The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1946-09-12
THE LIFE OF MY AUNT MATTE
INA LESLIE cALLEJA
PART III

| Hectic as Aunt Mattie's las
| fifty-five years were, the,
couldn't compare with the frs
fifty. She lived at a clip that just
thinking about would exhaus
the present generation. The
present and also the last three
generations were no good at all
in Aunt Mattie's estimation. A
spineless, gutless lot, she labeled
them.
She was evidently a beauty in
her day. Old family letters fire.
quently carry mention of her. Elk
cerpts like: "She has the big.
gest, most sparkling blacw eyes
in North Carolina" and Il never
saw girl sit horse so we'll" A
visiting male cousin from Scot
land wrote home in 1919: "All
our American cousins are nice
but Martha Ann is very beauti-
full and vivacious. However, she
seems to be possessed of a
strange and uncertain temper,
because yesterday she bit me-"
There was an old story about
a Louisiana French miniature
painter having killed himself un-
der the grape harbor because of
unrequieted love for her, but
this tale was never fully authen-
ticated. The half finished nlinia-
ture still exists, but whatever
happened to it's artist is shrouded
in mystery. Aunt Matte, queried
on the subject, said certainly she
remembered him; he was thin
man with nerves. Did he kill
himself? Il wouldn't be surpris-
ed" Aunt Matte replied. He
said he was going to-"
Naturally she had a host of
admirers and SuitorS, but some
how, probably because of family
pressure, she became engaged to
a Mr.. Faulk, who was more COM
monty known as Old Man Faulk
because he was fortyish, baldish,
red-bearded and the financial
catch of the county, if not the
state. Aunt Mattie'S people, new
Corners from Scotland, had a
sizeable estate, a few dozen
slaves and were more or less
comfortably situated. But Old
Man Faux owned immense plan
tations, hundreds of slaves mad
was commonly said to have more
money than there were tobacco
leaves on his property.
Aunt Matte frequently re-
called her life of luxury as the
young bride of Old Man Faulk.
Every space he could hang dia-
monds on me, he did. had nine
teen lavalliereS, about sixty pairs
of earrings and so many brace
! lets and rings never had time
to even count the drafted things.
And he was always buying me
new female slaves. One time ]
had so many I didn't know one
from t'other. And horses! That's
what l liked - to get onto g
good spirited horse and get 60
ing"
! Get going she did, just exact
ly eight months after her mar
riage. The overseer of Faulk's
plantation, Bill Scanlon, a poor
but stalWart IriShman, took {
look at Martha Ann and Martha
Ann took a look at him. That
fixed both of them, and the out
come was that one dark nigh
Martha, Bill and two of Faux.
best horses lit out for Kentucky
1t was the scandal of the decade
Faux lived long enough to di.
vorce his faithleSs spouse, ther
died of a broken heart, accord
ing to popular opinion. Aunt
) Mattie'S clan hung their once
! proud, heads in modification
and her Poppa went so far as tt
have a headstone set up in the
/ family cemetery inscribed witt
his daughters name, and there
after no one had the temerit.
to mention her in his presence.
| Queried as to why she had ev
er done such a revolutionary
thing, Aunt Matte, with a rem
iscent sigh, replied: Bill had th'
most beautiful eyes any human
being ever had. Blue, they were
| and put in with smutty finger
like the Irish say. He had al
Irish way with him, too. Taking.
| Things went fairly well for thu
runaways in Kentucky. They hac
plenty of money at first, since
Aunt Matte had had the fore
sight to carry along a couple O
handfuls of jewelry, gifts fror
the fatuous Faux. AS soon a
they learned the old boy had di
vorced her, she and Bill wer
married legally and properly
and settled down to enjoy tn
fruits of responsibility in tn
form of son, and later on,
daughter.
AS long as the money held GU
Bill was all right, but whe
funds began to get low his spirit