The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1904-06-25

ESSEN.

a Good Country in Which TO Live
4 Joys of the Old Court 0ay-Run-
away-Comparison with Mountain =
Gus Section Favorable TO Tidewate'
Passed the Century Mark-ls ioe
! Years Old and Still Living Oths'
4 Lona Lives-The White Honey
Svekle- Etc, Etc.
Dunnsville, Va, June 2l, 1901
The weather is all we could ask il 20
beexceptior saving hay. Too much rain
for that. The cherry crop Is the largest
We have had III years. great many OF
them are canned at the fruit factories
here and nearby. The furnaces will
/ hardly cool from the Cherry packing be
/ fore the black berry crop will he on hand
/ This over, the peaches, and the apples
green corn, and the tomatoes, following
/ Ia rapid succession and giving VI "a lit
tie change" TO pay our hands and pay
our church subscriptions. Great old
country. this Eastern Virginia. Nature
has done her part to help man along
/ from the earliest wild strawberry to tht
last wild grape Tickle the soil with one
mateless OK 70 an out-ot-date plow
/ sprinkle some barnyard fertilizer, and
good Judgment and good seed, and peace
and plenty follow a. the day the night
Yesterday was cOurtdsy, and, a. us
uA, there was crowd. In this, az In
the rect OF the counties, we hated 10 give
up the old county court day.
That third Monday" had become
dies sacra 70 many, aud rain or snow
calm or windy. not or cold, scores and
scores Of people, with no business what
ever TO transact. would 90 aud meet
their acquaintances and discuss every
thing social. religious, agricultural and
political. And the court Monday dinner
| The best that poultry yard, oyster Ded
and pasture could AFFORD were spread iOi
the moderate price OF % cents.
Mr. r. Al. Ware, Jr., and MIR. L. r.
! Nriete uad big scare while returning
from TappahanuOcK yesterday after
moon. Their horse ran away and tried
to life these two gentlemen out OF the
buggy with his heels. BY tug and twist
! they threw the horse IN a ditch and then
-topued him. Neither were injured.
We had quite heavy hail storm mere
yesterday afternoon. No damage is re
| ported this far
Old Aunt Phronie Brockenbrough, a
highly RESPECTED cOlored woman, died ou
lthe 18th instant, at the ripe old age u
| 80. She was well preserved and retained
the Use of all OF her faculties. Though
Tideyater Virginia is considered pre-
mature graveyard by the people OF fied
mont and OF other sections OF our otatt
with higher altitude, yet we believe oui
table Of longevity will compare iAyora
bly with theirs. There Is more or less
malaria in all ridewster sections, but De-
yond any question the chills and feyer-
40 much dreaded by our mountain neigh
bOrs are on the wane; IN lact, there ID
not one in twenty cases TO what there
were twenty tive years ago. lhere Is
some malarial fever in the early Tall, but
what is this to the typhoid OF the noun
tains? Now about the longevity OF our
s-ction. We have in about two miles oil
this town a colOred woman lO6 years
old From all your correspondent can
gather. this is a fact She used 10 nurse
a man named Ryburn Holmes, who, II
living. would be fully 30 years oi age
Fanny Robinson il her name. She IL
| unite well preserved and OF course rich 10
| LOCAL "reminiscences. Mr.. Anthony, near
| Mt. Zion church, died last week at the
age of 81. Judge Thomas Croxton was
81 at his death, with every tooth sound
and but few grey hairs. Major Hodgef
was SO. and his wife, who died recently
was even older Mr. James A. Dunn
father of H. W. Dunn, Esq, OF Dunns-
Vile was 81. and the Boughton brothers
John Lewis aud Reuben b., dying within
| q few weeks OF each other, were respec
| tivelv 81 and so. Mr.. Vim. &. Newblll
father of Judge II. L. Newbill, 10 SO and
well preserved. Mr.. G. H. billiard is Il
and Mr Elzey Fogg is 50, both In good
health and reasonably active. Caiet
Lindsey. a well.known colored man, ls
30 and except for the rheumatic Is
sonnd as a dollar. These are all given
from a casual glance.
We could add many more, doubtlees, u
we enqured further. But at any rate, II
seems a pretty good showing Tor eoun
try where chills grow on chinquapin bush
| "a and mosquitoes are a. large a'
humble bees,if we believe all we hear said
of our section by our mountain brethren
The white honey .suckle has become
most troublesome vegetable pest,in thi'
section. Perhaps fifty years ago, lady
devoted to flowers Yisited her old home
in Williamsburg and brought back
sprig of this graceful, sweet-scented
climber. Ii was set aud carefully nurtur
ed in her garden in DunnsylDe. II grew
and strengthened and multiplied many
million fold, for from that one little plant
have sprung acres upon acres oi It, every
fence line. every left out spot In garden ol
lawn being beset with 1t, and once root
ed IL is there TO stay until the most vigor
Gus blow from the grubbing hoe gets uE
the last root. IL grows nearly AS las
az a tosd.stoOl, and wherever the vin'
touches the earth another root is form
ed. and thus il goes sweeping across
field. We have seen great hedges of it
miles long. In Louisiana. There, witt
land to spare, they frequently let it alon'
and turn their che p in on II in winter
Cattle are fond Of it here, but we doubt
there is much nutriment 10 1t.
The jamestown Exposition Company
is making efforts to secure large attend
ance On the 9th OF next September n