The Washington herald., 1912-04-07
THE WASHINGTON HERALD.

land. Some twelve miles southeast Of
the little frontier settlement of Winches-
ter, near the forks of two branching
trails trodden with the feet of the In
dians, the elk, and the bison, was a spot
which so arrested the eye OF the great
landowner that he laid his rifle against
a tree trunk, and, breathing freely of
the crystal air, said in loud tones
Here Adam, and here all of you, us
stop. On this spot build my house and
call il Greenway Court. "Greenway,'
for never did see,a greener way than
this, or fairer landscape And court"
because ! would have smack of my
old English life here even in the Wild
erness. Let us get us to work and, fall
ing the timber of the forest, build us a
house with low roof, wide portico
as befts man of hospitable mind, and
a space for fire logs and for the swing
ing of the crane. Let us here reside,
for see that yonder forest is full of
game and that in the blue river beyond
that clump of trees swim the mountain
trout. Come boys, let us stop and be
at rest in this peaceful glade"
Before long low and rambling house
sprang into existence fronting the broad
rail which ran to Winchester, to the
mountains, and to the lower country
where lived the wealthy planters. There
was much of labor for all. and much to
occupy one in the construction of the
lodge, and, after its completion, the floor
was soon covered with skins of the
black bear, the panther, the bison, and
the gray fox Game and fish abundant
ly supplied the board, and, busy with
the settlement and surveying of his
land, the sad Lord Fairfax soon took
a pleasant view OF life and enjoyed
his residence in the vast, uncultivated
wilderness as he had never expected to
do
Some years after his occupation of
this frontier lodge he had occasion to
go far down the river to Williamsburg,
the capital of Virginia, in order to have
a conference with the governor. Re-
turning up the river with half dozen
sturdy woodsmen, he was resting at noon
when canoe was seen rapidly approach
ing, propelled by two sturdy fellows
dressed in homespun of no mean tex
ture. They rapidly approached the little
party on the bank, and when their ves-
sci had ground upon the shore, the fore
most leaped out upon the sand and ap-
proached the camp fire.
Pray which among you is Lord Fair
fax" he asked, as he neared the circle
OF men surrounding the three-pronged
stock which held the bubbling pot For
| have letter for him from my master,
Lionel Lougboro."
A square, thick-set man rose from
the log upon which he was seated.
Il am he, good fellow he said. "What
can | do for your
= aIJara raaA tl,.. H., ,,o,,
can tell me-" answered the man in home
spun, handing him white piece of pa
per stamped with seal of red wax.
Lord Fairfax took the proffered note,
broke open the seal and read:
Upper Braxton Manor,
James River, Va.
49, July 3, 100
MY dear friend Fairfax:
! have heard through good friends at
Williamsburg that you have just left
the neighborhod and am sending after
you my man John to endeavor to catch
You with this letter before you get too
far up the river. 1t has always given
me great pleasure to know that you had
adopted this country as your own, for,
as you know, my father had lived here
for the better portion of his life.
He was, as you no doubt remember,
a soldier under gallant Charles the First
and emigrated to this fertile land after
the accession to the throne of that arch
tyrant and bully, Oliver Cromwell. There
was naught for him in England after
the beheading of Charles, his beloved
sovereign, with whom he fought and
bled at Naseby and Marston Moor. Here
he settled in Virginia and here / have
carried on the plantation after his death
with no great profit to myself, as the
land Is of poor quality and quite used
by the growth OF our staple crop, to-
baceo. My good wife died-unfortu-
nately for me-about three years ago
leaving me with little son named John,
or Jack, as he is always called, and to
him ! have given all the care and atten-
ton that has been possible.
Now | am worn out by dread dis
ease which seems TO be OF malarial
nature, attacking all who live upon this
slow-moving river. am fast dying, and
the Leech whom have summoned from
the city of Richmond tells me that I