Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1915-03-03
STOUT

IN dis y6dH county, eli All T0Ch
Mars Valiant sho 'sist on yo' sam
pin ct"
"Sah," said the major feelingly,
turning to his host, I'm proud to
drink your health in the typical bev-
erage of Virginia." He touched
glasses with Valiant and glared at the
doctor, who was slipping his own
thoughtfully. Poems have been writ
ten on the julep, sab"
They make good epitaphs, too" OBJ
served the doctor.
Il noticed your glass isn't going
begging" the major retorted. "Unc'
Jefferson, that's as good mint as grew
in the gyarden of Eden. See that
those lazy niggers of yours don't grub
the patch out by mistake"
'Yas, sah," said Uncle Jefferson, as
he retired with the tray. "Ah gwine-
ter put er fence eroun dat ar bald TO
shutdown"
The question that had sprung to
Valiants lips now found utterance. Il
saw you look at the portrait there"
he said to the major. Which of my
ancestors is II
The other got up and stood before
the mantel-piece in Napoleonic atti-
tude. That" he said, fixing his eye
glasses, lis your great-grandfather,
Devil-John Valiant
"Devil-John!" echoed his host. Eyes,
I've heard the name"
The doctor guffawed. He earned
it, reckon. | never realized what
sinister expression that missing optic
gives the old rufian. There was
skirmish during the war on the hill
side yonder and a bullet cut it out
When we were boys we used to call
him old One-Eye.'
1T interests me enormously" John
Valiant spoke eXplosively.
THE stories of Devil-John would fill
a mighty big book" said the major.
by all accounts he ought to have
lived in the middle ages" Crossing
the library, he looked into the dining
room. Il thought | remembered. The
portrait over the console there is his
wife. your great-grandmother. They
say he bet that when he brought his
bride home, she should walk into Da-
mory Court between rows of candle
sticks worth twenty-thousand dollars
He made the wager good, too, for
when she came up these steps out
there. there was a row of ten candles
burning on either side of the doorway
each held by young slave worth a
thousand dollars in the market
Some say he grew jealous of his
wifes beauty. There were any num-
Der of stories told of his cruelties to
her that aren't worth repeating. She
died early - poor lady - and your
grandfather was the only issue. Devil
John himself lived to be past seventy,
and at that age, when most men were
stacking their sins and groaning with
the govt, he was dicing and foX-hunt-
ing with the youngest of them. He
always swore he would die with his
boots on. and they say when the doc
tor told him he had only few hours
leeway, he made his slaves dress him
completely and prop him on his horse
They galloped out so, negro on
either side of him. 1t was a stormy
night, black as the Earl Cf HelIs rid
ing-boots, with wind and lightning,
and he rode cursing at both. There's
an old black-gum tree a mile from
here that they still call Devil-Joh
tree. They were just passing under
1t when the lightning struck it. Light
ming has no effect on the black-gum,
you know The bolt glanced from the
tree and struck him between the two
slaves without harming either OF
them. 1t killed his horse, too. That's
the story. To be sure at this date
nobody can separate fact from fic-
ticn. Possibly he wasn't so much
worse than the rest Of his neighbors
not excepting the parsons. Other
times, other manners.
They weren't any worse than the
present generation" said the doctor
malevolently. Your four bottle men
then knew only claret: now they pun
ish whiskey-straight"
The major buried his nose in his
julep for a long moment before he
looked at the doctor blandly. 81 agree.
with you, Bristow," he said: "but it's
the first time ever heard you admit
that much good of your ancestors.
Good" said the doctor belligerent-
ly. Me? l don't! l said people now
were no better. AS for the men of
that time, they were a cheap swagger-
ing lot of DULLES and swash- bucklers.
When l read history I'm ashamed to
be descended from them"
81 desire to inform you, sah," said
the major, stung, that 1 too am a de-
scendant of those DULLES and swash-
buckIers, as you call them. And |
wish from my heart thought we, now
adays, could hold a tallow-dip to
them"
you refer. no doubt" said the doc
tor with sarcasm, ITO our friend Devil
John and his ideal treatment of his
wife!"
No. sah," replied the major warm
w 'Tm not referring to DeVil-JOhn.