John Charles McNeill
.Mr. Laurciu*e was a close friend of the poet
and ue believe you will enjoy reading bis
deseripf ion of McNeill's characteristic
traits, as well as his likes and dislikes.
"Hill* wrapped in
угар,
stand¬
ing along the west,
Clouds. (limit/ lighted, gather¬
ing slowly.
The star of peace at teat eh
above the crest ,
Oh! Holy. Holy. Holy."
Sundown.
Riverton, down in Scotland
County. is not a town but a
country community, it* level
field* parted by the winding courses
»f the Luinbce. This community con¬
tain* more college graduate* per
square mile than any country settle¬
ment in North Carolina, and the
quality of it* hospitality i* a* high
as the quality of it* culture. From
lienee came Archibald Tohnson. noted
editor, and his son Gerald \Y., na¬
tionally known author and editorial
writer of the Baltimore Sun: Living¬
ston Johnson, mighty preacher, and
his son Wingate M.. distinguished
Winston surgeon; John Arch Mc¬
Millan. editor of Charity and
children; Hudson II. McMillan,
noted foreign missionary; Robert L.
McMillan, prominent Raleigh law¬
yer; Jasper I.. Memory, dr., profes¬
sor of education at Wake Forest, and
other notable men. And from hem*e
came their near kinsman. John
Charles McNeill. Poet Laureate of
North Carolina.
A Lover of the Soil
Charles loved the soil quite a*
in ueli as did Robert Kuril*: he loved
the common people quite as much a*
did Abraham Lincoln; he stayed
quite as close to nature as did obi
John Burroughs. But he was also at
home among the stars as his lines
quoted in the caption attest. He was
himself one of the “sun browned
boys" depicted in one of the most
beautiful of his poems. He loved to
visit humble homes in the neighbor¬
hood. where he could sit around and
watch Bud as he “got a gourd of
urease to ile his harness leather."
And by night it was his delight t<i
visit the cabins of the darkies, and see
Bf/ II. C . LAWRENCE
the roasting potatoes “shoot smoke
through the ashes." But he wn-
where he most loved to be when vaca¬
tion time came around, and the boys
and girls who had been off to college
came home and gathered on the banks
of the Luinhcc. Followed days of pure
delight, boating on the lazy stretches
of the river, or dipping into its pure
waters. But boyhood had t.. end. and
off to Wake Forest he went.
Knowledge Came Easily
Here it was that I fir*t knew him.
II i* prose was as pure as hi* verse,
and he took with ease the Thomas
Dixon essay medal, and with equal
ease liccnnic valedictorian of hi* class.
The quality of his brain was such
that ho did not have to dig for learn¬
ing. or burn the midnight nil. The
result was that Charles was often
SAVE A WHISPER
lufl/mn is a mined city —
А" он.'
behind its crumbling trails.
llVifll were lately burnished
temples.
Lift their sacked and rarishrd
halls .
With the radiant town de¬
molished —
All that flaunted overhead,
All that flamed with pride and
passion ,
.Voir is overthrown and dead.
Sat e a whisper and an echo,
Making now no larger sound
Than a golden legend writ in
Rushling language on the
ground.
Anne Blackwell Payne.
quite a lazy dog. with a fondue» for
putting off until tomorrow what
might well Ih> done today. When 1
was editor of the college magazine,
1 had sore need of a holiday poem
m grace onr Christian i**tic. None
but Charles could compose such a
poem a* I desired, and it was
promised me more than once. When
press time tinally came, in desperation
1 finally went to his room, locked the
•Lmr and sternly announced m\
anchorage there until the poem wn*
p reduced. He groaned deeply, bui
seated himself at his table and in
thirty minutes 1 had in my possession
four verse* of rare beauty —
тегч>*
which would grace the pages of
Burns, Shelley or Kent*.
Bur poets do not earn a livelihood
in North Carolina, and for hi*
sustenance Charles turned to the law.
and was admitted to the Bar. He
hied him down to Lumberton rypl
hung out hi* shingle there. But lie
had little use for the wherefores and
the whereases of the law. Rhyming
was hi* vocation; day dreaming his
avocation.
Wild Cat for a Fee
It was only when a client roughly
intruded upon his solitude that he
could be induced to leave his muse.
I remember how once ho appeared
for a client who proved lo
1ч-
ini-
pccunootis when the time came to
collect his fee. The client had no
money, bur did have n wild car.
Would the lawyer accept the wild cat
for hi* fee? The lawyer would and
did! The wild cat was added to
the 'possum and the ’coon which
Charles kept a* exhibits in hi* office.
He once came to Raleigh seeking
a pardon from the Governor. "What
shall I say to him.” ho asked. “Tell
him what an innocent man your client
i'." said I. “Why the durn scoundrel
was guilty" said he. “Then tell tin-
Governor your story of the fox chase,
and include your imitation of tin-
animals." 1 advised. Charles evident
lv acted upon this sago advise, for
(Continued on page eighteen )
