Port Royal commercial and Beaufort County Republican. [volume] (Port Royal, S.C.) 1873-1874, 1874-03-05

evident sorrow and one day she bold
" put herself in his way with some
triaing question. Yet her demeanor
was modest and in her eye, of the hue Of
the sky where it meets with the sea
flashed forth no unholy CLEAN. Brown,
hair, q clear complexion, with especial
" rosy cheeks, and q graceful figure,
made this girl of nine years more at
tractive to the beauty-loving eye than
any other on board--though present
ing the attractions of more developed
forms and conscious womanly feeling.
A brief conversation showed that the
girl was without relation or friend on
board. 80. r
Surprised at this fact the young man
inquired, half-earnest, half in sport a.:
"What can you expect to do by 60
ing over to American"
"Do2 why, raise governors for
them," was the instant, laughing an.
swer.
What could have induced the girl to
have left home and friends with no bet
ter defined purpose than indicated by
this reply was mystery. She did not
have the enthusiasm for the new coun-
try needful to set even an adventurous
boy upon sowild an enterprise as CROSS
ing the thousands of miles of sea, to
reach cold climate and an uncultured
shore. Subsequent years, however,
furnished a possible explanation OF the
mystery. During the remainder OF the
voyage there was a growing intimacy
between the young man and the light
hearted girl, whose beauty attracted,
and wit amused him, winning his mind
from brooding 30 darkly over his woes.
The vessel, from design or stress Of
weather, made port at York, in Maine.
Here other strange facts were de-
veloped. The girl-whose name was
Margaret Brown-hsd no means to pay
for her passage, and it was necessary
that some one should pay for her, or
she would have to be indentured-sold
to service for sufficient time to reim-
burse the person who should advance
the passage money. This was accord.
ing to q law existing and needful in
those times and through most Of our
colonial period there were many, both
of black and white, held in temporary
bondage. It was, of course, to be eI-
pected that the young gentleman who
had been 80 much entertained by the
girl during the passage should wish to
relieve her III this difficulty, and there
was none else ableor disposed to render
such aid. But the young man was no
better off than the girl, both were pen.
nlless. Both were therefore indeptured
to service to reimburse Mr.. NOVEL;, the
master of the vessel the young man
John being, If we may trust tradition
bound out to the town of Hampton, in
New Hampshire, to teach school.
Finding this situation improbable
or unpleasant, he applied to Rev.
Samuel Moody, of York, for aid, in a
letter written, tradition says, in seven
different languages. Why, he might
have taken a professorship at Harvard
College, only for this reason !: he had
been brought up Roman Catholic. In
reply he received from Mr.. Moody a
loan sufficient to set him free from the
remainder of his indenture, snd enable
him to open a school ut Berwick.
Not long after he redeemed Margaret
from service and he seems from this
time to have adopted the girl as his
child. The proceeding was not con-
sidered at all improper, as she was now
only ten, while he was thirty.two years
of age.
For eleven years this relation was
continued, Margery living in the house
of her foster-father. while he strove to
kindle in her mind the love of learning,
but without any great success. He
must have had stormy time of it, for
Margery was earlyand long distinguished
for her " ebullitions Of temper"
Thus their lives went on, until q
nicely dressed young gentleman, pass.
ing by, near the house, observed the
young lady drawing water from the
school-master's well. Admiring her
beauty, he stopped and engaged her in
conversation and such a passion was
at once developed in his breast that he
then and there proposed marriage.
Probably she referred him to her foster
father for the young man immedi-
ately proceeded to interview the school
master about wedding in the family.
Very likely the young lady had f1irted
mischievously with the young gallant
a performance to which we may believe
her fully equal-from this description
of her from an authentic source: "She
was somewhat below the middle height,
remarkable in her younger days for
beauty and vanity, at all periods Of her
life for talents and energy" Yet it
was very proper for her to be thinking
about the selection of beau, for she
was now twenty-one years old.
School-master John, after hearing the
plea of Margery's suitor, sought his fos-
ter.daughter in the kitchen. l am in
clined to the belief that she made some
strangely exhilarating confession to the
pedagogue for he went back to the
waiting gallant in high spirits, and
showed the over-hasty lover out of the
door with an intimation that further
prosecution OF his suit would be suit
ablyresented.
Yet there was really a wedding in that
house shortly after, to which the hand
some Margery and the young peda-
gogue were the chief parties.
"Youug pedagogue |" exclaims the
reader, with emphasis.
Aye, young, I reply; for John Sui
livan lived over sixty-one years after
this happy event. Here is descrip-
ton of his appearance at much later
date A.:
GA tall, slender but athletic man, six
feet in height, with dark hair, black
eyes, and q horid complexion, very
erect, and well proportioned."
He lived in possession of his faculties
o,a ~, ,,bye;oal etrenufh IN q remark.