Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1880-02-27

Then it was spring, and the sun.rays shone
On fresh young tints from cloudless sky;
And with my sweetheart strolled alone.
| To tell her my souls deep ecstacy.4s
kissed her smiles, and my thoughts, low
Meier d, canned that the future could b
| sad.
But Winter came, and the green leaves fell,
| Ny loves soul went to the dreamland shore
And the wind and the dead leaves sang tn
sad kneA
OF the good, true heart should WOO neve
more;
So when hear the leaves and the rain,
think OF my love, and live again.
STRATFORDs ROMANCE.
L Tale Of Colonial Days.
NRw HAVEN, Conn.,, Nov. 15.-Som
days ago gentleman made thorough
search among the mounds and broker
down tombs of the old cemetery =
Str afford for the grave of John Ruggles
He found one beneath which he va
firmly convinced the bones of Ruggle'
lay, but his confidence was greatly shak
en- by the discovery of two others who's.
appearance and position SO nearly CORES
pended with the description Of the spo
where Ruggles was buried, that he wal
obliged to 60 away in great doubt abou
the place. There is reason to believe he
would have caused to be Put up small
shaft, with such an inscription as would
have shown that Rugsle played par
in 81 I'm 0E <h1 1,,kS
Had Benjamin Beach-who died wher
he was 97-been alive, the grave would
probably been easily located. For Ben
iamin Beach-Uncle Ben the boys for 8
generation and half called him-by
reason of his own remembrance and es
peeially because he had father who suf
fered no matter of revolutionary times t.
fail of becoming traditional, had gooo
deal to say first and last in his lifetime
about John Ruggles. It was from I'm
Gle Ben that his neighbors, fifty year:
ago, learned that Lady Stirling, Of Stir
ling Castle, England, had sent a matte,
of EGO to America for suitable tomt
for John Ruggles, and Uncle Ben always
insisted, with mysterious expression in
his eyes, that the man who got thai
twenty and failedlto fulfill his trust came
to just the bad end that might have beer
expected.
Now the tale that the old mar
used to tell about John Ruggles and Alb
by Folsom of Stratford is so we'll zorro
borated by history in some of its details
that gentlemen of a studlous and anti
quarian turn have not hesltated to accept
the whole of l.. This is the story, which
has never before been in print ,and which
l have been only able to gather through
putting together traditions, and from
what l heard out of the mouth of ole
BENJAMIN himself before he died:
John Folsom of Stratford was respect
ed by the old men of that village because
there was not man from Dickerman1
forge, on the New London turnpike, be
meath the great East Rock in New Haven
to Ephraim Lang's elm-shade smithy ii
South Norwalk, who could begin to shoe
horse or mend pillow like him. He
was also we'll esteemed us we'll as feared
because he was the most pronounced hatel
Of King George the Third in all Haver
colony. But in the eyes of the young
men of that elm shaded village, and along
the coast for ten miles each way from the
Stratford tavern, there was no man better
worth while to be friendly with thar
John Folsom, for he was the father of {
girl who was so fair as to have fame OF
account of it, and who was so brave anc
SO true to the cause that the Continental
army was fighting for, that the young
men, for sheer modesty and debasemen1
Of their own worth, stood aloof from bel
and admired her with the mutual admi
ration that men can snare when none O.
them is preferred above the other.
BY common consent, however, it wa:
settled that the dark-eyed Abby would
come some time to marry young Sllllma1
whose father was so brave that he hat
been appointed by Gov. Trumbull, other
wise "Brothcr Jonathan" and the Coun
Gil of Safety a Major General and tn
Superintendent Of the coast of the count,
Of Fairfield.
They had seen young Silliman pcepint
over the high backed pews Of the Congre
gational church in Stratford at Miss Alb
by in manner that the young men an<
young women of that day did not mis-
understand the meaning of. So although
the blacksmith's daughter never looked
to the right nor lett-as she must hav,
done to have seen anything except tn
Rev. Mr.. Osgood, who was directly il
front of her-still the young men fel
that the son of Major Gen. Silliman: wh,
gave promise himself of becoming will
years as brave fighter as his father, and
moreover, had favorable antecedents, ane
promise Of future good fortune, barring
the accidents of war, might not cast sucl
eyes over the bigh-backed pews in vain
| One morning, when the Gins were JUS
''feathering," and John Folsom was beat
ing flnt-lock muskets into shape on hi
anvil-without charges, they being de
signed for the militia-John Ruggle!
rushed into the shop, and, with NJ
thought of his buckskia small clothes
leaped upon the forge, so near to the Gin
ders that it was a wonder that he did no
feel the sting, and said:
"They've got the General of the armies
and the lad"
"What IS it now that you mean, joint
asked the blacksmith. Had anybody bu
John Ruggles rushed into the smithy il
that manner and made such remark O.
a sudden, he would have heard how ter
ribly John Folsom could speak when III
had mind to. But ever since John Rug
giles had been stunned by a stroke o
lightning, and was found in the lot sense
less, with his coat and waist coat thrown
over little Abby TO save her from the
rain and storm, John Folsom's words K
him were as gentle as those Of his gentl.
wife's, especially as the stroke had seem
ingly blotted out the greater part of Joh1
Ruggles' reasoning powers, as we'll a.
frightened the little that was left.
1.-THE British came over the sound,
say. and they did enter the house of Gen
Siliman last night, while he was sleep
ing, and they took him and the boy ii
the small boat back..toiiL Long Island, where
they will keep them as prisoners, if they
don't shoot them first.
"rhe vengeance of God be upon them,
shouted John Folsom, throwing down hi
hammer and bracing up his small
clothes.
"Why, father, do you imprecate2 VIVA
is the meaning Of it,"
So said Miss Abby as she stood on tn,
threshold of the shop, with q bunch O.
purple lilacs in one hand and some whit,
ones in the other. She wore no bonnet
but instead, cap that only partly con
cealeH her thick dark hair Her noft;