Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1878-02-16
GOVERNOR DUVALL.

EDITOR lSTELLIGENCER - You
published al article from ali exchange
with reference to that gifted and
eccentric mantle late Gov. Duvall,
OF Florida. 1t stated that his father,
who was u very poor man, once or
dered him TO bring in q log of wood,
and finishing the task, a difficult one.
he asked his sister, who was passing,
to bring him his rifle, getting which
be started for Kentucky aud never
returned home until he was elected to
Congress. Coming to the old cabin,
he saw the log still lying at the door,
OIL which he shouldered it, marched
in and throwing it at the sold mans"
feet remarked. There's your log
Ii the article was intended as a
part of the history of the man, it
lacked but n element Of merit-that
is, it did not, with one exception,
state a single fact.
The father of Gov. Duvall WAS not
a poor man, but a wealthy and ill.,
tlueutlsl citizen of Richmoud, va.
He did not ask his sister to bring his
rifle, for the boy, when he left home.
had none. The cause of his leaving
home, was not II 'log' but a ~"jackass.'
The only truth stated, is that he did
not return, until elected to Congress.
Ii the article was intended Is wit, it
WIS., q signal failure. when compared
with tie real facts. AS the article
copied from All exchange was thought
of sufficient merit to publish. the
real story which is truly l~aughable as
told by the governor himself aud re-
corded by Washington Irving, GER
t4inly will not be without interest.
He says: Il am a kentuckisn by
residence and choice, but q Eirginian
by birth. The cause of my first
leaving the Ancient Dominion was
a jacksss. You stare, but have 8 lit
lie patience. and FL soon show you
how it came to pass. Ny father. who
was Of ole of the oldest Nirgimian
families, resided in Richmond. He
was a wiIuwer, and his domestic
affairs were managed by a house
keeper. of tie old school. such IS usrd
to administer the concerns of opulcmt
| Firgini4u households. She was a
! tiIunEfnrp that ulrnnEf riualai m
father in Importance, i'll fact, she was
o considerable in her economy, and
~ careful of expense, as to sometimes
vex my father, who would swear she
was d~i-gracing him by her II
If anything went
wrong, poor old Barbara would take
it to heart and sit III the Oom and
cry until a few chapters in the bible
would quiet her spirits and make all
calm again. The bible was her con-
slant resort In time of trouble. She
opened il Unfortunately and whe:h.
err che CHANGED among the lameuta'
lions of Jeremiah, the canticles OF
solomon Or the rough enumeration
of the tribes in Deuteronomy, 8
chapter was a chapter, and operated
alike to her soul. Such was our good
old house-keeper, Barbara, who was
destined, uuwittingly, to have a mos
important effect upun my destiny.
1t came to pass, during the days OF
my juniority, while | was yet what
is termed IAN unlucky boy that 6
gentleman OF our neighborhood, q
great advocate for experiments and
improvements of all kinds, took j,
into his head that it would be al I'M,
meuse public advantage to introduce
a breed of mules, and accordimyl,
imported three jacks to stock the
neighborhood. This in a country
where the people cared for nothing
but blood horses! Why, sir. they
would have considered their mare,
disgraced, and their stud dishonored
by such d meSallisnce. The whole
matter was a towu-talk and a tow
scandal. The worthy aInaigamatiOr
Ofquahrupeds found himself in a dis
mai scrape !; so he backed out In time
abjured the whole doctrine of anal
gamation, an! turned his jacks loose
to shift for themselves upou the tow
commons.
1t so happened. that my way t
! school lay across the common. Tn,
first time that | saw one of thes
animals, 1t set up a braying. ant
: frightened me confoundcdly. How
l ever, soon got over my fright, an,
: seeing that it had something of
horse LOOK, my Virginian love TO
l any thing Of the equestrian specie
predominsted. and determined {,
back it. Getting a halter and sum
moning some OF my school-fellows
we drove master jack about the com
mon until we hemmed him in al
angle OF a worm fence > after som
difficulty we fixed the halter aroun
his muzzle aud l mounted. Up wen
:. his heels, away l went yer his head
and off he scampered.
r BY dimt Of repeated tumbles, l 500
e laar"ed to stick to his back, so tina
he C 'uld no more cast me off than b
r could his " skin.
# Sunday approached, on which I pre-
jected All equestrian excursion GU GU
S of the l~ong-eared steeds. AS l knew
d the jack would be in great deman
on Sunday morning, l secured on
y over night, and conducted him hom