The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-10-15

admirers were beginning " ic''' WIS i"'s~
,wo,kci ont. We arc compelled to condense
II TO the following shape, giving, however,
fhc most characteristic passages:
have seen her at last. She IS one nun
drc6 and seven years old, and remembers
George Washington quite distinctly. 1t Is
somewhat confusing, however, that she also
remembers a contemporuncous Josiah w.
Perkins. Of Basking Ridge, \. D., and,
think has the impression that Perkins was
the better man. Perkins, at the close OF the
last century, paid her some little attention.
There are few things that really noble
woman of one hundred and seven never for
gets.
IT WAS rERKISs
who said to her in 1895, in the streets OF
philadelphia. "Shall show thee General
Washington: Then she said. earnest-like,
for YOU know, child, at that time it wasn't
what il is now to see General Washington.
80 do. Josiah. so do" Then he pointed
10 a tall man who got out Of carriage ana
went into large house. He wore his own
hair-not powdered, had flowered-chln,z
vest, with yellow breeches and blue STOCK
ings. and brAd-brimmcd hat. In summer
he wore white straw hat, and at his farm,
at Basking Ridge, he always wore II. At
this point it became too evident that sue was
Perkins. 50 gently but firmly led her back
"a Washington. Then ii appeared that she
did pot remember exactly what he wore. 10
assist her | skctchcd the general historic
dress of that period. She said she thought
he WAS dressed like that. Emboldened by
nv success added hat OF Charles H., and
pointed shoes of the Xith century. She en-
dorSed those with such cheerful alacrity that
| dropped the subject.
She was quite bright and CHEEKY. Her
faculties still quite vigorous, although per-
forming. irrcgularly and systematically. 1t
was >olnew hat dscompoSing, | confess, TO
observe that ut times her lower jaw would
drop. leaving her SPECIFICS. until one OF the
family would notice it, and raise 1t smartly
into place with slight snap. 1t was still
more embarrassing 10 observe that the GEAR
cid lady had evidently no knowledge OF this,
but believed she was still talking, and that
on rcs,lming her actual vocal ultcrance she
was oitca abrupt ard ircoberent, beginning
always in the middle of Il sentence, and often
in tle middle OF a word. Sometimes"
said her daughter, Il sddy, thoughtless
Young thing OF cighty-tive, sometimes just
moving her head sort of unhiches her jaw,
and if We don't happen to see it she'll go on
talking for hours without ever making
sound"
Returned to the commander-in-chicf,b but
found. after ore or two leading questions,
that she was rather inclined to resent his re-
appearance on the stage. Her "reminiscences
here were chiefly social and local, and more
CT less favored with Perkins. We got back
as far as the revolutionary epoch, or rather
her impressions OF that epoch when it was
still fresh in the public mind. Aud here |
came upon an incident purely personal and
local, but withal so
NOVEL, WEIRD, AND USCANNY 80
that for while. fear, it quite displaced u.
W. in nv mind. and tingcd the autumnal
fields beyond with 4 red that was not OF the
Sumac.
In the little field beyond, where the plough
still turns up ml>ket-bals ard cartridge
boxes. took place one of those irregular
skirnlishcs between the militamcn and
Knyphau>en's stragglers that made the re-
treat historical. 4 Hcssian soldier, wounded
in both legs and utterly helpless, dragged
himself to the cover of Il hazel copse and
lay there hidden for two days. On the third
day, maddened by thirst, he managed to
creep to the rail fence of IN adjoining farm
house, but found himself unable to mount
it or pas through. There was no one in the |
house but little girl of six or seven years.
He called to her, and in faint voice asked
for water. She returned to the house Us if
to comply with his request, but, mounting |
Il chair. took from the chimney heavily |
loaded Queen Anne musket, and going |
TO the door, took deliberate aim at the |
HELPLESS intruder, and fired. The man fell |
back dead without Il Sr0an. She replaced |
the mUsket, and returning to the fence, coy- |
cred the body with boughs and leaves until |
il was hidden. Two or three days after, she |
related the occurrence in careless, casual |
way, and leading the way to the fence, with |
a niece of bread aud butter in her guileless |
little fingers, pointed out the result of her |
simple, unsophi>ticated effort. The Hessian |
was decently buried, but l could not find
out what became of the little girl. Nobody |
seemed 10 remember. trust that in after
years she was happily married-that no Jer-
scy Lovelace attempted to trife with heart |
whose impulses were so prompt, and whose
PURPOSES were so sincere.
They had their financial panics even in
Jersey in the old days. You
NEVER Used MONEY TO BUY ANYTHING.
When Josiah went to Springfield to buy any
thing lie took cart-load OF things with him |
to exchange. That yailer pictur-frame was
paid for in greetings. But then people
knew lust what they had !: they didn't fritter
their substance away in unchristian tritles
like YOUR father, Eliza Jane, who doesn't |
know that there is God who will smite him
hip and thigh-for vengeance is mine, and
those that believe i'll me-but here, singular
Is enough. the inferior maXillares gave out,
and her jaw dropped. ! noticed that her
~lddy daughter of eighty-five was sitting |
near her, but l do not pretend 10 connect |
this fact with the arrested flow OF personal |
disclosure. IIowbcit, when she recovered |
her speech again it appeared that she was |
complaining OF the weather.
Tie seasons had changed very much since
Your father went to sea. The winters used |
TO tie terrible in those days. When she went |
over to Springfield in June she saw the snow
still on Watson's ridge. 1t was that dread
full winter that the Spanish sailor was found;
YOU don't remember the Spanish sailor,
Eliz, Jane. 1t was before your time. There
was 4 little personal sklrmi>hinS here, which
| feared, at first, might end in 4 suspension
of maXilary functions and the loss of the
story, but here it is:
IT WAS TERRIBLE NIGHT,
that winters night when she and the cen.
tury were young together. The sun was
lost ut O'Clock; the snowy night came
down like white sheet, that tapped around
the house, beat ut the windows with its
edges, and at lust wrapped it in close EN-
brace. In the middle of the night they
thought they heard above the wind q
voice crying !" Christus - "Christus % in
foreign tongue. They opened the door, but
nothing was to be seen but the drifting
snow. The next morning dawned on fences
hidden. and a landscape changed and