The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1876-04-29

was 50 Olu, DuG SllSntly gray. tie Sc0rned
the style of clothing worn by men, and
Winter and Summer was robed in a blan-
ket. his only covering. Although a man
of abundant means, he would not leave his
retreat to provide the necessalies of life;
and. since he would have but little TO do
with his relatives, they engaged some one
in whom he had confidence to take his
groceries to him. His wheat and corn he
ground himself, by pounding. For long
time. my father, whom he had known for
many years, went twice a year to take him
such things as he required. | accompanied
him once when a child, and was kindly
treated by the recluse. | remember that
he gave me drink of cider, manufactured
by himself, by pounding the apples and
squeezing them through his hands. The
goblet in which he presented it was "a huge
gourd, anG he stirred the sugar in it with
his fingers. Children, as a general thing,
are not very fastidious, and did not sig hit
the old mans hospitality.
Alter we had left him. and gone through
his woods to the road, found | had for
gotten my sunshade, which was about the
dimensions of a good sized saucer | was
10th to leave it behind me, and, at the
same time. a little afraid to return for it :
but my father reassnred me. and very gin
gerry wendell my way back to the door,
where Andy stood holding it with IA help
less expression of having something left
upon his hands that bid fair to prove a
burden. He handed it to me in perfect
silence, and received it in the same lugu
bruuS manner.
He did not, as general thing, take
kindly to visitors; they bothered him. com
ing to see him out of curiosity, and when
he caught sight Or sound of them, he has
tened lu-doors, and refused them entrance.
He evinccd but little curiosity as to the
doings of the great world around him, from
which he had withdrawn; though ntelli
gent, be conversed but little, and that in
subdued tone, scarcely ineligible 10 one
unaccustomed TO it. He was upright and
honorable in his dealings with my father,
and seemed DESTROYS of giving as little
trouble as possible. He kept no money
about him, but gave orders upon those who
had his property in trust. lie himself kept
control of his forest, and not Il stick did he
allow any one to cut from it. He lived in
this way until log, falling out of his fire
place, set his house on fire and burned it
down. when he was compelled to live with
his two nieces and his nephew, children of
his brother Daniel, who were of middle
age and unmarried. Here he remained
eleven years, until his death, which occur
red on the 1st day of April, 1868, in the
ninety second year of his age.
In him were conspicuous the character
istics of the Defoe family, from Daniel
down to the relatives of the present day.
remarkable longevity, a disposition to re-
main unmarried, or to marry late in life,
and the indomitable Independence of spirit
which was so prominent in the character
Of Daniel Defoe, and of his niece Elizabeth.
He was very discontinued for several
years after he left his solitude; however, as
years and infirmities wore upon him, he
became more reconciled; but, until the
time of his death. he occasionally spoke of
going off again to live by himself
1t is IA subject of regret that no likeness
of him is in existence. A travelling photo
graph gallery once stopped for a short time
III the road opposite his nephew's house.
Andy took great pleasure in looking at it,,
and remarked that ut would be a nice
little house for a man to live alone in if it
was off the wheels but no persuasion
could induce him to enter it,
Joseph and James Trimble, whose moth
er was great great niece of Daniel Defoe,
lived at that time in lonely. romantic
place, half mile from this village. Joseph
was "a bachelor: he was wealthy and eccen-
trio, and made his home with his brother
James, who was married, but childess.
Their large, old time stone house, fault
lessly clean inside and out, surrounded by
lovely grounds, had an ancient. stately
grandeur, seldom found in this changeful
country. Like his maternal ancestors,
James was passlonately fond of flowers,
and his beautiful gardens and green house
of choice plants were great attraction to
the rural neighborhood. Their home was
a sweet, quiet, res:ful place, and he was a
genial, intelligent, liberal man, never too
busy to entertain even children with the
properties and names of bis pets. One
great curiosity to the little folks was three
distinct foot prints on one of the rafters in
the garnet of his house. Whose were they,
and how they came there. was the mystery.
His idea was. aud no doubt he was correct,
that while the house was in process of
building. over one hundred years before,
and while the smooth ratters We're lying on
the ground, some Que. perhaps an Indian.
stepping in Indelible fluid. had walked on
the rafter They are the prints of "A large
flat foot. bare, each toe showing separately
and distinctly, and each print as far apart
as a tall man would naturally step.
In my childhood, the walk to his place
of a pleasant Summer evening was too
lovely to be forgotten. On passing up the
one street of our village, and leaving the
houses behind us, We assembled a gentle
slope, crowned by the Friends meeting
house. and looking in the evening light,
surrounded by its willow and poplar senti-
nels, solemn and ma jeStio-the very EN-
bodiment of peace and repose. Six roads
meet near the meeting house. and, taking
the left-hand one, we turned abruptly
round past the old log school house, long
since replaced 10y more aunty affair. then
through the woods belonging to the meet
ing house by narrow brown path, fringed
on each side by wiry grass, and leading
across il slile into the most fragrant of pine
woods; here the evening breeze whispered
and sighed, and the soft turf was carpeted
with wild Strawberries and tiny wild flow
ers; then we climbed over another stile
into another woods, which gently descend
ed to i! run Jas we call it in Maryland;
it would be called "brook" in the
North, crossed by the most rustic of little
brid yes, the air redolent with the perfume
OF wild flowers, aud echoing with songs of
the oriole and lark; then we followed the
green lane up to the dwelling. where we
were sure to have kind reception. But
time has changed much that was so pleas
ant; the march of improvement has level
ed the pine woods. l doubt if the orioles,
feeling the change, make the woods melo
dious with their singing notes. James
Tfimble and his family years ago removed
to Pennsylvania, where Joseph died at a
very advanced age, and where James still
resides.
The tract of forty acres, upon which the
meeting house stands, was decided to the
Friends, or Quakers, by William Penn, to
have and to hold forever, and the deed was
confirmed by patent in 1868. When the
State line was established between Penn
sylvania and Maryland, subsequent to rev.
olutionary war times, it cut through East
and West Nottingham townships. The
southern part was attached to Cecil coun-
ty and the inhabitants became citizens of
Maryland. This was given under the great
seal of the State of Maryland, on the 18th
of February, 1899, as confirmation of
Penn'S deed.
1t is a beautiful property, and is known
as East Nottingham Friends Meeting
iHicksitel. The first building upon the
nr"perty was a log meeting house, built in
1909. In l124. it was purchased by Lacy
Rowles, and removed to his place for an
out house of some kind. In the same year
III !,r,r of inn