Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1884-02-02

Her Old Teacher Gipcs IHteresting
"Reminiscences Of Her School Days.
Special to the American.

Her Old Teacher Gipcs Interesting
"Reminiscences OF Her School Days.
Special to the American.
SPAUNToN, VA, Jan. 80. 1884. THE
recent marriage of two "girls" in Mar
tinsburg has attracted such wide atten-
ton that l, an old friend Of the family
and a teacher of the groom, am con-
strained to send The AmeiTcan few
"reminiscences connected with the days
she bore the name of Rebecca l.. Payne
and before she became a ftill-hedged
bridegroom. Mrs. Payne, the mother,
lives on her fine farm in Frederick Co.,
Va, called "Locust Level, about six
miles from Winchester and quite near
Brucetown. 1t is classic ground--the
scene of almost daily skirmishes be-
tween the Federal and Confederate for
ees, when the tough old town of VIM
chester was battered between the fires
Of the contending armies. She was a
widow with seven daughters, who were
raised on the farm with much care for
their education and morals, all of them
being either members or regular at
PENDANTS of the Methodist Church. A
Virginia poet called these girls
ssTHE PLEIADESs OF LOCUST LEVEL.
Four Of them were well married to
industrious and well-to-do farmers, and
now Il fifth steps to the front and makes
Miss Annie Hinton, her old and true
friend, a happy wife. cannot speak
too highly Of the character and appear
ance Of Rebecca while she was school
girl at the Wesleyan female Institute,
at Staunton, Va. some ten years ago
1t was here that i first met her in the
capacity of her teacher. She made
friends everywhere by her gentleness
of manners and openness of heart. She
VAS true christians, and circumspect
in all her actions-respectful and atten-
tive to her instructors, and always am
bilious to excel: and that laudable am
bition carried her up to the highest
round of the ladder Of knowledge, leav-
ing her classmates in nearly every
branch of education behind her. She
never, or scarcely ever, joined in the
romping games or the girls. Some
times, il ball was to be thrown or a
weight to be lifted, she would proudly
exhibit
HER POWER OF MUSCLE.
She was brave and fearless, and at one
time, when there was thief scare
among the inmates of the large build,
ing, she led q band Of searchers through
every room in the house to find out the
of the intruder. At an
other time q number of young ladies
formed Il party for the purpose of as
cending mountain in the neighbour
hood of Staunton named "Betsy Bell"
Mss Payne was the only one of the
party to reach the lofty peak, which
she did with the shout,
'sExcELsIoR-- no MoREv'
Her tall and queenly form stood erect
in bold relief, with cloudless sky and
range stretching far to the
south. There she stood, like a statue,
for while, and then she waved her
and kissed her hand to
the pigmies in the valley below.
frequently took the liberty Of taun-
ting her on the masculinity Of her ac-
tions, such as shaking hands with
firm grip or walking with too long a
stride; and when / limited at the proba-
bility Of her one day marrying, she
would remark,
81 WOULDN'T MARRY THE BEST MAN
LIVING
She was rarely known to laugh, and
her features were usually fixed, but
not stern for her melancholy smile al
ways gave assurance OF a kindly dispo-
sition. The light hearts that beat
around her and the bright eyes of youth
and beauty that shene upon her from
every quarter failed to drive from her
fixed features the shadow Of sadness
that rested there. All knew that there
was some hidden secret that marred the
of her youth. The young la
dies of the school all loved her, but felt
a kind Of awe when in her presence.
After graduating with many honors,
she returned to the farm, had the over
seer employed by her mother discharg-
ed, and took the management Of the
estate in her own hands. Everything
thrived. She speculated largely in
stock, raising the finest horses, cattle
and swine in that section, and laying
up money in the bank. A prosperous
farmer
FELL IN LOVE WITH HER AND PRO
POSED
in this way: "Becky, / have q farm
worth 1900, and would like to marry
you; but don't want to marry all Of
your sisters. They can't live with us.v
She replied: ''John, have as good a
farm as yours, but don't want you nor
your 100000. l am already married to
my mother and sisters. We all have
enough to eat without my marrying
John went and got married to anoth-
err girl, and after awhile Becky bought
his farm for about half its value and
added it to the family estate.
Miss Rebecca Payne is now a happy
man and benedict--John Calhoun
Payne. H.
III DON'T FEEL WELL y The
stomach is cut Of order; neglected,
this means chronic dyspepsia: You