Connecticut western news., 1895-04-04
LAS' OB DE VARDENS

haO OD uL AIGDLNO.
 In the beautiful valley of the Shen- andoah, with no sound to disturb the quiet of the summer day save the mur- muring of the pine trees as they whis- per to each other some tale, perhaps of far other scenes than these, of days when the peaceful valley was such a scene of human strife that the birds and bees and even the sweet wild roses that thrived there in unmolested possession disappeared to return in after years and find picture of utter desolation.
 It was while sojourning for a short time in the mountains overlooking the Shenandoah valley that came across one of those living relics She was only poor old negro woman, who had been slave and who, even after quarter of a century of freedom, had almost failed to realize that she was free. There was nothing particular to recommend her to one's notice or call attention to her for lorn situation. She had been left all alone in the world-in her own words, ''the last of the Vardens'-and judging from the grand air with which she an nounced that fact would have scorned the idea that she needed sympathy or pity as she stood amid the ruins of what had been a grand old southern home before the war, the home of the Vardens.
 All that remained of the house, two tumbling chimneys, was overgrown by some kind of vine, which gave sort of picturesque beauty to the forsaken scene. A little to the left and just in sight of where the house had been was an in- closure, in the center of which stood a tall monument, surrounded by smaller gravestones, marking the last resting place of the Vardens, who seemed to have turned their back upon their earth ly possessions and laid their joys all away beneath the shadow of the great monument, leaving but one poor, crook ed, feeble remnant of their departed greatness to occupy the rest of the estate and keep their memory green in her faithful old heart.
 It was warm day in June that I stood within the gates of Rocky Mead, as the place was called, and listened to a part of the family history of its former owner from the lips of old Juliette, who invited me to seat under large tree; then, seating herself near by, after apol- ogizing for sitting in the presence of a white lady. said: "I'ze powerful glad to see white folks cep'n de common trash | wat hbs down in de valley. De fus famblies is all dade cep'n de Camp l bellses. Dey place is nex' to we alls. | Our fambly war de bes' in Furginia. AS she said this she strengthened her | self as much as age and rheumatism would permit.
 | But" she continued sadly, "dey's all gone-all but me. libs down at de ole quarters, do da ism much lief, oney one cabin, dat's mon big enuff fo' me, mos times, but wen gifts de raligy if legs an han $ den de work ain big enuff. But I has to stay an look after de place an wen I meets ole Marse Richard in ] de nex' worl he's boun to ax me bout de old placo. Fus thing he gwine say, 'Juliette, you allus would be de las one, but I reckon we's all together now, an we unite in prayer, jess as he ustel ebery evenin. Marse Richard war a mitey good man. Ole miss, she de boss. She uster say nobody eber gwine oonkei her, an shore enutf nobody nebber did. She done all de conkerin. It war all long O her dat my Miss Mary wa, forced to marry Marse Campbell's son, an den all de trubble come.
 My marster hab two sons, Marst Dick an Robert Dey jine de army one mornin, an Miss Mary tease de life nearly outen me to go wid her down il the valley whar de fghtin war gwint on. She say she jis' wanter see der las ob Dick and Bob All de time I know she dyin to see Cap'n Hunter kase sht dade in Tub wid him, an me an Cap'1 Hunters boy, Long Jim, was co'tiI too. But we all knowed ole miss don sot her min on Miss Mary marvin Marst Will Campbell. He was orful rich, bu he war ugly as satan-an dat's fac.
 ''Miss Mary, so sweet lookin dat al de young men in Tub wid her, an sh, didn' care for none ob lem, only Cap'1 Hunter, an she say she gwine marry Jack Hunter or nobody. Ole miss sa, de Hunters didp' b'long to de fust fam
 plies, an eff Cap'n Hunter tempted pay any 'tention to ary chile ob her'n sh, posed to interfere. So co'se we das n let her know 'at .Cap'n Hunter wa down dar in de cave under 1e hill wit Long Jim, waiten for me to fotch him letter from Miss Mary jess if he didn know she gwine break her neck almos to see hissef. Cap'n Hunter war d.
 grandes' lookin man eber sot my eye on. He eyes fairly dance when he say us bofe comin, an he jes' tux Miss Mar. up in he arms an hole on to her al promise never let her go no more.
 "But she blush all ober her face, al
 he say Jim to take de horse down t.
 the stream to cool him off. So we tul
 de horse up ill de woods back ob d
 cave an tie him to tree, whils' me al
 Jim sot down on de grass. Bimeby W
 heard big rumblin soun lek thunde
 m saw de smoke in de valley an Cap'l
 Hunter comin runnin o'des us wid Mis-
 Mary lookin like ghose. Cap'n Hunte
 kiss her han an squeeze it tight an say
 'Goodby, little sweetheart, an she say
 'Goodby, Jack. Den he jump on hi horse an rode away down into the nois
 an smoke. Miss Mary watch him till b , all gone. Den I minds her dat eff ol ! miss fin us out she gwine mek troubl
 for us. So we come back to de house T Aunt Maria met us at de do an says
 'Dey's company in de paflor.' De min 0 ister an ole Marse Campbell wid hi @ son an ole miss, dressed up wid he IA l. Tns