. The life and speeches of Charles Brantley Aycock. to bed, he sometimes slipped out of the backwindow in his night clothes, crept silently around thehouse, and hiding under the front porch steps, laythere as quiet as a mouse, eagerly listening to thewords of his elders. It was at this period, too, that the lad heard hisfirst political discussion when John W. Dunham, aDemocrat, met James Wiggins, a RepubUcan, in jointdebate at Nahunta. Dunham was a member of theWilson bar, an educated man, with a reputation as anexperienced and vigorous campaigner. His opponent,famiharly known as Jimmie Wiggin
. The life and speeches of Charles Brantley Aycock. to bed, he sometimes slipped out of the backwindow in his night clothes, crept silently around thehouse, and hiding under the front porch steps, laythere as quiet as a mouse, eagerly listening to thewords of his elders. It was at this period, too, that the lad heard hisfirst political discussion when John W. Dunham, aDemocrat, met James Wiggins, a RepubUcan, in jointdebate at Nahunta. Dunham was a member of theWilson bar, an educated man, with a reputation as anexperienced and vigorous campaigner. His opponent,famiharly known as Jimmie Wiggins, was aniUiterate man, without respect for the Kings English,awkward in his manner, and grotesque in his Aycock, boylike, secured a seat immediatelyunder the speakers stand. Dunham opened thedebate in his usual good style, but his speech made noimpression on young Aycock. But the momentWiggins began to speak, the boy riveted his eyes uponhim, followed every gesture, and caught every missed nothing. No awkward movement, no. SERENA HOOKS AYCOCK Mother of Charles Brantley Ay cock. OF CHARLES B. AYCOCK 17 slang expression, no intonation of voice, no facialcontortion, escap>ed his attention, and upon his returnhome he astonished his family by repeating the speechalmost verbatim. For many a day after that memor-able occasion it was a favorite amusement in thatcommunity to place young Aycock on a goods-box inthe midst of an appreciative audience, who cheeredand roared heartily as he repeated the words andmimicked the tones and gestures of Jimmie Wiggins. Civil War and Reconstruction had destroyed thepublic school system which Calvin H. Wiley had builtup in North Carolina, and young Aycock was forcedto pursue his education in a haphazard sort of way atsuch private schools as chanced to be conducted withinhis reach. The first of these schools was at Nahunta,where the f>eople of the community, by uniting theirsmall means, had employed a teacher. Here Charl
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublishergarde, bookyear1912
