The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1875-10-21
THE BUCKSOY CASE.
EY EDWARD cRAPsEY.

In the year 1851, Captain John
Buckson lived, with his wife Nancy
in handsome cottage in the village
of Scakonk, near Providence, Rhode
Island, in the enjoyment Of compe
tence acquired by many years Of fru
gal industry. &c was, however, Of
ten absent from home, US hcstill pur
sued his vocation, and was master o.
the sloop Oregon, plying between
Providence and Norfolk, Virginia.
He had then reached his fftietl
year, and his hard sea-faring life had
not made him look younger than he
was. Hc was tall, gaunt and angu'
lar, weathcr-staincd and storm-beat'
en-. His short, stiff hair was griz
zled, and his long, narrow face fur
rowcd by deep lines, but his physica1
powersappcared to be still untouched
and he seemed assured Of a long con
tinuance of active life.
His temperament was favorable tc
luSty longevity. He was patient
and apparently so passionless that he
stared at the cares and troubles Of
life, as at strangers with whom he
could not possibly have dealings
He avoided quasrels, and all unseen.
illness, with scrupulous care, and was
known on his vessel and in his vii
lagc only as a sedatc, God-fearing
man, kind-hcartcd and cvcn-tcmper.
ed.
But he had positive points in hi:
character, and the requisite friction
would produce the natural glow. AS
in all equable men, his anger burned
with dim light but intense heat; an(
hence with him, 4 knitting Of the
brows, or twitching OF the hands
meant more than the widest signs o
passion in other men, and his wor(
of wrath was heavier than the Draw,
lcr's blow. But he so loved peace
and so sedulouslv coartcd it, that hi:
most intimate associates remembered
as memorable cpochs the rare occa
sions when his temper had giyer
way.
The only trouble of his life broodcc
on his own hearthstone. Mrs. Nancy
BUckson was many years las junior
in age, and, in important respects
his opposite in character. To hel
youth she added confines of person
Though thorough good woman al
heart, she yet cmbittered her life anc
his by constant effort to do more thar
her duty. Nervous and irritable
she became frctfully voluble in hel
assertions of her own merits and hi:
shortcomings. So, in the summer o
1851, the ncighbors began to pity
poor Captain John as hen.pccket
husband, and the inroads Of the wife
upon the domestic quictude were no
ticed as Of constantly increasing fre
quency and bitterness. Captain John
however, bore the affection with hi'
accustomed patience.
But the end was at hand. On
evening, in the last week Of July, :
ncighbor-James Pauls-in passing
the house, heard Nancy's tongue go
ing at the unusual rate, and glancint
through the window, saw Bucksol
standing before her. He seemed
reused at last; and although Paul:
could not hear his words, he saw th'
knitted brows and twitching hands
in one of which a whipcord was con
vulsively graspcd. The scene wa:
indelibly stamped by aftcr-cvent
upon the memory Of the academia
witness, land he couldalways see, cvel
to the most minute details, the enra
ged woman, confronted by that quie
concentrated man, struggling will
his passion and fidgeting with-a whip
cord. At the time, however, Paul
gave ro especial weight to the cir
cumstanccs, and stopping at tho vii
lagc inn on his way home, only casu
ally remarked to the inevitable loun
gers that he "reckoncd Nancy woul'
keep on a nagsin' of Captain Johl