Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1873-11-01
BRET HARTEs DISCOVERY
Revolutionary R miniscences.
George Washington and Josiah ". Per-
kins-A CO"fu ion Il Images How n
HessisR came 10 an End.

HesstsR came 10 an End
BAsEIsa RrDeE, n. j., Oct, ., 1879
I have seen her at lest. She is l07
years old, and remembers George
Washington quite distinctly. 1t is
somewhat confusing, however, that she
also remembers contemporaneous
| Josiah w. Perkins OF Basking ridge,
n. j., and, 1 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 a few things that really noble wo-
man OF lot never forgets.
1t was Perkins who said to her in
1875, in the streets Of Philadelphia,
"Shall / show thee Gen1 Washington 2"
Then she said, careless-like, for you
know, child, at that time it wasn't what
it is now to see Gen'l Washington, she
said, $50 do, Josiah, 50 do" Then he
pointed to tall man who got out Of q
carriage and went into large house.
He was larger than you be. He wore
his own hair-not powdered, had a flow
cred chints vest, with yellow breeches
and blue stockings, and 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-
scribing the cloths of the all.fasciua-
ting Perkins, so Igently but firmly led
her back to Washington. Then il APP
peared that she did not rememb exact
lv what he wore. To assist her I
sketched the general historic dress of
that period. She said she thought lie
was dressed like that. EmbOldened
by my success, added hat of Charles
II. and pointed shoes of the eleventh
century. She endorsed these with such
cheerful alacrity that I dropped the
subject.
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 r
sod or two in the shape OF moss thrown
on it like ashes on ashes and dust on
dust. wooden house, instead Of ac-
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 uncomtortably, projected from
a doorway, that opened most uniustifi
ably into small sitting-room. There
was no vestibule or locus pgnitentio
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 autumual sun
light that streaming through the naples
and sumach on the opposite Aickered
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 a faded russet and hel
hands SO like dead November leaves
that fancied they even rustled when
she moved them.
For all that she was quite bright and
cherry. Her faculties still quite vigor-
Gus, although performing irregularly
and spasmodically. 1t was somewhat
discomposing, l Confes, to observe that
at times her lower jaw would drop,
leaving her speechless, until one Of the
fami y wonld notice it and raise it
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 dear
old lady had evidently no knowledge ol
this, but believed she was still talking,
and that on resuming her actual vocal
utterance she was often abrupt and In
coherent, beginning always in the mid
die Of a sentence, and often in the mid.
die OF word. Sometimes" said hel
daughter, a giddy, thoughtless young
girl Of eighty-fve, sometimes just
moving her head sort Of unhitches hel
jaw, and If We don't happen to see Il
she'll go on talking for hours without
making sound. Although ] was con
vinced after this that during my inter
view / had lost several important reve
latlons regarding George Washington
through these peculiar lspseS, ! could
not help rejecting how bsnsAcent weIt