, 1884-06-08

house. The trouble is not with the house
or with the Senator; it's with the authori-
ty. Some say it's one house, some say
it's another, some say it's still another.
and that's the way it goes. Six years
ago, when Senator Blaine was visiting
here, he picked out a house Us that in
which he came into being, and some
of the Oldest men in the vicinity say he is
right. Robert Blaine, his brother, was
here two years ago, and said the Senator
was wrong, to the great delight Of The
factions who held a like opinion.
BLAINE'S BIRTHPLACE.
However, Senator Blaine was present
when he was born, and neither Robert or
the authorities on this question were. 4
man who was on the ground is always
good enough for me, and | stand in with
the Senator on this question. This after
noon | visited the house. 1t stands on
the one street of West Brownsville, and
in former years its grounds ran down to
the river. Now a sawmill occupies the
water front. 1t is Il two story frame
building, placed a few feet off the road.
with Il little grass plot between the house
and fence. Its present occupant is MIR.
John S. Pringle, whose wife greeted mt
when | called. The hall, at one side of
the house is large and well lighted, three
windows letting in the sun and air. The
parlOr opening off it, is a spacious apart
ment, with a low ceiling and a huge CHM
ney, whose deep throat, although now
bricked up to meet the requirements of a
modern base burner, still tells of roaring
fires when Ephriam Blainc's old friends
gathered in while he was in his palmy
days. In an Il extension are the din
ing room and kitchen, and on the second
floor are the bed chambers. The ceilings
are low and the windows small, but the
house is staunch and comfortable yet.
IN GODS HALF-ACRE.
After leaving the house where Blaine
was born | crossed the bridge to Browns
vile, wen up past Redstone Old Fort,
past the grave of Thomas Brown. who had
recorded on its headstOne the fact that he
once owned all the town. and so on,
until | came to the Catholic burial ground.
There, in the shadow of Il little stone
church, stands the nun erected in
recent years by Senator Blaine over the
bones of his father and mother. The
church-St Peters Roman Cutholic-sits
on a hill, where nature seems to have cut
a place for just such a purpose. The
ground slopes away on one side towards
the town, and then rises to still greater
heights in the rear. The building is CON
structed of hewed stone, roughly laid,
darkened and stained by the storms which
have such free sweep at it. The rough
ened stone, were put together with skill,
the spire is graceful, the narrow windows
with their small pancs, but poorly colorcd,
are in perfect keeping, and the/building
really looks like temple of worship.
| did not count, but | ventured to guess.
that not over 100 bodies had been com
mitted to mother earth within the con
fines marked by the stone walls of the
SlbNtNd anu. III HUH VI lllt NllllltH tllh
on the river side are the greater number
of the graves. On the other side. where
the ground rises suddenly, is a group so
cut off as to seem almost isolated. 1t is
here that Blaine father and mother rest.
II LAME MONUMENT.
The monument reared TO their memory
is the most conspicuous in the little
graveyard. This in part is due to its
newness, but even were it toned down by
exposure to the tint of those about it. its
size would still give it prominence. 1t is
made of gray granite severely plain, and
in any of the larger cemeteries would
never be noticed. But here, where there
are but two or three monume that are
more than headstones, it takes the first
place. The base is a solid block of gran
lite, almost four feet in height, and sur
mounting this is shaft of possibly eight
feet. The inscription Of the pedestal
reads;