The Republican journal., 1888-04-05

| bargrs. mere weren't any OF the mean illtit
>hantit> that came in with the factories aud
| coal mines. Walk along our one >trcet--lalf Il
! mile each WaN-and you'll lind thirty or forty
| good. solid, Old fashioned houses that YOU can
see were built by people who had some money.
| and GOOD taste. too. Look across the river :;
| did You ever see "a hanl>omer collection of hills
| and valleys and gurgc> in 50 Little distance:
! Then just turn around and look behind YOU AT
| this ridge n thousand feet high, with slope al
| most a> steep cliff just imagine those ugly
| mills and modern brick houses across the river
| out of the way and You can see that the Village
| must have looked very pretty with the many
| Old fashioned homes you see perched one above
another on the hilisides. Then imagine this
beautiful Monongahela River fringel with
| trees and the air entirely clear, instead of full
| of smoke and You can see how things looked
to little Jim Blaine from the time he first began
| to take notice..
| 1t required 40 violent stretch Of Imagination
| to see that the two Brownsvilics, with the river
| between. must have made charming picture
| in the DAYS before manufactures crert back
| ward from Pitt-hurg and began crawling up
| the rivers tnat form the OHIO. On West
| Browns ilic> long. single street, now monopo-
| iized by a railroad track, there are indeed a
| number OF old houses which have features de
| lightful TO lovers of the picturesque. Inside of
| some OF these old houses are great llre-picc>.
with high wooden mantelS. >upportedby heavy
| columns; others contain quaint old clocks that
| would create sensation at bric-;-brac auc-
| ton IN New York. Behind the ugly buildings
which fringe the opposite bank of the river. in
| Brownsville proper. are lot of narrow. wind
| ing, hily streets. full of quaint old houses. and
business is 50 duil that there is 40 induccnIent
| to tear down the cottages and replace them
| with houses larger and uglcr. The view from
| Mr. Blaine's earliest home WAS, indeed. one to
| delight and satisfy the eye.
HIS DESERTED BIRTHPLACE.
| The house in which Blaine born is far
| Il
hood. ArChitccturally. IA well IL III point of
| size. il will compare f;NOrahly with many al
| old Dntch manor house or French chateati. Il
| is also the most thorough ruin in the Momouga-
| hca Valley. The original building. which
| Bline'> father purchased more than sixty
| years ago. Wa, about forty feet wide. two
| stories and half high built >olldly of stone,
| covered with >tucco. and painted in imitation
| OF cream colorcd brick. Along the entire front
| l. Il noble portico, supported hN round columns
of brick. This building The elder Blaine made
| several times larger 10y solid l. shaped a'itii-
! ton of brick. The windows Of ;he addition
| are very large. though the pane> of glass are
only eight by ten inches. MI the doors
| capped by Norman arches III brick, aHl in one
| of the gables Is a >cmi-circu'ar Window. the
! base line of which measures about fifteen feet.
| But, alas. the great window i now closed by
| boards: there is not enough whole y!a>, in the
entire house to ill Il single sash, Il plG >tNe Is
| huiit against the base of the portcc. the rotten
lloor ol which would trtllblc under The fo"tfali
of a cat. The house has long been unoccupicd
| except by >quatter>. who have made a room or
| Nv. ''i""t ~, .. 49,. i,., -
ami thr,,,,9h thp huilIind thr uatil, who haJ
yutuutrer.d a. u,,iI. continued his effort, 10
| tliye>t thp surrnul,hin~S of all modern additions
and 10 ,,udo the raya"cs of Times r.mor>eie,,
| tooth
From this portico to the river when | was
a boy" said he. "there WAS nothing bnt clean.
GRASSY >lopr throuoh which was 4 r,ad iea,liu,e
| To- the f.rry-,hrr. wa, no BRIDE then to con-,
meet me Two towns Look acres, tb,r dirty
rairoad Embarrassment behind the house and
vnu,Il sDe one If The haud>omr.t ,uountYin
| 1.nIcs in thr world Jim. tn,hnr WA. ;,jway.
| knnvn ,s hnviuo an eve for the best of eyery-
thinr and he showed if by huyine This partirnlar
| .,t,tr Ills orch,rJ ,,r:pery and Garden were
on lhe lower Dart of the sIope-perfect drain
age. 1ou see AS well a, absolute protection
aean.t the hard wind, that always come from
| ,Gn we-t And this nortirn-think what n
| Mace il must have been for two or three
| frian,l. IA ,h.t nyar =, nine and a GLASS
..it mn.t h,ya been y ylorious roun;ry for
| hn,s s,,,,,,.st,.,1 tn. rorr,.snon,lru
| san. wasn't ity' Each family had either n
| h,tt..u which i tn. game thinu a, . IN .x
cent th,t both end, ARE souare. or a dugou1.
| wli,, j. Western fnr r,uoa 'Thera were Mon
| tv If ti.h in tlr river and l,ts of oame in thc
woods. and there wa, still an Indian or two
rom,i,';n,r who ,omiL taj as lii, H.. ~ ,ny
| hay, a t.Il. II Ia
inns Wn hov. h.I M orr,snn f., envy hoys
| Iy.y,h.ra
|
| HE AIN AIS Loohhp NEAL
"Biaine was a contented boy them
| If he wasn't his looks btlcd him. for he
| was the cheeriest boy | ever knew. Meet him
anywhere, in any circum>tances-and even in
this Gods country we couldn't sometimes help
| finding the weather too wet and muddy for ball,
| or marbles, or kite tving, or something-no
hnx nj, Il
sure of finding Jim Blaine smiling, cuntentcd
| and Jolly, making the best of things in which
nobody else could see anything but worst"
| .It is said that Mr. Baine's father was the
| prou,Ie>t man in Washington county, Was
| Young jim ANYTHING like hlm in that respect =
| Not that | can remember Jim was ALWAYS
| a high toned fellow. but not the least upp>h.
| There were some bows he would hardly speak
| to. but 'twasn't on account of poverty or COM
mon parentage .Jim's only aversons were mean
| bows and those who told dirty storie>''
did he take part in all the games that were
| going ony'
Certainly But always noticed that he
never knelt in the dirt As other boys did while
plaving marbles. Somehow, he always looked
neat. To be sure he had to, for his mother
was the most particular woman in the world.
| But pIenty of bows with careful mother, will
oo,'. TINES 'ooN a. II 'H's """ "''' ''e"i''s
''low We're his morals: Did he lie. steal.
| bSHt anu SNtdl III tHC euHeoiii'it ivy
Not he. don't believe he ever stole any
| thing or sWOre in all the time he lived here.
He didn't have any temptation to steal, for his
| family We're able and willing to buy him any
! thing he wanted. As for swearing, he was too
good natured to lose his temper. he didn't
have to put any fancy trimmings his Ian
Siiage. lie hated fighting, no matter who did
| it, He didn't ie either, though on pinch he
could take the truth to pieces and put il to-
gether again so it wouldn't look entirely as 1t
did at first. All of us do that, though, YOU
| know, when there is sufficient nduccment.
Come down toward the depot and we'll find
some more of The old boys. Perhaps they can
brush up my memory little"
Al the railway station an old man was found
nursing rheumatic leg. a stout cane and Il big
chew of tobacco. lies one of them.' whi>-
pered the ileral''> volunteer guide, who then
raised his voice and roared:-
Lift, here's man asking about Jim Blaine
when he was young one. Can't you tell him
! something's
The old man placed his quid where the W ick-
ed are said to cherish sin, his weak eyes twin
kIed. and he said in thin, hign voice :
Jim was as smart AS they make 'em but
. could alIUz beat him at marbles. Nobody ever
nomernated me for President, though. They
won't n0mernate Jim agin, either. He's too
| old"
"of Win hhA" AND hhAiN.
.'Mr. Blaine is fifteen or twenty years voung-
er than some men who have been named in
connection with the Presidency." sm"yestrI
the correspondent.