ad before him a
character that was picturesque in its rugged manhood and honesty, and
inspiring in its devotion to right and justice. The very privations he
endured and that he saw influencing his home throughout his childhood
were due to principle, for William York would owe no man beyond the
period of his promise to pay. In the light of the sparks from the anvil
in the shop in the cave, sparks that burned brighter even than the light
of day, a comradeship between father and son was formed, and they were
companions until the boy reached manhood when the death of the father
separated them.

There was nothing pretentious about the home in which he was raised. It
was but a cabin, yet the chairs, the tables were of seasoned oak,
hand-made, solid. The puncheon floor was worn smooth with use and over
it was a polished glow from the care of cleanliness, showing purity was
there. The walls were papered with newspapers. That was to keep out the
winter's wind, but over the windows were curtains of white muslin, and a
scarf of it ran the length of the simple board mantel-shelf, and in
season the blossom of some flower swayed there. Within the home, no
angry words were heard, but often there was laughter and song, and when
the formulas for conduct were not followed, even the words of correction
were affectionately spoken.

As the boy's first steps were guided by tender hands, so the proper way
to walk through life was pointed out with gentle words and simple
truths. The mother's teachings were the products of an untrained mind,
but her philosophies came from a brain that has the power to think
clearly and quickly and is never influenced by either anger or
excitement--qualities transmitted eminently to her son. This little
mother in the mountains, unread and untutored, with only the dictates of
her own heart to guide her, had early adopted as her guiding philosophy
the belief that the greatest thing in life is love.

So the impressionable, observant boy realized that life in the rugged
mountains around him called for strength and endurance, but in his home,
or wherever his mother was concerned there must be gentleness and love.

And she has been the greatest influence in his life. He has always
listened to her counsels, except in a brief period of wildness in young
manhood. As his standard of life was formed under her teachings, it may
be again said of him--but this time from the moral standpoint: "He seems
always instinctively