolf, ot Company r., k irst North Car olina Volunteers, while doing pro voet duty Sunday night, fell In to Vento Springs and was drown ed. Company F. is the Abheville company and Woll was from Aabeville. Not worth paying attention to, you aty. Perhaps you titve had it for weeks. It's annoying because you hive constant desire to cough. It annoys you slso because you remember that weak lungs is a family falling. At first it Is a slight cough. r At last it is hemorrhage. At first it is easy to cure. At last, extremely difficult. ClOTl i Pec quickly conquers your little hacking cough. There is no doubt about the cure now. Doubt comes '. from neglect. For over half a century Ayer's Cherry Pectoral has been curing colds and coughs and prevsntingconiumption. It cures Consumption also If taken In time. Ikp cl Dr. Ayer's chew Pccttril Plasters vet gov hugs If oi tgt 5halt w md yea a book m tbU aubfKt, fret? One Madlmml DmpaHmtent. it 70a hire (117 complaint what, rer Slid de.lre the bvit medlral drlcc you can pouibly obtain, writ the dootor treiily. You will receive a prompt reply, without cult. A&dreu, DK. J. 0. AVER, LoweU, Mala. VROFEmONAL. VV. B. UOUNCILL, Jr. Attorney at La. Boone, N. CJ W. B. COUNCILL, M. D. Boone, N. (J. Resident Physician Office on King Street north of Post Office. E. F. LOV1LL. J. C. FLETCHER. LOViLL & FLETCHER. ATlUllNhYSATLAW, BOONE, N. C. tieF Special attention civeu to the colletion olclaims. WILLIAM B. LOVILL. ATTORNEY at law. Sutherlands, N. C. Practices in the State and Federal courts. Dr. J. M. HOGSHEAD, Cancer Specialist, BANNER'S ELK. N. C. Ao Kniie No Burning Out. Highest reffereuces andendors ments of prominent persons suc cessfully treated in Va., Tenn. and N. C. Remember that there is no time too boon to get rid ot a cancerous growth no matter how small. Examination free, letters answered promptly, and satisfaction uflranteca. NOTICE. Having qualified as Adminis tratrix of L. L. Greene, deceased, late of Watauga county, N. C, this is to notify all persons hav ing claims against the estate of the deceased to exhibit them to the undersigned within twelve months irom the date ol this no tice or it will be plead in bar of their recovery. All personsindebt ed to said estate will please make immediate payment. Dec. 15, 98. Mattie J. Greene, Adm'x. NOTICE. Having qualified as adminis trator ot rinkny Uuderwood, deceased, all persons having claims against his estate are no titled to present the same duty authenticated within 12 months Irom the date of this notice, or it, will be plead in bar of their recoY ' ery. .This Jan. 2, 1899. v. C. J. Cottuell, Adm'r, ( I;-
Watauga Democrat (Boone, N.C.)
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Jan. 5, 1899, edition 1
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