The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1873-10-24
BRET HARrE's DISCOVERY
RevoIutionary Reminiscences.

Revolutionary "reminiscences.
George Washington and Josiah w. Per-
kins-A Confu,iOn OF Images-HOyv a
Hessian CaUno so End
BAsKTNa RIDGE, n. j., Oct. 3, 1873.
I have seen her at last. She is 1O7
years old, and remembers George
Washington quite distinctly. It is
somewhat confusing, however, that she
also remembers 8 contemporaneous
Josiah w. Perkins of Basking ridge,
N. J., and, I think, has the impression
that Perkins was the better man. Per
kins, at the close of the last century,
paid her some little attention. There
are few things that really noble wo-
man of 107 never forgets.
1t was Perkins who said to her In
1895, in the streets of Philadelphia,
Shall show thee GenI Washington ?''
Then she said, careless-like, for you
know, child, at that time il wasn't what
it is now to see GenI Washington, she
said, '' So do, Josiah, so do" Then he
pointed to a tall man who got out of a
carriage and went into large house.
He was larger than you be. He wore
his own hair-not powdered, had a Row-
cred chintz vest, with yellow breeches
and blue stockings, and a broad-brim-
med hat. In summer he wore q white
straw hat, and at his farm at Basking
ridge he always wore it. At this point
it became too evident that she was de-
1 II III
ting Perkins, so gently but firmly led
her back to Washington. Then it ap-
peared that she did not rememb r exact
~ what he wore. To assist her
sketched the general historic dress of
that period. She said she thought he
was dressed like that. Emboldened
by my success, I added 8 hat of Charles
II. and pointed shoes of the eleventh
century. She endorsed these with such
cheerful alacrity that I dropped the
subject. ...-,..... -lr...
The house upon which had STUN
bled, or rather to which my horse-a
Jersey hack accustomed TO historic
research, had brought me, was low and
quaint. Like most old houses, it had
the appearance of being encroached
upon by the surrounding glebe, as it
were already half in the grave with a
sod or two in the shape of moss thrown
on it like ashes on ashes and dust on
dust. A wooden house, instead of ae-
quiring dignity with age, is apt to lose
its youth and responsibility together
A porch with scant sloping seats from
| which even the winters snow must
have slid uncOmfortabIy, projected from
a doorway, that opened most uniustifi-
ably into small sitting-roon. There
was no vestibule or locus Denitentioe
for the embarrassed or bashful visitor !;
he passed at once from the security OF
the public road into shameful privacy.
| And here in the mellow autumnaI sun
light that streaming through the naples
and sumach on the opposite fickered
and danced upon the floor, she sat and
discoursed of George Washington and
thought of Perkins. She was quite in
Keeping with her house and season. al
belt little in advance Of both, her
skin being Of faded russet and her
hands 50 like dead November leaves
that l fancied they even rustled when
she moved them. ~ r.aE
For all that she was quite bright and
cherry. Her faculties still quite vigor-
Gus, although performing irregularly
and spasmodicaIly. II was somewhat
discomposing, confes, to observe that
at times her lower jaw would drop,
leaving her speechless, until one of the
fami y would notice it and raise il
smartly into place with slight snap,
an operation always performed IN such
an habitual, perfunctory manner-gen-
orally in passing TO and fro in THEN
household duties-that it was very try,
ing to the spectator. 1t was still more
embarrassing to observe that the deal
old lady had evidently no knowIedgsO Oi
this, but believed she was still talking.
and that on resuning her actuaI vocal
utterance she was often abrupt and In
coherent, beginning always in the mid
die Of q sentence, and often In the mid
die Of aword. Sometimes, (" said bel
daughter. giddy, thOughtless young
girl OF eighfy-hye, "sonetimes jus
moving her head SOFT of unhitches hel
jsv, and if We don't happen to see i
she'll go on talking for hours withour
making q sound" Although vas con
vinced after this that during my inter
| Siayy had lost aavsrsf {vs,s~ozfaysk Tave
: Iations regarding George Washington
through these peculiar lapsss, coult
not help rejecting how benefcent wer'
! these provisions of the CreatoT-hOw, /