|
"When my father took over the Horsham property, he, at my request, made a
careful examination of the attic, which had been always locked up. We found the
brass box there, although its contents had been destroyed. On the inside of the
cover was a paper label, with the initials of K. K. K. repeated upon it, and
'Letters, memoranda, receipts, and a register' written beneath. These, we
presume, indicated the nature of the papers which had been destroyed by Colonel
Openshaw. For the rest, there was nothing of much importance in the attic, save
a great many scattered papers and note-books bearing upon my uncle's life in
America. Some of them were of the war time, and showed that he had done his
duty well, and had borne the repute of a brave soldier. Others were of a date
during the reconstruction of the Southern States, and were mostly concerned
with politics, for he had evidently taken a strong part in opposing the
carpet-bag politicians who had been sent down from the North.
|
— Quand mon père entra en jouissance de la propriété, le grenier, si
bien fermé jusqu’à ce jour, fut, sur ma demande, soigneusement
visité ; nous y trouvâmes bien la boîte de cuivre, mais elle était
absolument vide. À l’intérieur du couvercle se trouvait une étiquette avec
les initiales K.K.K. répétées et l’inscription suivante :
« Lettres, memoranda, reçus et liste » indiquant sans doute la
nature des papiers détruits par le colonel Openshaw. En dehors de cela, des
papiers et des carnets relatifs à la vie de mon oncle en Amérique ;
quelques-uns de ces carnets dataient de la guerre et prouvaient que mon oncle,
en faisant son devoir, avait mérité la réputation de brave soldat.
D’autres qui dataient de la reconstitution des États du Sud, traitaient
surtout de politique et révélaient l’énergique opposition qu’il avait
dû faire aux aventuriers venus du Nord.
|