The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1878-02-02

Mr.. EpIToR:-The following extract,
from a private letter, was not Intended
Tor publication, bat was written in reply
Ia a letter of inquiry respecting Matthias
Van Bebber. We were SO much pleased
with it that we have no doubt your read
ers will thank you as much for publishing
ii as they will thank the author for writing
it. "QUILP"
I will now conclude my letter (already, |
fear. too long, with such recolections of
SAID grand father rs occur to me. In his
s>treut old age, he retired TO a country
place called " Locust Grove" about 16
miles from Baltimore, On turnpike al one
time much travelled over by large six horse
wagon teams running between that city
and Pittsburg. | seem even now to hear
their chime OF bells, and See them pass by
the family residence seven or eight OF them
often in close sequence, their drivers
grouped together aud leaving the horses
20 their own guidance. There the old man
went up from the city to live out the
mainder OF his long and, until then. active
/ life. There, too, my brother Isaac and
mySelf-he twelve, | ten years Of age
lived for time with him (the grand father
| and his dlughier A grove of locust trees
| planted III automatically straight lines
! stood between the house aud turnpike, AMI
| It was beneath the shade of these that |
made my first acquaintance with some of
| the works OF Milton and Shakespeare. Ia
/ spite OF the dust from the pike it was a
/ pleasant retreat for an old man to retire to
until he should be called away by the last
I visitor. In character he was a singular
| comp .und in one respect. Economical i'll
extreme in many things of small import
| auce, he was liberal and generous i'll mat
| tiers involving sums q! magnitude. When
| | knew him, lie was already nearly blind.
| Having been educated for the church, he
was fine classical scholar and SO strong
were his powers of memory that he could
repeat long passages from Horace and Vir
| gil His head when he took off the worsted
| cap. which used TO cover it instead OF hair.
| might have served as model for the head
! of Jupiter \ more Joyian front have
I seldom seen, either among statues or living
men. | have, in my parlor, an oil paint
ing 4 believe by Suilyl, which represents
| him in the costume of an earlier time with
powdered wig scarlet coat, and ruff1es both
/ at bosom and wrist. ODe arm is leaning
. on a volume of Locke. the other inside an
unbuttoned hole of his waistcoat. His
/ height was, | believe, over six feet. One
windy day, recnllect, the wind blew the
/ old man over, but he arose by his OWE
! efforts, as he had often done in previous
/ lie, and said not word about the misad-
venture, thus evincing certain Autc an
! elasticity to the very last. Go to bed,
! Tom, go to bed, Tom: drunk or sober, 80
/ 70 bed. Tom this was his soother, his
/ lullaby, his quietuS against all the intirmi-
ties of age, and ever, as he intoned the
same with Il peculiar chant, his cane, thump
| after thump, came down rhythmically to
the floor. [ have heard it from the cham
Der above and from the cellar below, and
never did hear it without wondering what
! the good old grand-sire meant thereby. and
/ who could have been thar mythical Tom.
/ who was called upon so emphatically to 90
to bed, whether he happened to be drunk or
sober. Whenever. in Winter, the weather
was more than usually cold he was wont
to comfort himself by the following distieh
lone moments cold like theirs would chill
the bone.
Freeze the heart blood, aud turn us all to
stone.''
TO this day know not the author Of the
lines, although | nave wasted a reasonable
amount of time in reading poetry. AT
other times he would say to himself:
"Strange that Il harp of thousand strings
should stay IN tune So long"
Still more gro'esque and eXtravagant were
his ufrerauceS when he would repeat long
string of rhymes such as these: