Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1858-03-10
THE GAZETTE.
WEDNESDAY MORNING, MARCH TO- 1858.
THE WALKER FAMILY.

The w aDhEh ahILi'
The suhjoined specimen of literary Jace''@
seems too good to be lost. and may serve ut
least as grateful vicissitude AMID the more
serious and ponderUus reading with when
our columns are sometimes crowded; While
tbose who furnish the subject OF this ]eu
n, esprit will, We are sure, excuse the liberty
taken with their patrODyMic In consldrra-
ton of the Nit exercised upon it.-NM Int.
The Smiths and the JJnescs and the Pat
tersons, names once classic in the history of
our country, are about to be robbed Of the
glorious associations that have hitherto made
them familiar to the people as household
words. John Smith--tbe veritable joint
who has been wont to trace his genealogy
back to the days "ayant" the food, so often
reported among the dead. hut always founu
among the living, is really about to pass ipto
oblivion. Major Jooes-the gallant jones'
Of Pineville-distiuguisbed alike IN camps
and oourtships, will soon become very COM
mon-place individual and fade away from
the memory of man; and as to that very cele'
brated parsonage, Billy Paterson, nobody
will care to know who Inflicted that myste-
rious blow upon the venerable William
Another star is in the a,c,ndant; another
family is monopolizing all the attention OF the
people, and the Government and the press,
two members OF which are fast ascending the
ladder Of fame. 1t is said that there are sew
eral IF. F. V.'s"-frst families in Virginia
but there is only one first family in the
United States at this present writing, and
that is the walker" family.
This Walker" family is in many respects
remarkable. 1t Gao boast OF ineaieulabie
ANTIQUITY and royal ancestry. The Smiths
are descended from Tubal Cain, cunning
srti6cer in all sorts of metals, but Adam hin-
self was Walker. In primitive days there
we're no railways, or steamboats,, or stage
coaches. and it is nowhere mentioned that
Adam was ever seen on horseback la the
early history of our own country the Walker
family PLAYED no mean part Who has not
read the affecting story of the Devil and
Tom Walker," rendered classic by the ininlta-
bic pen of Washington Irving? TINS Ihom'
~ Walker, it is true, did not reflect much
credit upon the name, having involved him.
self rather unpleasantly by an unfortunate
business transaction with the Prince OF Evil,
but nevertheless his cut distinguished figure
for a brief season, and bis name will be
handed down to countless generations IN the
future. Since Tom Walker disappeared
from the stage, the Walkers have kept re-
narkably quiet until very recent period
The fact is, Tom Walker transactions were,
to say the least of them, rather disreputabe,
and the Younger members of the family have,
with oommendable modcsty, refrained from
thrusting themselves forward as prominent
sctors upon the public stage. Recently, how
ever, two of the name have suddenly sprung
into marvellous notoriety. President Buch-
snan, finding it almost as difficult to deal
with the unruly people of Kansas as 1t would
be to treat with the Prince Of Darkness, aud
recollecting the daring 81 irit OF the Walk
era, called one Of them from comparative re-
tirement and set him into Kansas TO manage
the rebels. This was Robert j. Another OF
the family, named William, having probably
inherited the adventurous spirit OF his an
oestor Tom, struck out on bis own hook some
wears ago, and has made several huge at
tempts to figure as a great man on the soil Of
tho neigbboripg Republic OF Nicaragua
The appointment of Robert j. seems to have
resulted az dsastrousy to the Democracy as
Toms contract with the Devil did to bin
Il has ouly made confusion worse confound-
ed,"while the Governor has become more
distinguished and probably a more popular
man. The other gentleman, Gen. William
Walker, seems to have in his veins all the
recklsssness and hardhood and love of fame
and gain that marked the character OF the
adventurous Thomas, and which finally lured
him TO his ruin. Tom finally fell into the
banda Of the Devil, in conformity with spe-
cifo contract; William recently fell into the
hands Of Commodore Paulding. whose father
arrested the gallant Major Andre, and was
sent on to the Government at Washington.
In one respec, Com. Paulding did not initiate
the wisdom of the Serpent. The Devil never
would bave liberated Tom Walker on his
parole of honor. .c
What disposition will be made of the Gen
sral remains to be seen We think 1t likely
that the Administration has come to the con
o.usion long since that Tom is not the only
ono of the Walker family that has been III
league with the Dissatisfaction Spectator.
IIn