Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-11-17

"De Oh Gfn'ral Took on an SwOre."
those energetic. hard-drinking buil-bait-
ing and cock-fighting old colonists buf1ded
well, and left to their posterity solid walls
often of brick imported from England
which are as good today as they were a
century ago; and so their easy-going de-
scendant has home in as good repair and
quite as respectable as his pedigree. You
will find any number of these picturesque
old places, some in good condition STILL
others occupied only in part as the habit
able portions have been slowly contracted
by advancing decay, others again quite
abandoned and falling into complete ruin
or gone entirely, and their sites marked
only by solitary chimney standing like a
grayeSt0ne.
The Ancient Church.
A ten-mile walk from the city will bring
you to a point where the road makes a
sudden dip into the valley of Broad creek
After you descend the stony hill and cross
the stream at it's foot you will come upon
a little brick church, surrounded by two
or three score of graves. The little edifice
Is in a fair state of repair, and there is
little about 1t to suggest great age, but on
one of the headstones in the yard you find
the following inscription:
Here lies the Body of James
Jones, who Departed this Life
Septr We. TO- 1I6O, in the 81 year Of
Here the inscription ends So the church
is at least one hundred and thirty-four
years old. There is little of interest in the
appearance of the building, except the Gu
rious little half-ruined portico on the end
farthest away from the road; but after
my fellow-tramp and myself had inspected
the place We encountered a historian on
the road a little beyond in the shape of
an old darkey, feeble halt and bent with
years. 1t required little to start the
springs Of his conversation. and he said:
UncIe's Description.
''Yas, sab, dat's a pow'ful ole chuch
pow'ful ole! Mus be mo- n TO humid ed
yeahs ole, 1 reckon. Dey tells me Ginra
Gawge Washinton wushiped in dat
chu'ch. sab. an he used to come hyah in
his bawge. rowed by eight big nIggahs-
him an his family. Sometimes he come
hyah, sometimes he went to Alexandry
an sometimes he went to leetIe chuch
down to Pohick on de Fergtnny side O. de
rivah-jis how de idee struck him. 1 was
tole dat sab, by a ole niggah when 1 was
Jes leetle boy. Dis yah ole niggah, dey
say, he was my gret-gran-pap. but dunno.
Hit was mighty hahd to keep track o dem
things in slavery days sab. when Gey was
a-buyin' an a-sellin, a-buyin' an a-sellin
niggahs de whole time, but, leastways, dis
yah ole man, he say he seen de gin raj
come to church hyah many an many a
time, in a big seine boat. ne gin'raI used
to have feeshin' sho' on his place, an dis
yah ole niggah, he say he seen 'em haulin
seine hund eds o times, an de gin'ral a
wadin' roun' up to his waist in de watah
a swearin' an a cussin when de seine git
hung on a log"
swearing and cursng" we exclaim
Surely not! They say that Washington
never swore in his life"
"WelI 1 dunno" said the old darkey
sha king his head obviously. Il reckon de
gin'ral was mos like any yether man what
ain sickly, an when he seine got hung
UP. why / spect he jes' nachally took on
an swore like anybody else. I've seed
right smaht o. seine haulin' in my day,
but l nevah yit see a seine took off hang
without a pow'ful sight O. cussin'. Any