The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-28

of the sedge grass, which waved and rus
tied in the breeze, almost like fields of
ripened wheat. AS / rode up to Mr.. M. s
house l was greeted by the combined rush
and chorus of his pack of foxhounds,
whose noisy welcome takes the place of
door bells in the homes Of Southern Mary
land. A noted confederate scout once
told me that, when he WIS scouting
through this part of Maryland during the
war, he always felt safe when he rode up
TO house If he was greeted by fox
hounds, as 10 was invariably the sign that
the owner was southern sympathizer,
most of the fox-hunting gentry being of
that persuasion. The house itself was
one of these great square red brick
houses, with a long. wide porch in front,
so common in this part Of Maryland, set
in the usual cluster of old oaks and elms,
with the negro Quarters and the stables
several hundred yards distant in the
rear. 1t had been built in the latter part
OF the last century, when the planters
made enormous fortunes from tobacco,
which, however, so impoverished the soil
as TO make it almost worthless in q great
many instances.
was met by Mr.. M. a striking look
ing man, g feet in height, wi h magnifi-
cent head and long white beard.
He had been through many adventures
wien u JOuuR man anu uuEl1B INC petlOu
of the war, when he had many narrow
escapes in forwarding dispatches and as
sisting scouts through the lines. Once,
for instance, the government was very
anxious to capture well-known scout,
who was at the time in Baltimore. The
scout escaped and made his way TO Mr..
M. g house, whore he lay hid for the
night. Next day there happened to be a
primary meeting at BladensburR, where
Ia % mt
stationed. The people generally went to
the primaries in the morning and re-
turned in the evening, after having a
jollification. Mr. NJ. took advantage of
this, went to the primaries in the morn
ing with the scout, took drink with the
provost marshal, passed out on the
other side Of Bladensburg with some
friends returning to their homes in the
lower part of the county, and reached
Piscataway in safety, where the scout
hid with some friends until he could cross
the Potomac, which was not difficult, as
there was great deal of blockade-run-
ming done in that quiet little country
town, overlooked on account of 1T insig-
nihcance.
THE STORY TOLD.
1t is needless to say that l was well
coined in the true Maryland style. After
dinner we were assembled around a large
open nfe, Whlch sent glow through the
old hall The fireplace was so large
that, instead OF cutting the cord-wood in
half, as is usually the case, they used it
just as it came from the woods, four feet
long. The hall itself extended through
the house from front to rear, and was the
favorite loadng-place Of two or three old
hounds who had been famous in the
hunting field in their youth. We had
been talking about narrow escapes in the
hunting field, when Mr.. NJ. said:
',Have / ever told you how came near
being hung for the murder of Lincoln2"
A chorus of noes aud a demand for the
story brought the following account:
son the day that Lincoln was muir
dered l had driven into town and put up
my horse at the ables of DR.. -. an
old friend of mine. Immediately In the
rear of tord's theater. II was rather
late when returned to get my horse, af-
ter attending 70 the business / was on.
Indeed, ! afterwards learned, IL was
very short time before Lincoln was killed.
As drove out of the alley ! noticed a
horse standing behind the theater, no
doubt the one on which Booth escaped. 1
drove down the avenue, and finally sue
ceeded in passing both the Washington
pickets and those OF Bladensburg, the
last line Of the defenses OF Washington.
A short distance out of Bladensburg
the country becomes heavily wooded.
and continues so until you reach my
place. Instead Of running in a straight