melancholy imbecile. In all the relations of life this great man was
faithful to his duties--a devoted husband, a sincere friend, a kind
neighbor, and a considerate and indulgent master to his slaves. He was
one of those rare creations for which there is no accounting. None of
his family evinced more than very ordinary minds; nor can there be
traced in his ancestry one after whom his nature and abilities were
marked. His morals were as pure and elevated as his intellect was grand
and comprehensive, and his soul was as lofty and chivalrous as the
Chevalier Bayard's. His fame is too broad to be claimed alone by South
Carolina. Georgia is proud of giving him birth, and the nation
cherishes his glory.

CHAPTER VIII.

FIFTY YEARS AGO.

GOVERNOR MATHEWS--INDIANS--TOPOGRAPHY OF MIDDLE GEORGIA--A NEW COUNTRY
AND ITS SETTLERS--BEAUX AND BELLES--EARLY TRAINING--JESUIT TEACHERS--A
MOTHER'S INFLUENCE--THE JEWS--HOMELY SPORTS--THE COTTON GIN--
CAMP-MEETINGS.

Immediately subsequent to the Revolution, all the country northwest of
the Ogeechee River, in the middle portion of the State of Georgia, was
divided into two counties, Franklin and Wilkes. It was a wilderness,
and contiguous to both the Creek and Cherokee Indian nations. No
country in the world was more beautiful in its topography, and few more
fertile in soil. Governor Mathews had purchased a home in this region;
and being at this time the principal man in the up-country, attracted
to his neighborhood the emigrants who began to come into the country.

Mathew's Revolutionary services in the command of a regiment in the
Virginia line were eminent; and his character for intrepidity naturally
made him a leader among such men as were likely to seek and make homes
in a new country.

Surrounded not only with all the difficulties presented to him by the
unsubdued wilderness, but the perils of savage warfare, he
unflinchingly went forward in his enterprise, daring and conquering
every obstacle nature and the savages interposed. He was an uneducated
man; but of strong mind, ardent temperament, and most determined will.
Many anecdotes are related of his intrepidity, self-respect, and
unbending will. He was a native of Augusta County, Virginia, and
emigrated to Georgia about the same time that Elijah Clarke came from
North Carolina and settled in that portion of the new territory now
known as Clarke County.

These two remarkable men formed a nucleus for those of their re