The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1916-03-09

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how, as he so strangely believed, Con
federate soldiers had conspired TO kill
| him. AS visionary and as groundless
as was this suspicion it had become too
deeply rooted by time even for his sound
reason to loose its grip. Only a few
yards from this place of which he had
so gravely spoken and where he so
firmly believed his doom was pending,
as if by an irrevocable decree, in less
time than the flicker of SEM mote be-
fore the vision, the end came.
One more similar coincidence remain
ed for disclosure in the chamber where,
in an endless silence, the eccentric
master now lay in his own house.
Reference has been made in this writ
ing to an anxiety of Gov. Thomas for
joint survey with me to establish a con-
teDtion entertained by him. Seeing the
friction calculated to be brought out by
such survey for an adjustment of
lines and clashing claims, my object
was to postpone the location of bounds.
In my belief no vacancy existed out
side of the tracts duty required me to
protect. liable to the location of his pro
cured potent under the name of
Alexander. From a table in the
room where the body was waiting re-
moval. letter was handed to me. seal
ed, stamped and bearing my address,
evidently completed just before the
Governor left that table for the Inflated
walk on the railroad below the Frank
vile station. Many letters have come
to me from many directions but few, if
any, have made the impression as was
made by this particular letter, and not
one has so deted the defacements of
time or left its imprint so distinctly fix
ed in memory.
1t was brief but brevity was not its
dominant feature: You are very
young man, and your life lies before
YOU. l am very old man, with my
life behind me, and am admonished by
age and increasing infrmities that all
my wsrldly affairs should be specify
settled. VIII you please come to Frank
vile for the proposed survey" Read
ing this letter in the solemnity of such
an occasion, but little at my disposal
that would not then have been gladly
relinquished to step backwards a few
months in the past for a revision of in
tentions and a ready compliance with
this earnest and often reiterated wish.
In all this wide world. under the
hardest imposition OF its exactions, we
find not one place where man stands so
stripped and helpless, as in the presence
of the mystery Of death. Here is the
freshly penned and prophetic letter
traced but few hours ago; close by
lies the author with the spirit fled and
the hand still. While nature lavished
her wealth upon him and fate oppressed
him by binding shadows. the harp of
his melodies reached and stirred his
fellow beings as but few could, raising
their minds to loftier heights and OPEN
ing their visions to >fairer ranges. 1t
was his gift to see in the mountains and
in the valleys, in the storms and in the
calm glories not revealed to the common
eye. Such privileges born in genius and
heightened by culture, enabled him to
leave creations of speech as the refine
ment of language creations of such
utterances as. to some small extent,
have been our mission in these letters
to reproduce and that came in such
faultless grace from lips here sealed up
forever
THE END