Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-07-27

Written Cor the Free Press anl Times.
Notes on Charlotte.
BY COPELY SCOTT.
Those of my rcaders-can there be such
IN TINS grand historic tOwn-whO never heard
OF the sweet Swan of Avon" as old Ben
Jonson styled him. will think with him, ere
they finish my wonderful story
There n are more things in Heaven and earth
Than are drcamt Of in your philosophy"
For nearly twenty years | came back to
charlotte Tor brief season of respite and
recuperati0n, until few years ago | made
1t my home. During all those years, with
every return to this town, the very atmOs-
phere seemed freighted with the possibilities
OF some great discovery; it had something
like prophetic strain" as grand old Milton
said. and | found, to use the beautiful
words OF the author of Childe Harold,
that every evening TINTED the morrow with
prophetic ray" And really nature is full
oil prophecies :; the falling barometer is the
prophet of the coming storm. 1t matters not
whether the event be one of blessing or
otherwise, the prophetic herald announces
ITS coming. My experience in Charlotte
during this score of years cOnformed to this
| worldwide law, year after year the vision
OF some coming revelation assumed more
definite form, till out of the original chaos
| substantial historic fact was evolved At
ilrst the general contour OF TIE entire valley
with its eneircling mountains attracted INV
attention; then the successive undulatiOns
of the hills and trend of the lesser
valleys. as left BY the old prehistoric water
currents-ot which spoke in my last paper
tho grouping and outlines of the lesser
hills, together with the eyer-present, in
deseribabie. subtle beauty gave reality
and shape to what had been for
years formless nebule. and | was
convinced that near at hand had
been enacted some of the grandest dramas
of human history. And as left this yicn-
lty during those years at the end of my
brief vacations it was with feelings of deep
disappointment that the iondly cherished
dream of the year had not been realized
the wonderful discovery which was sure
awaited my search had not been made; but
remembering the ancient law, 'Ii the Wis
ion tarry, wait for it, | endured as best
! could the bitter disappointment. know
that Columbus did not discover America the
day after he left little Cslos. Weary weeks
intervened ere faith ripened into fruition;
but "armed with resolution" | waited and
hoped and at last the day of my delight
dawned. Ii was on this wise. The vlsicn,
like the star of sacred story seemed to hover
over one spot il the beautiful vale which |
spread itself out before me every day. |
At times, as sat in my favorite tower
musing on the significance of these things,
! seemed to see hand-nOt like that of Lady
Macbeth's, but more nearly resembling
that cloudy spectre which attracted the |
prophets attention. Its movements were as
though it beckOned me to the spot over
which as guardian angel, unseen by moi
tai eye, 1t watched with rarest interest. |
Resolving on visit to the charmed locality, |
took a cloudy, hall-rainv day for my tx
cursiOn, so Us not TO be disturbed by those |
who cannot
Find tongues in trees, books in the Iunnng brooks
Seiuio in stones, and good in everything"
With highlrubber boOts,-and why can t the |
balance of the Alabama Indemnity Fund be |
set apart for the benefit of the man who in
vented those indispensables to the modern
tourist and discoyerer,-l went across broad |
meadows, pleasant pastures, over stump |
fences and through shallow transient streams
till the place was reached and came upon
1t as We come upon every such event IN Lille,
Unexpectedly as repects the exact locality |
and moment. There was suddenness and |
surprise about it, though long anticipated.
The world knows nothing Of its greatest men,"
says the poet, and thought 1t knew moth
ing OF its greatest localities. for here in |
Charlotte. on lard owned by o. p. Read |
Esq, and in the POSSESSION of his ancestors |
| know not how rar Y generations. tran
spired some OF the most important events |
in the history of our race
The first sigt # The place was like 4 |
panorama of the earlier chapters of the |
Genesis. so strikingly did the physical iea- |
lures of the locality answer the descrir- |
tion Of the inspired pages. as nea-ly as
| could remember, and | ielt a |
good degree of familiarity with the record. |
A copy of the Holy Scriptures, in the Origi |
nal, would have been very convenient to
verify every allusiOn. but had none at |
hand. Indeed | think but little of that
kind of piety which puts huge gilded |
and clasped Bible on the parlor table, so as
to be seldom seen and more rarely used; a |
smaller one in the church pew, with copy |
Of the New Testament or Psalms in his vest
pocket. while the man goes out TO cheat
his neighbor in trade and vote for corrupt |
,ifcals because they belong to his party. |
Like the widow hereit in TennysOn's
Princess" ''neither spoke nor moved"
80 entranced and overcome was | for some
moments. and then | set forth with rare
pleasure to satisfy myself that the revea-
ton was all it seemed to be. Was it indeed
the Garden of Eden? 1t was, and
though for long time incredu-
lOus was compelled at last in
the face OF such numerous and over
wheming evidences to believe that it was
in very truth primitive Eden There was
an old dilapidated saw-mill mostly gone to
decay the remains of the antique wheel in
the pit. while all about it indicated an
antedIluyian age. SO that | cOuld not resist
the conclusion that Noah, drawn to this
spot by its old historic associations, erected
the mill and cut out some of the tlmbers
used in building the ark. In fact sadly
domOralized pile of plank was lying near,
probably Just as the patriarch lett it when
he completed his refuge OF safety for him
self and family The remains of a dam
across the stream bore traces of some
ancient flood There too on the banks
of the beautiful stream stood a venerable
apple tree, from whose dropping branches
the fruit would hang temptingly low.
Near at hand was a most beautiful grove
where our first parents rOamed at will, ere
sin had entered the delightful place. As
wandered up and down the stream, whose
bottom was covered with most beautiful
water washed, rounded pebbles, was CON
vinced that the first brothers OtOur race had
spent their boyhoOd amid these scenes. but
with the true New England spirit of enter
prise and exploration they went out
West" or somewhere else in early life and
bulldcd for themselves homes and iOrtunesy
All the external features OF the locality cor
responded in remarkable manner with the
MitOnic topography. But more convincing
however than all else was tho presence OF
two moss covered mounds. which must be
regarded as the graves of the parents OF our
race In his oriental travels Mark Twain
found tomb stone with the English IN
scriptiOn, ''llere lies Adam" and over 1t
his gushing tears proiusely flowed.
Ignorant of tho frauds which
those INSCRIPTIONS Mu>sulmans con-
sIantly practice ON travellers. he accepted
this a. proof that Adams romans were
there cnt0mbcd, ~ though his sons would
letter the parental tombstone IN the English
language not then in existence. But here
found two simple. rude stones, with near
ly Obliterated Inscriptions, which could
havo deciphcrcd and translated had my
ilcbrcw been little less rusty Also Nj.
Twain Esq. saw but one grave; where WAS
faithful, loyal Eve buried. according To his
philosophy | found iro graves side by
side, Just ~ Adam and Eve should have
been buried and just where and as they
were buried | do not wonder that the
Weste:n-b born, and untutOrcd traveller who
reported such discovery supported by
such evidence should style himself an in
noccnt abroad" Tor he was most assuredly
innocent OF all archaeological knowledge and
skill Mr. Bccchcr said some months since
that the whole story of Eden Is parable ?
Parable, yes il lItOn and MOultnn arc
parahlcs Great is exegcsI+ in the hands
ol the eloquent divine. d. not know
that his interpretation Is II strange one. re-
I. .HIt al
iortS to put the average New lOrker within
the pale Of the Christian brotherhood,
more than one feature of Holy Scripture
must be treated rs II myth. But here are
facts. stubborn. Incuntroyertlhlc, unyicld-
ing l,cts. and If Mr.. Bcccher, and some
Others for that matter. would have more
regard tu facts, it would improve the quail