The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1877-06-23
For The Cecil Wing.
Quilp's Diary, that He Kept as Bohemian.
He Employs 4 Servant and They go 10
Liberty Grove and Vinegar Hill.

| May 24tn.
At Rowlandsville we fell in with likely
young 1rishman, Aleck Mcguire by name,
who said he was out of job and would
gladly 60 with us and carry our carpet-bag
for small compensation. Feeling kindly
disposed, and the clerk of the weather "
having got things badly mixed up some
how or other-it being nearly as cold as
Christmas, and thinking he might be of
use to us, he appearing to have some knowl-
edge of the country,-we concluded TO take
him on trial for day or two at fifty cents
a day.
So we left Rowlandsville and started for
Liberty Grove and got lost before we got
out of the village, and for awhile thought
we had suddenly been transported to the
Allegheny Mountains, for we found our
selves on the top of young mountain,
through which the railroad ran many feet
below us. We saw no practical way of get
ting down without retracing our steps,
which We resolved not to do; but the chill
dren of Mr.. Morrison, whose house was
hard by on the mountain top, put us right
and we went on our winding way rejoicing.
Pretty soon we came to mile post marked
fifty-two miles to Lamokin, five miles to
! Port Deposit, and Aleck told US the story
of two sons of the Emerald Isle, who found
the stone on the turnpike marked forty
seven miles to Pittsburgh. He said they did
not understand what it meant, and, after
much cogitation on the subject, one said to
the other, "Tread lightly, Jamie; he was
forty-seven years old, and his name was
Miles to Pittsburgh
Travelling on up the valley of Basin Run,
listening to the singing of the birds, the
lowing of the kline and the tinkling of the
bells they wore, we passed j. Bancroft's
store and Kinks mill, and soon came to
Liberty Grove. This is a sequestered lit
tie village hid away among the granite hills.
1t has school house perched on the bank
of the railroad, and we were much inclined
to stop and see if the teacher had taken the
advice of the " fat man" and furnished her
pupils with the strings and other things he
recommended, but concluded we had best
not, as we were in strange neighborhood
and visions of broom sticks, ETC., began to
fit before our minds eye, and knowing the
gallantry of the Irish people and their love
for the fair sex, we were not sure Aleck
would be of any use to us; indeed we were
not sure he would not take sides against
US, if our inquiries resulted in an "on-
pleasantness," and we concluded we would
not 60 in. So after noting that there was
a store here kept by r. J. Rowland,
blacksmith shop, in which J. S. Green car
ries on business, and wheelwright shop,
in which Elihu Haragan prosecutes that
business, and learning from Aleck that
there were two colonies of stone masons
close by, we wandered on uptowards Vine
gar Hill.
Soon after we left the Grove we noticed
on the east side of the road large tract of
land that appeared to be in neglected con-
dition and only used for pasturage. Aleck
said it belonged to an old man, one Mr.. N,
who was early crossed in love, and who
cared not to improve his place or do any
thing with it, but was induced to let his
neighbors pasture their cattle on it and re-
ceived enough money for this to supply his
wants. Aleck seemed to sympathize with
him. but we could not find it in our heart
to do so, and thought that though his sor-
row may have been very bitter, had he mar
ried it might have been much worse, and
that his sorrow, like the sorrow of Job, as
we once heard preacher remark, may have
been sent by the Advise to prevent the
coming of greater ones.
jogging along we came to the top of Vine
gar Hill. This is high hill and the view
from its summit is unsurpassingly grand
and beautiful, and worth journey of twenty
miles to see. Here Emma Alice Browne
began her checkered life, and we were sorry
to see that the venerable old house in which
she was born had been replaced by more
modern structure, or so modernzed that we
failed to recognize it. 1t may be interest
ing to your readers to tell them why this hill
bears the name it does. Aleck gave me
this explanation of the matter: In the days
when tangle-foot whisky (Aleck seemed to
huOW anu llhO ~ WV Wuo
plenty, and many people thought it one of
the necessaries of life, they were in the
habit of obtaining their daily supply from
a store kept upon the summit of this hill,
and always when asked what was in their
jugs, they said vinegar; or when asked
where they were going, or where they had
been, they said at or to the store On the
hill for vinegar. So the good temperance
people of the neighborhood called the place
Vinegar Hill. On the top of this hill stands
neat little Methodist Episcopal Church,
in which these enthusiastic and pious peo-
pie for many long years have met to wor-
ship God and labor for the conversion of
their fellow men. We heard many stories
of the marvellous power of the spirit of the
living God, as there displayed in the con-
viction and conversion of sinners years ago;
how noted infidel, who delighted to as
semble the ungodly in his house on the
Sabbath day and amuse them by playing
the violin, had been transformed from a
"ne'er do acsll," into pious Christian man.
Near this place lives the good old patriarch,
John Brown, one of the pillars of this little
church. He is brother of VIM. Brown,
the father of Emma Alice. William once
lived here and afterwards became preacher
of the Methodist Protestant Church. He
was a man of great memory, his brother
John once told US. Emma seems to have
inherited this trait from her father. Her
uncle John once told us that he was in
formed by his brother that she could re-
peat the whole of Homer's Had before she
was able to read word of ii, she having
learned it by hearing her father repeat it
when a child of four years of age, while
sitting on his knee.
The Rev. VIM. J. O'Neil now has charge
of the church here and is much liked by
his people, being a Cody man and popu-
lar preacher. We noticed the congrega-
ton had recently repaired and improved
their church. They will doubtless repair