Clemson University - Taps Yearbook (Clemson, SC)

Page 13 text:

Tf e; Clenflsoi} Qoiie Qlifor iei Valcat Quantum Valere Potest Vol. V. Clemson College. S. C May, 1902 No. 8 f)eb ae r • b e -hVi!; ack ' } • - • - E — Gentleman Jim For three years Jim Gregory had worked in a diamond mine near Kimberly. In that time he had won the love and respect of the inhabitants of the town in which he lived. The simple folks with whom he came in contact made no efforts to pry into his past ; they only knew his name — Jim Gregory, and that when the Sea Gull dropped anchor in a near-by port, three summers before, he had been among her passen- gers. A few days later he had sought and obtained employ- ment in the Excelsior Mines. Although he wore the rough garb of his co-laborers, there was much in his manner and appearance that even to their rude gaze was indicative of better times : so much so that they gained for him the nick-name of Gentleman Jim. His earnings were ever at the disposal of the widow and the orphan; children loved him devotedly, and his greatest pleas-

Page 12 text:

1 - §« i — - 3« y Q — j 25 CJ ,4 = W 9 i = = S s § a o 5 -g . - Qj ffl H DC J • H 25 O J o - £ — - . x r — : - 3 2 « . ' - . ; ti

Page 14 text:

372 THE CLEMSON COLLEGE CHRONICLE ure seemed to be in teaching them when his day ' s work was over. When sickness desolated the village, Jim was the gentle nurse, who went from home to home, soothing the sick, comforting the dying, and caring for those whose dear ones or main-stay had been summoned to the great beyond. During the last rainy season, fears were entertained for the safety of the mines. Late one afternoon as the men were nearing the opening of the Baby mine, a crash was heard that struck terror to the hearts of those on whose ears it fell. All the miners had emerged to the light of day, ex- cept Bill McKormick, a widow ' s only son, and Jim. Real- izing their impending fate as they neared the opening, Jim caught the boy with a giant grasp, and hurled him clear of danger. Then, with deafening noise, the shaft fell in. When the rocks and timbers were cleared away, they bore Jim ' s body to the light. Rough miners gently laid him on the turf; with tear-dimmed vision, they opened his shirt to see the wounds that had killed him. On his blood-stained bosom they found a small case, containing the picture of a fair young girl, and a card on which was pinned a withered rose; beneath it had been written all perished, except the thorn. They laid him to rest near the beach, where he had loved to wander. The waves of the restless ocean sound his requiem and the rays of the setting sun seem to linger caress- ingly on the wooden slab that toil-stained but loving hands erected to the memory of one who had died for his fellow-man. o J »!» 1 - ' - %lf 1 »j» Jf+ x Jf f ioo reward for information that will lead to the where- abouts of Sir James Gordon, second son of Sir William rdon, Bart., of L — shire, England; was thought to have sailed on the Sea Gull, when she left England nearly four years ago. Communicate with Bailey Brooks, solicitors. London, Eng.