Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1855-02-07
MISC ELLAN Y
Importing a Wife.

Grant Thorburn communicates to The
Waterbury Comm American the following
incideRts:
ain 1S47 iourneyed from New York o.
verland to Columbia, the capital Of South
Carolina, making en route through North
Carolina and Vlrglnia-I spent two sum-
mers and three winters among those barba-
rians, but never heard the sound OF the lash.
On a certain day | was invited to a tea par
ty in Richmond, Va.-there were present
about twenty couple of young men and
maidens, old men and matrons, with small
sprnkling of bachelors, who had doubled
their teens, who from appearance belonged
to the upper tens. Supper being ended, we
commenced converSing IN groups. | WAS
much amused and edited by the converse,
ton of an intelligent lady who had seen
eighty winters. She remarked that IN her
girlish DAYS it was customary for captains
of vessels to brlng as part OF their cargo a
LARGE company of men aud women, who
were styled RedemptionSts, who were sold
on their arrival by the captain for men-ser'
wants and maid servants, to wait on the
wives and children of the planters or mer-
chants. They were often sold to serve two
or three years to pay for their passage.
The old lady remarked that she had heard
her parents tell, that in the early times ol
the settlement, it sometimes happened that
bachelors and widowers would select bon
nv Scotch or Welsh lady, buy their time,
and lone before their years of probation ex-
pired they took them for better and for
worse, for bed and for board thus forming
life CO partnership, which closed the con-
cern.
"The ole lady related with all the spriIht-
" humor Of lass in her teenS) the follow
ing amusing incident:
"Says she. my grandfather came from
Scotland when in his twenty6rst year. He
settled in Virginia, aud became merchant
and planter, and grew nch. His agent in
Glasgow was Alexander McAlpn, to whom
he consigned two or three cargoes of tobac-
CO every year, and received in return cash,
dry goods, hardware, sc. He had locks
and herds, men-servants and maid servants,
hogs, mules, and donkcys. But one thing
he yet lacked he had no pretty little young
wife to sing to him, and begnile the time
with her prattling, lively Yankee tongue,
when he came home at night iatlgued with
counting money and Satiated with worldly
pelf-ior he had more of that than heart
could wish. So, after while, he concIu-
ded TO take wife as soon as he could catch
one but there was the rub; his time Was
so occupied with his business that he had
no time to court; and, worse than all, he
was a baShful man. When treading the
streets of Richmond, if he saw a sprshtly
maiden of eighteen advancing in his path.
he would cross the street, and pass away
ON the other side, fearful of being killed by
a shot from her sparkling eyes. He had
often heard his parents speak much in praise
Of the bonny lassies 'cta piayed anaag the
heather hill-tops in Scotland, and bright
idea now struck him. When he was lear-
in, the office one day, his clerk was copy
ing duplicate order for sundnes to be sent
as part of the return cargo Thinks he to
himself, I'll order young IaSSle Tor wIIe'
as the last item on the list. The article
was ordered accordingly. At the same
time he wrote private letter OF lnstsuctons