The Portland daily press., 1897-11-18
CHAPTER ".


last episode. But Joseph Corbin had
committed the objectionable sin to q
woman of destroying her own illogical
ideas of him, which was worse than il
be had affronted the preconceived ideas OF
Others, in which case she might still de-
fend him. Then, too, she was no longer
religious, and had no ''caIl'' to act ms
peacemaker. Nevertheless she resented
July Jeffcourt's insinuations bitterly,
and the cousins quarrelled-not the first
ime in their intercourse-and it was re-
served Tor the latter to break the news OF
Corbin's arrival with the body to Mrs.
JetfcOurt.
How this was done and what occurred
at that interview has not been recorded.
But it was known the next day that,
while Mrs. Jetfcourt accepted the body at
Corbin's hands-and it is presumed the
| funeral expenses also-he was positively
| forbidden to appear either at the services
at the house or at the church. There had
| been some wild talk among the younger
| and many of the lower members of the
community, notably the ''Loor" non
slave holding whites-of tar and feather
| ing Joseph Corbin, and riding him on a
| rail out of the town on the day of the
| funeral, as propitiatory sacrifice to the
names of Thomas Jeffcourt, but it being
pointed out by the undertaken that it
| might involve some uncertainty in the
settlement of his bill, together with some
reasonable doubt of the thorough resigna-
Uion of Corbin, whose previous momen-
tary alteration in that respect they were
celebrating, the project was postponed
until after the funeral. And here an
unlocked for incident occurred.
| There was political meeting at
| Kirby on that day, when certain distin-
guished Southern leaders had gathered
from the remoter Southern States. AT
the instigation of Captain Dows 1T was
adjourned at the hour OF the funeral to
enable members to attend, ana 1t was
even rumored, to the great delight OF
Piueville, that distinguished speaker
or two might come over to Improve the
OCCASION with some slight allusion to
the engrossing topic of Southern
| Rights" This combined appeal to the
domestic and political emotions of Pine
| willie was. irresistible. The Second Bap-
fist church was crowded. After the re-
| ligiouS service there was a pause, and
Judge Heed stepping forward amid a
breathless silence said that they were Pc
| culiarly honored by the uexpecteu pres
| ence in their midst ''of that famous son
of the South, Colonel Starbottle, who
had lately returned to his natives soil
| from his adopted home in California.
Every eye was fixed on the distinguished
stranger as he rose.
smooth faced, yet polished and high
| colored as a youthful mask, pectorally
expansive, and unfolding the white lapels
of his wafstooat through the swollen Ia
pels of his coat, like a bursting magnolia
bud, Colonel Starbottle began. The
present associations were, he might say,
singularly hallowed to him; not only was
Pineville-a Southern centre-the recog-
nized nursery of Southern chivalry,
| Southern beauty "a stately inclination
| to the pew in which Miss Sally and Julia
Jeffcourt sat), Southern intelligence, and
Southern independence, but it was the
| home of the lamented dead, who had
been, like himself and another he should
refer to later, an adopted citizen of the
| Golden State, as seeker of the Golden
| Fleece, a companion of Jason. 1t was
| the home, fellow ciJizens and friends, OF
the sorrowing sister of the deceased, q
young lady whom he, the speaker had as
yet known only through the chivalrous
| blazon of her virtues and graoes by her
attendant knights Ca courteous wave to-
| wards the gallery where Joyce Masterton,
Chester Brooks, Calhoun Bungstartel
| and the embattled youth generally OF
Pineville became empurpled and idiotic)
| it was the home of the afflicted widowed
mother, also personally unknown to him
| but with whom he might say he had hao
I-er-er-professiOna correspondence
But it was not this alone that hallowed thu
| occasion, it was sentiment that should
speak in trumpet like tones throughout
the South in this uprising of an united
section. 1t was the forgetfulness of pet
| ty strife. of family feud, of personal
wrongs In the claims Of party 1t might
not be known that he, the speaker, was
professionally cognizant of one of these
regretablc-should he say accidents
arising from the chivalrous challenge and
equally chivalrous response of two fiery
| Southern spirits, to which we primarily
owe our coming here today. And he
should take it as his duty, his solemn
duty, in this sacred editice to proclaim to
| the world that in his knowledge, as q
| professional man-as a man of honour,
| as Southerner, as q gentleman that the
| OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES which three years
ago led to the early demise of our lament
ed friend and brother, reflected only the
| highest credit-the very highest credit,
equally on both of the parties. He said
this on his own responsibility-in or out
OF this sacred edifce-and in or out OF
| that sacred edifice he was personally re
sponsible and prepared to give the fullest
satisfaction for it. He was also aware
that it might not be known under
stood-that since that boyish episode tine
survivor had taken the place of the de
parted in the bereaved family and min.
istered to their needs with counsel and
er-er-pecuniary aid, and had followed
the body afoot across the continent that
it might rest with its kindred dust. He
was aware that an unchriStian-he would
say but for that sacred edifice-a bastard
~ attempt had been made to impugn the
survivors, motives-to suggest An IN
seemly discord between him and the
family, but he, the speaker, would never
forget the letter breathing with Christian
forgiveness and replete with angelic sim
plicity. sent by member of that family
TO his client which came under his pro-
fessional eye (here the professional eye
for moment fingered on the hysteric
face of Miss Sally; he did not envy the
head or heart of q man who could peruse
these lines of which the mere recollection
-er-er-choked the utterance of even
professional man like-er-hiInsef-w with
out emotion. "And what, my friends
and fellow citizens" suddenly contin usd
the Colonel replacing his white hand
kerchief in his coat tail, Twas the reason
why nv client, Mr.. Joseph Corbin-whose