The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-07-06

The Mysterious
Sun Spot
1t Contained an lmpor-
tant Message.
Bv RICHARD MARKLY

On the South Carolina coast stands |
one of those imposing colonial edifices
for which that state is famous. 1t !
was built during the times when the
southern settlers, requiring laborers to
work on their tobacco plantations, were
importing large cargoes of African ne
groes, who were held as slaves. 1t is
OF brick, with large pillars In front,
and, considering its age is in a re-
markable state of preservation This
| is because a recent owner has put it
| in repair.
Like other houses Of its kind dating
back to the seventeenth century, 1t
was built out of the proceeds of ne
| groes captured in Africa and sold as
| slaves in America. But the slave trade
and its twin brother. piracy, were
not In that day deprecated as they are,
or, rather, would be, today. He who
built the house referred to became one
Of the most prominent men Of his time
Richard Granville was not his name.
but in bringing out the antecedents of
his descendants 1t is far safer name
to use than his own. He began life as
sailor, visiting every country where
there was trading to be done, and a
few of his older slaves, who were
house servants and thus enabled the
more readily to become conversant
with his secrets, handed down tradi-
ton that their master started his for
tune in piracy.
Be this as 1t may, up to the middle
of the last century his descendants did
not deny that much Of his money had
been made in the slave trade In his
old age his conscience troubled him.
and those who were nearest him said
that he desired to make some repara-
Non for his misdeeds. He had statue
of himself made Of bronze and set it
up on a pedestal in a bay window of
his library. The left hand rests on an
anchor, and the right holds a sextant-
not mock sextant; a real one, though
not Of brass, but Of the same material
as the statue He left orders that no
headstone should mark his grave, and
It was supposed that he intended the
statue as substitute for one. At any
, rate. no one now knows where he is
buried
Different generations Of his descend
ants discussed the statue and wonder
ed at the whim which led their prOgen-
itor to erect It, One thing about 1t ex-
cited special attention. Every morn
D.. ing the sun, shining in upon 1t. strikes
the eyepiece Of the sextant and pass
, ing through the tube, casts solar
. image on the opposite wall The track
, of this round spot of light changes
with the season, traversing slightly
r different path each day There is an
other thing that puzzled the owners Of
the Granville estate The only in
: scription on the statue, or. rather. its
pedestal. Is the date Of Richard Gran
ville's birth. And not only is the date
given, but the hour and minute.
or all topics connected with the
statue probably the giving of this mi
mute information was most discussed
No one who saw 1t could remember
having seen any memorial giving either
the hour and minute of birth or the
hour and minute of death But one
:, generation after another passed away,
and no plausible reason for either the
statue or its singular inscription was
!, : suggested.
During the civil war Elwood Gran
Vile, the owner of the estate at that
time, fought for the maintenance of
the system In the introduction Of which
his progenitor took SO important part
!. Colonel Granville was a religious man
. and one of those who traced authority
for slavery from the Bible. After the
I, war he returned to his plantation and
began to run II anew under the system
), that had been born during the struggle
A few papers that had belonged tC
!. the original Granville were handed
Y down through his descendants. They
a had been preserved time and again 10y
r different persons, but appeared to con
n tain nothing to throw any light on the
!. puzzles connected with the writer or
d receiver. One day Colonel Granville
) while amusing himself with these doc
r uments. read letter from the founde,
d OF his house TO clergyman, in which
h the former said that he would like I,
e leave at his death fund for the bene
d ht of the negro race in America. but
the time would not come for perhaps
e one or two centuries when such be
IS quest could be utilized.
s Probably the statement had beer
II read hundred times by Richard Gran
, villes descendants without making an,
e marked impression. But Colonel Gran
( Vile read it at a time when the negr,
e slave had been just emancipated anC
+ called, in all the ignorance induced by
u MS condition. TO citizenship. The
/ meaning of the statement, The time
would not come for perhaps one or tw,
y centuries" was plain TO him. More
= than one century had passed anG