is on the road
between Winchester and Boyce and is in full view of the highway.

There is a wealth of amusing tales told about the old city, some dating
as far back as its conception; others have to do with the activities of
later times.

The story is still heard in Winchester of the time when guests and
village loafers were congregated in one of the taverns at the close of a
day to discuss weighty topics over their glasses of ale. From a window
they saw an old man get out of his gig, taking with him luggage for
overnight accommodation. The gig was comparable to the famed One Horse
Shay in its state of near collapse. Comments were passed among the group
inside as to the man's shabby appearance, his business and ultimate
destination. He was soon forgot in the midst of the ensuing conversation
between several young lawyers, one of whom remarked that he had heard a
sermon delivered which equalled the eloquence and fluency usually
reserved to lawyers pleading their cases. This brought forth eventually
a heated discussion of the merits of the Christian religion, argued pro
and con by those present lasting from six in the evening till eleven.

Finally one young fellow turned to the quiet old traveller. The latter
had sat with apparent interest and meekness throughout the five-hour
debate and had not joined in. The question was asked, "Well, old
gentleman, what's your opinion?"

The reply lasted almost an hour; he answered argument for argument in
the exact order in which each had occurred and with the greatest
simplicity and dignity. At the conclusion no one spoke for some time. At
last inquiry was ventured as to his identity. He was Chief Justice John
Marshall.

In his _Virginia: A History of the People_ John Esten Cooke relates this
story. An Irish laborer and his wife came in 1767 to the lower valley
country and stopped at the home of a Mr. and Mrs. Strode, German
landowner. For several years they lived with the German family and
during the time a son was born. When they decided to push on farther
south the Strode children followed, begging that they leave the little
boy behind with them. They had become very much attached to the baby and
were reluctant to see him go away. The parents naturally refused the
request. While stopping for a short rest they placed the baby on the
ground and the children would have run off with him if they could.

The family kept its southward course and at last reached the Waxhaws in
Nor