, 1890-02-26
A SOLDIERS STORY.

In a small town in southern New
Hampshire lives Capt. John Godfrey,
one of the most genial of hosts. II any
OF my readers believe he is a myth, says
a writer in The Boston Commercial Bull
letin, they will find him a somewhat sub
stantial one and rather a stubborn foe to
tackle in spite Of his seventy odd years.
Curiously enough each Of the knot Of
guests gathered beneath his roof had
seen service under Uncle Sam. There is
always a fellowship among old soldiers
hal begets confidence, and consequently
when l asked him q rather impertinent
question as to the tenant of a grave that
lay in the very center Of his best hay
field, he readily told the following local
history, which in every detail is literally
true:
Years before her death, said the cap
tain, / became acquainted with the wo.
man who now lies buried yonder. Her
name was Becky Paine, and her mother
wa at one period Of her life q slave in
the household Of Gen. George Washing
ton. After the Revolution she married
at Portsmouth a light -complexioned
negro. who might easily have passed any
where a a Cuban or Spaniard. In fact,
he was born in Havana, and could both
write and converse in Spanish with case
and fuency. He was a plain, honest
looking fellow, and, as 1 now remember
him; had nothing of the actions Of q ruff
fan or desperate about him, despite the
fact that he was said t have been at one
time a pirate on the Spanish main. Be
that as it may, Dick Paine o ccumu
lated considerable property in this sec
ton, and although 1t was never rightly
known how he obtained his money, GER
tain 1t is that he always appeared flush,
and In time commanded the respect Of
his neighbors.
was about Is years Of age when the
daughter Becky, then a young girl Of 10,
set out on a voyage to Cuba, accom-
panied by hex father. In the Paine fam
lily were five children, four Of their num-
Der being coal black, Becky alone pos
sessing the somewhat ghastly complexion
Of her father. She, however, was far
from Ill looking, and had it moi been for
the negro blood flowing in her veins, l
am Of the opinion that more than one Of
~A0 Aaa6 hhlnk ntItADOulS WOuIu
have been satisfied to wed her.
After an absence Of eighteen months
the girl returned to Portsmouth, and ul-
tithately reached home, where she was
warmly welcomed by her family and i'm
mediate neighbors. Accompanying her
was a slender. graceful young man to
whom she had been married while So
journing in Havana. This young fellow
was likewise Of negro extraction, and he,
too, stood well in the estimation of the
people residing IN this community. In
time old man Paine was enabled to gath
er about him three grandchildren, all of
the latter being as black in color as their
grandmother.
Paine was then held to be worth some
where in the neighborhood of ten thou
sand dollars-a princely fortune, by the
way, in those days. This was some time
after the war of 1912. Just what dispo-
sition the old man would make Of his
possessions was hardly known. I very
much doubt whether he ever thought Of
such a thing as making a will, a. no
document Of that character was ever
found after his death. 1t is true that in
presence of witnesses he had more than
once promised his own children that the
bulk Of his property would be left them
at his death, and he also specified the
amount he desired to go to each individ-
ual. His wife, who was an ignorant,
good natured soul, interposed no objec-
ton to this plan of her husband, simply
declaring that she was content to lib
wild de chillums."
Some time early in the twenties old
Paine died, after a painful illness lasting
nearly a fortnight. A day or two before
his death the dying man called to his
bedside the members of his family, the
latter having also summoned as wit
nesses my father and two other neigh
bors, l, too, being present. Paine, in a
clear voice, made known his wishes re-
garding the disposition Of his property
after his death, and for the first time it
was learned that he did not favor his
daughter Becky's union with her hus-
band, Jose Cienti. The latter appeared
to treat lightly the fact that neither
himself, his wife nor children were to
receive any portion Of tho wealth left by
their dying relative.
Two years later George Paine, the
only son in the family, mysteriously dis
appeared from view, and was never
a~fterward. to my knowledge, heard
from About this time Becky's hus-
band, who heretofore had proved to be
. rather shiftless sort Of a man, began
to display than ordinary activity
A. farmer. He, too, in time, began to
in some way accumulate wealth, and
being now placed in charge of the Paine
farm he was well compensated for his
services, considering the amount Of
wages then paid to farm help.
One fall it was agreed upon by the
three unmarried Paine girls that they
should accompany jose Cienti upon =
business trip Contemplated BY him to