The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blue Ridge Country, by Jean Thomas

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: Blue Ridge Country

Author: Jean Thomas

Editor: Erskine Caldwell

Release Date: May 10, 2008 [EBook #25413]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLUE RIDGE COUNTRY ***

Produced by Mark C. Orton, Roger Frank and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

AMERICAN FOLKWAYS

EDITED BY ERSKINE CALDWELL

BLUE RIDGE COUNTRY

by

JEAN THOMAS

DUELL, SLOAN & PEARCE . NEW YORK

------------------------------------------------------------------------

COPYRIGHT, 1942, BY
JEAN THOMAS

All rights reserved, including
the right to reproduce this book
or portions thereof in any form.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

------------------------------------------------------------------------

To My Brother

DOCTOR GEORGE G. BELL

A once itinerant "Tooth Dentist"
who became the first Republican county judge
in more than a quarter of a century
at the mouth of Big Sandy
and whose unique sentences have become legendary
throughout the Blue Ridge

------------------------------------------------------------------------

APPALACHIAN RITUAL

Emerald nobility
Reaching to the sky,
Makes the eye a ruler
Fit to measure by.

In the spring an ecstasy
Lies upon the hills--
Purpling with new red-buds,
Ruffling colored frills.

Make an early ritual
For the mountain side;
Pine and beech are spectators,
White dogwood