160 FORTY-FOUR YEARS OF 



find Mary still living, exclaiming, as he entered, " I thank 

 God to see you still with your family." He opened his 

 stuck of medicines, which comprised fifty-two pills, and 

 blister plasters enough to keep up a continual running, till 

 she got relief. We commenced with the pills and plasters, 

 together with cold bathing, rubbing her well with a coarse 

 towel, as directed ; and she began to mend, her face and 

 eye gradually assuming their natural appearance. On 

 Christmas day I rose early, made a fire, and attended to 

 other things I had to do. When I came in, I found Mary 

 was up and dressing herself. 



"Well, Meshach," she said, "I feel as well as ever I did 

 in ray life." 



I looked at her, and thought she appeared more beau- 

 tiful than I had ever seen her look before. She had yet 

 three pills to take, and as she felt so well, she consulted 

 me as to whether she should take the other pills or not. 

 I remarked that, as the medicine had done her so much 

 good, and as the Doctor had dii'ected all the pills to be 

 taken, perhaps the cure would not be perfect unless his 

 directions were complied with. So she continued taking 

 the pills until they were all used, when her face was drawn 

 a little to the other side, and her eye sunk, and remained 

 for the rest of her life smaller than the other. 



In about eighteen months she presented me with a 

 second son, whom I called John Lynn, because that good 

 man had been instrumental in saving the life of my beloved 

 Mary. I cannot take leave of this benevolent and chari- 

 table man, without saying a word or two in relation to his 

 deeds of charity. A man named Charles James (who 

 held different political views from those of the Colonel) 

 had said that he would rather shoot that old rascal Lynn 

 than kill tne best buck in the woods. Shortly after, 

 James had his leg broken, and was without the means of 

 securing his crops. The Colonel, happening to be in the 



