ole missus.  Den dey carry all on em to de grate house and bury de dead ones.  De captain and de oder wounded man was tuck into de house, and ole missus she knowd de captain, and she cried mitily bout his bein shot.  Well, he talk plenty bout his wife and modder, and Miss Alice’s modder nurse him; but he died, and his grave’s yonder wid ole massa and missus.  De oder man he got well and went away, and berry soon arter dat Miss Alice’s fadder and modder got married.  Dar come de judge.  He hab seen you, and he ride out ob de road to come see you.”

“Toney, I shall come to see you again, and you must tell me more about the family and these people about here; you must tell me everything.”

“You musn’t tell anybody I tell you anyting.  De judge mity quare man; he don’t like for people to know all I knows.”

The judge rode up, and Toney with great respect arose and saluted him.  “Ah!” said he, “you have found this old hermit, have you?  Toney is the chronicle of the neighborhood—­a record of its history from the day of its first settlement.  I hope he has amused you.  He is upwards of ninety years old, and retains all his faculties in a remarkable degree.”

“I have been quite entertained with his history of the descent of the river with your ancestors.  He seems to remember every incident, and says your father was wounded at the Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee River.”

“He is quite right, sir.  It was a perilous trip.  My grandfather was a man of wonderful energy and determination.  He pioneered the ancestors of almost every family in this vicinage to this place.  There was a large grant of land from the Spanish Government made here and divided among his followers, every foot of which is in the possession of their descendants to-day, except perhaps one thousand acres which were swindled from my family by a most iniquitous decision of a jury, influenced by an artful old Yankee lawyer.  This spot here, sir, was the nucleus of the first settlement which in a few years spread over the country.”

“This county I believe, sir, was once represented in the State of Georgia as the County of Bourbon, at the time this State with Alabama constituted a part of that State.”

“My father was elected to represent the county, but he never took his seat.  We continued to be governed by the laws of Spain which we found in force here until the line between Florida and the United States was established—­indeed until the American Government extended its jurisdiction in the form of a territorial government over the country.  I am riding to my sisters.  You will have fine shooting if you will go through yonder piece of woods.  Every tree seems to have a squirrel upon it.  We will meet again at tea.  Adieu, till then.”

“He been watchin you.  Better go, young massa.”

“You don’t appear, Toney, to like your young master.”

“Him not good to Miss Alice.  He got plenty sisters; but he only lub two, and dey don’t lub anybody but just him.  Him not like his fadder nor ole massa yonder.  He bring plenty trouble to massa and to his modder.  No, me don’t like him.  Miss Alice know him all.”