The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1878-01-18
Daniel Webstef's Relig-
ious Character.

80
press of Little, Brown & q Boston, W,
make the following extrsef
The year before Mr.. Webster died. il
the autumn of 1851, | ssss spending ,
few weeks with him ats1his place ii
Franklin. One pleasant frning he sale
to me:
81 am going to take Farive up tc
Andover, and 1 want yo 70 go with
me-"
Andover was about ten aes from hi.
place in Franklin. Head6sl,
1--WE can start after braakfast, and II
will take us an hour and half or two
hours to 90. We shallcnl pant to stay
there an hour or so, and viii return
in time for dinner. WhA Be get into
the wagon, will tell you ,ao lam going
to see."
The horse swas h Id Sssss
started off. AS we rdsB long, Nix,
Webster had a great many "reminiscences
called to mind by different olects that
we passed. Such a man use to live
here, be would say, and such lan lived
in such a house, and there | smember
such man lived in such a hase; and
here he used himself to live who boy,
and there he used to pitch quoit, and in
another place he used to play viii John
Holden's boys.
After Mr.. Webster had recGlnted
various pleasing re niniscences o, this
kind, he said
Now l viii tell you the object o this
trip to-day. am going to see a ma by
the name OF Colby. John Colby is
brother in-law of mine. He married my
oldest halfsister, and was of cours, a
good many years older than myself,-as
she was. have not seen him for tOrr
FIVE years, as nearly as l can recollec.
My sister, his wife, has been dead many
many years; and any interest l may
have had iu John Colby has all died out ;
but I have learned some particulars
about his recent life that interest me
very much, and I am going to see him.
I will tell you something about him.
When I was lad at home, on the farm,
John Colby was a smart, driving, trad
ing, swearing yeoman, money-loving and
money getting. In that rather rude
period, when there were not many dis
tinctions in society, when one man was
about as good as another, and when
there were very few educated persons, he
was considered very smart active man.
remember him, however, with sort of
terror and shudder He would pick me
up when was a little fellow, throw me
astride of horse bareback, and send
the horse to the brook. The horse would
gallop, and I had to hold on to his name
% keep from being pitched into the
liver. Colby was reckless, wild
harum-scarum. daredevil sort of "a fel.
low. Well. John Colby married my
oldest haIf-sister 90 ss.7---aIiorious
good woman but beaux ere not pien-
ty, and John Colby was fine looking
man. His personal habits were good
enough, laying aside his re,klessness; he
was not a drinking man, and he was, as
the world goes, a thrifty nan. Any of
the girls in town would have married
John Colby. After he married my sis-
ter, l went away to colege, and lost
sight OF him. Finally, he went up to
Andover and bought frm; and the
only recollection have abOut him after
that, is that he was called, think, the
man in the neighborhood, so
tar as swearing and impieF went. used
to wonder how my sister 0uld marry SO
profane man as John Colby. l think
she herself was very much shocked, and
know her father was, wbe was a relI-
gious man. And still Colby wassconsld-
cred "good catch" csme home from
college during vacation, and used to
hear from HIM occasionally; but after a
few years, perhaps five or six years, my
sister died, and then, of course, all the
interest that any of us had lin John Colby
pretty much ceased. l believe she left |
a child, l think daughter, who grew !
up and was married, SD alse left a
child.
Now will give you The reason why l
am to-day going up to ses this John Col
by. 1 have been told BY persons who
know, that, within few years, he has
become a convert to the Christian reli-
gion, and has met with that mysterious
change which we call change OF heart ;
in other words, he has become constant
praying Christian. This has given me
very strong desire to have personal IN
terview with him, and to hear with my
own ears his account of this change For
speaking, l should have said
that his was about as hopeless case for
as l could well conceive. lie
won't know me, and | shall know him;
and don't intend to makenyself known
at first"
We drove on, reached the Villages
little, suiet place, one street running
it, a few houses scattered along
here and there, with a country store, a
tavern, and a postoface. As we drove
into this quiet, peaceable little hamlet,
at midday, with hardly a sign of life
noticeable, Mr.. Webster accosted lad
in the street, and asked where John Colby
lived.
"That is John Colby's house, =" said he
pointing to a very comfortable two
story house, with green lawn running
down to the road. We drove along to-
wards it. and little before we reached it,
making our horse secure, we left the
wagon and proceeded to the house on
foot. Instead of steps leading to it,
there were little fagstones laid in front
of the door; and you could pass right
into the house without having to step
up. The door was open. There was no
TO knock, because, as we ap-
preached the door, the inmates of the
room could see us. Sitting in the mid
die of that room was a striking figure,
who proved to be John Colby. He sat
facing the door, in very comfortably
furnished farm house room, with a little
table or what would perhaps be called
ligbt.stand, before him. Upon it was
a large old-fashioned Scott's family
Bible, in very large print, and of course
,-ol1Ima Tf low 49,.