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Colonel Carter of Cartersville by Smith, Francis Hopkinson, 1838-1915
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A word from our supporters: File extension MIM | Produced by Phil McLaury, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. COLONEL CARTER OF CARTERSVILLE BY F. HOPKINSON SMITH I dedicate this book to the memory of my counselor and my friend,--that most delightful of story-tellers, that most charming of comrades,--my dear old Mother; whose early life was spent near the shade of the Colonel's porch, and whose keen enjoyment of the stories between these covers--stories we have so often laughed over together--is still among my pleasantest recollections. F. H. S. New York, May, 1891. CONTENTS AND LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS I. THE COLONEL'S HOUSE IN BEDFORD PLACE. II. THE GARDEN SPOT OF VIRGINIA SEEKS AN OUTLET TO THE SEA. III. AN OLD FAMILY SERVANT. IV. THE ARRIVAL OF A TRUE SOUTHERN LADY. V. AN ALLUSION TO A YELLOW DOG. VI. CERTAIN IMPORTANT LETTERS. VII. THE OUTCOME OF A COUNCIL OF WAR. VIII. A HIGH SENSE OF HONOR. IX. A VISIT OF CEREMONY. X. CHAD IN SEARCH OF A COAL-FIELD. XI. CHAD ON HIS OWN CABIN FLOOR. XII. The ENGLISHMAN'S CHECK. CHAPTER I _The Colonel's House in Bedford Place_ The dinner was at the colonel's--an old-fashioned, partly furnished, two-story house nearly a century old which crouches down behind a larger and more modern dwelling fronting on Bedford Place within a stone's throw of the tall clock tower of Jefferson Market. The street entrance to this curious abode is marked by a swinging wooden gate opening into a narrow tunnel which dodges under the front house. It is an uncanny sort of passageway, mouldy and wet from a long-neglected leak overhead, and is lighted at night by a rusty lantern with dingy glass sides. On sunny days this gruesome tunnel frames from the street a delightful picture of a bit of the yard beyond, with the quaint colonial door and its three steps let down in a welcoming way. Its retired location and shabby entrance brought it quite within the colonel's income, and as the rent was not payable in advance, and the landlord patient, he had surrounded himself not only with all the comforts but with many of the luxuries of a more pretentious home. In this he was assisted by his negro servant Chad,--an abbreviation of Nebuchadnezzar,--who was chambermaid, cook, butler, body-servant, and boots, and who by his marvelous tales of the magnificence of "de old fambly place in Caartersville" had established a credit among the shopkeepers on the avenue which would have been denied a much more solvent customer. To this hospitable retreat I wended my way in obedience to one of the colonel's characteristic notes:-- No. 51 BEDFORD PLACE _Friday._ Everything is booming--Fitz says the scheme will take like the measles--dinner tomorrow at six--don't be late. CARTER. |