retensions to literary merit, and
trust that my sincerity of purpose will compensate for my lack of
eloquence; and, too, I am not so sure that I care for that kind of oratory
that leaves the points to guess at, but rather the simple language of the
soul that needs no interpreter.

Let me say, ladies and gentlemen, that the farthest thought from my mind
is that of posing as a character. I do not desire to stand upon the basis
of the notoriety which the past record of my life may have earned for me.

Those of you who have been drawn here by mere curiosity to see a character
or a man, who by the events of his life has gained somewhat of notoriety,
will miss the real object of this lecture and the occasion which brings us
together. My soul's desire is to benefit you by recounting some of the
important lessons which my life has taught me.

Life is too short to make any other use of it. Besides, I owe too much to
my fellow men, to my opportunities, to my country, to my God and to
myself, to make any other use of the present occasion.

Since I am to speak to you of some of the important lessons of my life, it
may be in order to give you some account of my ancestry. It is something
to one's credit to have had an ancestry that one need not be ashamed of.
One of the poets said, while talking to a select party of aristocracy:

Depend upon it, my snobbish friend,
Your family line you can't ascend
Without good reason to apprehend
You'll find it waxed at the farther end
With some plebeian vocation;
Or, what is worse, your family line
May end in a loop of stronger twine
That plagued some worthy relation.

But I am proud to say, ladies and gentlemen, that no loop of stronger
twine that he referred to ever plagued any relation of mine. No member of
our family or ancestry was ever punished for any crime or infringement of
the law. My father was a direct descendant from the Lees on one side and
the Youngers on the other. The Lees came from Scotland tracing their line
back to Bruce. The Youngers were from the city of Strasburg on the Rhine,
descending from the ruling family of Strasburg when that was a free city.

My sainted mother was a direct descendant from the Sullivans, Ladens and
Percivals of South Carolina, the Taylors of Virginia, and the Fristoes of
Tennessee. Richard Fristoe, mother's father, was one of three judges
appointed by the governor of Missouri to organize Jackson coun