"Colonel Temple Talcott of F'okeer County, Virginia, came into
Talcottville one mornin', suh,--a town settled by his ancestors,--ridin'
upon his horse--or rather a mule belongin' to his overseer. Colonel
Talcott, suh, belonged to one of the vehy fust families in Virginia.
He was a son of Jedge Thaxton Talcott, and grandson of General Snowden
Stafford Talcott of the Revolutionary War. Now, suh, let me tell you
right here that the Talcott blood is as blue as the sky, and that every
gentleman bearin' the name is known all over the county as a man whose
honor is dearer to him than his life, and whose word is as good as his
bond. Well, suh, on this mornin' Colonel Talcott left his plantation
in charge of his overseer,--he was workin' it on shares,--and rode
through his estates to his ancestral town, some five miles distant.
It is true, suh, these estates were no longer in his name, but that
had no bearin' on the events that followed; he ought to have owned
them, and would have done so but for some vehy ungentlemanly fo'closure
proceedin's which occurred immediately after the war.

"On arriving at Talcottville the colonel dismounted, handed the reins
to his servant,--or perhaps one of the niggers around the do',--and
entered the post-office. Now, suh, let me tell you that one month
befo', the Government, contrary to the express wishes of a great many
of our leadin' citizens, had sent a Yankee postmaster to Talcottville
to administer the postal affairs of that town. No sooner had this man
taken possession than he began to be exclusive, suh, and to put on
airs. The vehy fust air he put on was to build a fence in his office
and compel our people to transact their business through a hole. This
in itself was vehy gallin', suh, for up to that time the mail had
always been dumped out on the table in the stage office and every
gentleman had he'ped himself. The next thing was the closin' of his