THE FARM OF THE FIRST MINISTER. 5 1 



But, when the succeeding evening had passed and much of the 

 following morning with no tidings of the key, he sought the 

 Captain, whom he readily found, and asked for it. He was 

 suavely told, in reply, that a short vacation would harm neither 

 him nor his scholars, and that its length would be governed by 

 the obstinacy of the parties who withheld the money raised for 

 the payment of the few outstanding bills incurred in the con- 

 struction of the school-house. The money was soon advanced 

 and the interruption of the school exercises was but a brief 

 one. 



Tradition has preserved various anecdotes relating to Captain 

 Walker which attest the kindly humor which he often dis- 

 played. One of them was to this effect : 



At a parade in Loudon, his company of cavalry had been drawn 

 up to receive the hospitality of its commanding officer. The 

 bottle was started at one end of the line and each man helped 

 himself to its contents as it passed along. In due time it 

 reached the other end where the chaplain was stationed. He 

 manfully followed the example of his predecessors, and was 

 about to start the beverage on its return course when the quick 

 eye of the captain detected his intent, and a peremptory order, 

 prompt and clear, was issued, that his reverence must turn a 

 double corner and take a second drink before sending the bot- 

 tle back, as his comrades were about to do. The chaplain was 

 a strict disciplinarian and obeyed promptly. Total abstinence 

 was not then a martial virtue. 



Captain Walker was the only one of the farm's four proprie- 

 tors who has devoted to it the main energies of his life. He 

 loved his paternal acres. He loved his flock and his herd. 

 He was fond of a good yoke of oxen and delighted in a good 

 horse. He also rejoiced in a straight, even, and well-turned 

 furrow. He raised good crops of hay and oats, of corn, rye, 

 and potatoes. 



But the early loss of his wife cast a shadow over his last 

 years from which he never fully emerged. He died March 3, 

 1833, a * tne a & e of fifty-one years. 



