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The terse narrative that follows was told to me many years ago by my late Aunt Sue:
Adam Diehl (1767 - 1842), your great-great-grandfather, once, on a cold, snowy day in January, drove in his one-horse sleigh along the sidewalk of Market Street in Wilmington -- against the law, of course, but preferable to snow drifts of some magnitude, the only other alternative.
Your grandfather, unaware of a policeman nearby, the snowfall being quite heavy, cursed his luck when he spotted him; then reined in his horse.
Adam, with little fanfare, was dutifully arrested and escorted to a magistrate's court. He was fined a hefty five dollars: big money in those days.
Your ancestor, fuming, no doubt -- a strong-willed individual known on occasion to have a quick temper -- reached into his vest pocket and produced a ten-dollar bill, which he handed to a clerk.
"Here, sir, your change," the man said graciously, counting out five crisp bills.
"Keep it!" snapped Adam brusquely.
The clerk who was startled at first, regained his composure momentarily, stroked his beard a time or two . . . and, scratching his forehead, asked rather sheepishly, "Why?"
Adam, always a gentleman, responded in a surly but dignified tone of voice: "Young man, sir, I am going back the same way I came!"
The End.
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Adam, the Obstinate One!