The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1891-01-22
AN ALL-NroHr CONVERSATION
The Greatest Single Handed Talker in the
Green RiVer Valley.

Colonel Munford, of Munfordville,
Tenn, is said to be the best single
handed talker In the Green River VAL
ley. 1t is related that many years ago
a belated stranger reached the Colo
ners homo, in the wilds of Hart coun-
ty, one evening and asked If he could
be entertained for the night He said
that he had travelled far that day and
he and his animal were about "done
up"
Yes, sab; light an come in; you
are welcome, sab. to such as we have.
Gabe, take the gentleman's horse, rub
him we'll an give him all he can eat.
Will you be pleased to come in the
house, sahP"
There was no more hospitable man
in tho valley than the old colonel, and
he was never SO happy as when he
had guest or willing ear to talk at
He ordered q servant to bring up
bottle of applejack-'ten years old If
it's a day, sah''-and the cook to pre-
pare supper. Then while the meal
was being arranged he talked, and,
while it was being enjoyed. his busy
tongue wagged necessarily.
Returning to tho sitting room the
colonel squared himself for his victim.
The clock on the mantel chimed eight,
nine, ten, eleven-but the words con-
tinued to flow as smoothly and unin-
terruptedly as at the beginning.
God in heaven" thought the
stranger to himself, will he never let
upP"
At last the guest, worried TO a point
where patience ceased to be virtue,
interrupted, courteously, of course, his
garrulous guest with:
''All this, my dear sir, is very inter-
esting to me, but have ridden far to-
day and must sleep. Will you forgive
me if 1 ask to be shown to my bed?"
Ten thousand pardons, sah" cried
the colonel, glancing at the clock. II
had NO idea it was so late. But 'tempus
fugit,' sab. 'tempus fugit' as we used
to say at school. Let us take night.
cap of this old applejack-ten years
old if It's day, sab. I'll light you to
your apartment myself"
The kind-hearted old gentleman
ignited an old tallow dip at the fire.
place and ambled up the stairs with an
agility remarkable in a man of his
years. He held the light while his
guest disrobed and retired to bed, still
continuing his story. The wearied
stranger was soon asleep. At day.
light, when he awoke, he was more
than astounded at finding his host still
chirping away as blithely as ever.
The good Colonel had evidently been
talking all the night, for the candle
had burned down into the socket or
the stick, which he still held in his
hand, its flame Pickering in a tired
way in the dim twilight of the early
dawn. He greeted the guest cheerily,
bidding him get up, come down, take
an ''eye-opener" and they would take
breakfast together.
He kept on at his story all through
the matutinal meal and was still full
of it as he followed his man to the
horse block, where the much-enduring
traveller mounted his steed and rode
away, the Colonel expatiating as long
as he was in earshot.
More than year had been added to
the eternity of the past, when the
same stranger came riding up the same
pike. AS he recognized the familiar
scenes he looked upon the year before,
he wondered what had become of the
whilom entertainer.
A turn in the road revealed the old
brown homestead and there-could il
be possible?-yes, on the old horse
block, where he left him, stood the
Colonel.
"1'm delighted to see you, sab
Come in and have a taste OF 'stilled
applejuice-ten years old if it's day.
AS was telling you a year ago when
you were here-what! You're not 60
ing? WANTED to fnish-"-Louisville
Courier-Journal.