But my
uncle had but little malice in his nature, and moreover he was too
inert to indulge in the luxury of avenging any wrong either real or
imaginary. The common was left to the use of stray cattle, the
children of the neighborhood and of the school. After a time the
school district decided to rebuild the school-house. The old site was
small, indeed, only sufficient for the building. The citizens
divided, but the advocates of the old site prevailed, and a brick
building was erected. Still the contest went on, and after a year or
two the majority of the district voted to erect a new house, and the
upper part of the common was selected for the site where a second
house, of wood, was built. Whether any title to the land was obtained
from my uncle, I know not. The new house was used for a time, when it
was sold, moved, and converted into a dwelling.
When my uncle died at the age of about eighty-five years, the common
was unoccupied, and it had the appearance that property takes on when
the owner is intemperate or absent, or when the heirs cannot agree to
a division. The settlement of my uncle's estate was put into the hands
of Mr. Ephraim Graham, whose brother had married my uncle's eldest
daughter. My uncle's children were scattered, and apparently they
inherited their father's indifference to property.
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