The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1904-10-19
Ghg Family Tree

Odptdl III SIdih WIS tle prOuueSC
man in America. He had served
credltably in the war OF 1912, as his
father had in the Revolution and his
grandfatheg, had.in the cold French
wara~a1l captains who had never
received o scratch or once encoun-
tered the vulgar smell Of gunpow-
der.
Family pride was the captains
specially How far back he could
trace his kindred nobody exactly
knew, but it was popularly believed
he could, if SO minded, produce sat
isfactory proof that the Craiks had
cruised through the flood in their
own private yacht.
The captain hated the new and
worshiped the old. When he went
about 1t was in an ancient family
gig drawn by an old horse of ap-
proved extraction, now mere pedi-
gree in urness, but in whose spavins
and wind gals the captain took al
most as much pride as he did in the
family gout.
Captain Craik was rich, moreover.
Time and the natural rise of prop
erty had made him so: He would
nave scorned the acquisition Of
wealth by any less respectable mode,
Trade he looked upon as plebeian
and vulgar. Speculation was up
lstartish, and as for petroleum
Gaughl
Hisdaughter and only child he had
left to die unforgiyen and almost in
want for having married man
without a grandfather. The poor
girl had besought his forgiveness
while her husband lived, but ceased
to do SO after this death, seeming
ITO look upon such an act as a sort
of treason to his memory. Her in
fant son, however, soon left mother
less as well as fatherless, was taken
into favor at last for the sake Of
the blood that was in him, and thus
lit came that Willard Spence was
Drought up in his grandfather's
house in way beftting the heir ap-
parent to the handsomest' fortune
within fifty miles.
Captain Craik would have greatly
preferred that his grandson, after
finishing at college, should have sat
down in gentlemanly idleness and
quietly awaited his turn at the fam
lily succession. But Willard Spence
had other views. He was far from
sharing his grandfather's notions on
the value Of ancestry, and though
too discreet to openly laugh at them
he felt he was more than likely to
run counter to them some day, as
this poor mother had done, when his
.own time to marry came. It was
for this reason partly and partly be-
cause he had an ambieion to be
something in his own right that
willard prevailed upon his grand
father to enter him as a student in
the Office of Mr.. Stiles, the leading
lawyer of the county.
It was with some reluctance that
the old gentleman yielded. He en-
tertained not very exalted opinion
of the bar. But then it was a step
ping stone to the bench, and though
the family could boast of three sue
cessive captains there had never
been chief justice in it. It was
this consideration that determined
the captain.
If John Stiles was the driest Of
lawyers, his daughter Mary was the
prettiest and most fascinating Of
girls, and Willard Spence was not
the man to be slow in finding it out.
1twould be the odd story over to re-
count the steps of their falling in
love and how deeply they fell in.
Willard ventured to hint to his
grandfather one day, not at the
state of his feelings, but what nice,
intelligent young lady Miss Stiles
was. The old gentleman caught like
gunpowder. He had no excuse for
putting summary end to his grand
sons legal studies and packing him
off on a foreign tour, for the young
man had said nothing to justify q
suspicion of his being in love. But
the captain scented danger afar and
proceeded to preach such a homily
on the sin of marrying into families
without lineage and put such dis
ihheriting look ON that Willard was
fainto drop the subject.
II the reader. has ever read Black
stone he win remember, and if he
hasn't we will tell him, that ia the
second book there is folding leaf
called sfTable Of Descents, whore
on the author illustrates the& mode
of computing kindred by a tabnlar
view of the ancestors and collateral
relatives for teE or a dozen genera
!: :tions of d certain fictitious John
Stiles. The names are inclosed in
Elsft1a 81 ofysS.1oo III no; " J;paoFt ~; 80,