Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1872-02-28
WILLIAM WRIT.
By JAMES PARTON.
(Fruln ,ll- New York Ledger }


Bladen>burg. in Maryland. near
! the Potomac river. was Il thriving vii
lagc before the Revolutionary war.
/ havin" Il great trade in cNp"rtin" to-
/ hacro and imp"rtimg foreign mcrrhan-
disc. In this village there was one
tavern. kept bv Jacob Writ. 4 native
If Switzcrland.as>i> by Henrietta.
his wife. W ho was a German William
/ Writ was the Youngest "t their >IN
children. and he was born III l1l2.
Besides this tavern. Jacob Writ pos>-
e>>ed some other pr"pcrt! i'll this
/ place, and 1t" was thus "nahicd to
maintain his family iii plenty. and
when Iii, son William was tw" wears
of age. leaving an estate of three "l'
four thousand dollars to hi> Young
/ family.
Among the frrqurntcrs of the
Bladcnsburg tavern Wa, Il lawyer by
, the name Of CarmcS. Durili" the iife-
time of the father he had become
warmly attached to the family. and
plrticulurily to the two members of
it--ihc oldest daughter, twelve ycar-
of age, and the pretty. ainu>im" little
William. aged two. When the land
lord died, and the whole care nf TIL,
house fell to the lamdladv. he lent hpl
a helping hand in many wavS, alvi>'
ing her about her property and the
education of her children. When ri
last the mother died also. he rcdoub
led his attentions. The oldest dau"h,
ter was then Il beautiful and blooming
Girl of eighteen. and it is evident tha,
he already looked upon her as his tu'
turc wife. He sent the boy to a Latin
school: and after sccin" his education
well begun, he removed To Georgia
here he had grcat success at the bar
soon we find him inviting E,izabctl
Writ and her brother to come t.
Georgia, and live with him. The
Young lady accepted the invitation
and became his wife: but the boy ha,
found other friends. and saw an open
ing to an education nearer home.
And it was all owing To his enga
gin" qualities. lie describes himscl
a> Il pert. lively. sau,'y anu pretty
school-boy, who san" comic song:
very well. danccd with great agility
and made smart answers. which, Ii,
says. caused him to be tlought'a gcni
us" He docs not appear to have
been a very diligcnt student. but h
was cxtravagan,ly fond OF ron .ati
and humorous literature.
lie we'll remembered the incidcu
which first suggested to his mind Il
try for the legal profession. His cx
ccllent schOolmastcr was III the habi
of taking his pupils to attend the scs
sions of the county court. tour mile
distant from the school. Among til
advocates was a popular and bri!lian
Young man Of the nciGhborhood, wei
hhoN IL w an" '''' VI
itc with them, who seemed to then
to surpasss his elders in cloqucncC
Young Writ admired him extremely
and to the whole school lie appcare'
y the hero of the county.
"Why should wa not have a cou
! of our own?" was the cry. as the
trudgcd homeward.
Ii was agreed TO. Who was nj
pointed to draw up the rules. He wa
the hero of this Juvenile forum, and
was there that he acquired the tast
for legal pursuits. The part he too
In that school-boy court led him d
rcctly to real courts and real c;
~ scs. One of his school fellows, I'll
son of noted lawyer and politician
named benjamin Edwards. happcne