The native Virginian. [volume] (Orange Court House, Va.) 1867-187?, 1868-08-28

mo, we have to buy corn nearly eve
ry year, but" added the Bishop with
ihimitable aliUete and dfyhess tive
make enough lettuce TO last us all the
year round, plenty OF lettuce--plenty."
At that, we all bhrst out laughing.
The idea ofan eleven hundred acre let
tuce-farm was too droll to be rests ted.
The good Bishop himself joined in.
"Plaindealing" is an old-fashioned
Virginia country double-house, one in
front of the other and the two connect
ed by covered passage. The yard is
one of the prettiest l have ever seen-
large, shaded with fine old trees, the
sod shorn as if with razor, and kept
spotlessly clean. Altogether 1t comes
as near the ideal ''home, sweet home"
as one can ever hope to see in this
world.
am always glad when business or
pleasure takes me away from the beaten
path of travel into some portion of our
dear old State which is new to me, for
| tttt cutC dihst w OihOOtCt as LID
tatevillc"(pronounce6E stouteville) and
"Plaiudealing, those surprises which
never cease to delight yet at the same
time to sadden me. These homesteacs
the seats of elegant culture, refine
ment and purlty-show the bcneticence
of our slave system, which disseminated
true civilization in every nook and
corner of the land, giving everywhere
examplars of social worth and polished
manners, instead of compacting 'civili-
cation" into the cities and leaving the
country people to become peasants and
Doors, without the first thought and be-
You'd tie chance of social refinement
When bethink me that all this is un-
done, and that, in spite of education,
laws, changes of government, what not,
the last vestige OF our beneficcnt system
is destined in no great while to disap-
pear and give place to the Northern and
European system, my heart, sometimes,
is fit to break.
Talking about Northern "civilization',
recalls an anecdotc related by one OF
the passengers, during this very ride, OF
seeing near Philadelphia two elegantly
dressed young ladies who had been
driving a pair of fast trotters stopping
and getting out, in order to scrape the
foam from the horses, for fear their own
coachman would get angry with them
This is your blessed free system-mas
ter and mistresses in awe of their own
"heip!" Are We not getting, nay have
we not got already to that pass in Vir-
GINA?
Within sight of "Plaindealing" and
about three hundred yards from the
road, is the now famous house of MIR.
NOOK, where .the Albemarle ghost" has
played his strange and daring pranks
for over eighteen months. | got oft OF
the ambulance and walked through the
woods to take good look at the Mouse.
1t is situated some hundred and fifty
yards from the woods, with nothing
within that distance to obstruct the
view on any side, and hence the great
wonder that the rascal or rascals were
able to carry on their pranks for so long
a time without detection, and that too
i'm defiance of ofte ntimcs from ten to
twenty armed guards around the house
1t is a Notable fact, however, that when
ever the students from the University
come down, as they frequently did III
large numbers, the "ghost" never made
his appearance.
My own opinion was, when first read
the account published few months ago
in the Scottsvil,e Register, that the
"ghost'' was somebody who lived in the
house or in the servants quarters. Mr..
Moon, whose acquaintance [ had made
in Charlottesville year ago aud with
whom | met in ScottsAille, tells me that
he believes negroes and perhaps some
white men belonging to band OF horse
thieves scattered through the neighDor-
hood, to be at the bottom of this mis-
chief. He showed me, however, note
which he had found tied to fishing pole
In his front porch few days before. 1t
read thus :---I WILL NOT PESTER
YOUANY MORE MR.. JACK.
GHOST.
He thought this note, which was print
ed with pencil in capital letters, came
from negro, because "Mr. or Master
Jack" was the name given him by the
negroes when he was u small boy, and
because the J in Jack was turned the
wrong way.
After an examination of the note, |
could not agree with him. 1t was writ
ten on very small note paper, ornament
ed with lowered border in purple ink.
Most of the letters were far too well ex-
ecutcd TO have come from the clumsy
hand of a negro, who had recently been
taught to write. Turning the the
wrong way was an after thought of the
writer as he or she was writing the last
word, and intended to mislead.--
"Ghost" was spelt correctly, but that
Mr.. Moon attributed to the fact that The
negroes had so often seen the word
printed in the Scottsville Register. But
to me the conclusive part OF the evil
dence was this: After the writer had
finished writing IN capitol letters the
words given above there remained a
long space between GHOST and the
lower part OF the purple Powered Dor
der. a portion. was then cut out and
the lower portion ofthe border pinned to
the unner and larger piece of naner. SO