8 NORTH CAROLINA 



result fallen within the bounds of possibil- 

 ity, and a chinaberry-tree, full of purple 

 blossoms, was not only a thing of beauty in 

 itself, but to me was also a sweet remem- 

 brancer of Florida. 



My only other recollection of the after- 

 noon seems almost too trivial for record. 

 Yet who knows ? "What has interested one 

 man may perchance do as much for another. 

 In the midst of the talk, a man with an axe 

 came along, and said to the proprietor of the 

 hotel, " Have you got a grinding-rock here ? " 

 " Yes, round behind the house," was the an- 

 swer. " Grinding-rock" ! that was a new 

 name for my old back-breaking acquaintance 

 of the haying season, and good as it was 

 new. I adopted it on the instant. With its 

 rasping, gritty sound, it seemed a plain case 

 of onomatopoetic justice. No more " grind- 

 stone " for me, if I live a thousand years. 



I mentioned the subject some days after- 

 ward to a citizen of Highlands. " Oh yes," 

 he answered, " they always say ' rock ; ' not 

 only ' grinding - rock,' but * whet - rock.' " 

 Then he added something that pleased me 

 still more. He had just been to the county 

 seat as a member of the grand jury, and 



