The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-06-02
yvpx1GHT ADVENTURE.

solc wore Obliged TO find accommodations II
s,,,aiI uooden tayer', situated near by. Al
for satisfying our "inncr man WIN
,v,rm supper. we all congregatcd aroune
fhc bar-room fire, and soon were cngiScu u
smoking. telling stories, and enjoying our
selves generally. ,,uo,,,r
,.,norcnfIv a merchant, who remained 4 81
! lcnt listener to the conversation the mrs.
mart of the evening. But soon our vocaDu
! i,ry Of stories was exhausted, ana the gen
LEHMAN was politely invited to revive inc
droopinc conversation by telling story
| lie readily accepted the invitation, ana told
tho following: which | give the reader as
near rs nv memory will permit
About twenty years ago, he began, was
connected with wealthy firm III II. LOUIS
and desiring to visit New Orleans, was ell
trusted with considerable sum ol money
by nv employers 80 be conveyed WIN III
posSib!c haste to n New Orleans mcrcii'llI'
Early in the morning got on poalu INC
boat and leaned listleSSly over the railinS,
watching the inhabitants as they went 1orth
70 their various occupations. | had not re-
NAMED in that position long before the
steamer moved slowly away from the pier,
and soon the city was entirely lost 10 view.
During the day nothing TRANSFERRED 10 rem
dor the VOYAGE diSagrecable, ana 'iS iiie
shades of night began to hover over the
water rcpaircd to the saloon, where scVc-
raj gentlemen were engaged i'll rather
stormy discussion on politics. Soon L be-
rame cntanglcd along with the rest, ana
gave my particular views on political sub
JcctS.
While convcrsing thoughtlcssly men.
toned the fact of my having large sum "l
money in my possession. Nothing further
y ~, OF hot ir1on hnWpNpv
the thought flashed upon my mind that in
Il crowd of desperate and unprotected
men. as were my associates, it was not the
place to tell such Il secret, which kept me
rather backward in my conversation during
the remainder of the evening. | retired
soon after, fully resolved to be more pru-
dent in the future.
The next day made the acquaintance of
gentleman who protested to he Mctilo-
dist clergyman. He gave nc several tracts,
and soon we entered into conversation
that resulted in quite friendly intimacy.
lie appeared TO be we'll ycrScd i'll his pro-
GcS>ion. and altogether very agrceablc
companion. After convcrsinS on the various
topics of the day, the conversation natu-
rally turned to the previous evenings dis
cll>s!on. Not being very well pleased with
what had occurred at that time, attempted
10 cllallSc lNc sublc't, bit Was piS'SiNIN'
by my ficnd's rcmarking:
You were very ndscrcct, Mr.. R.,
in revealing the fact that you had money III
Your possession. There arc men on this
boat who would not hesitate TO rob you II
an opportunity presented; therefore, adj
wise YOU TO be more careful hereafter"
| thanked him for his kind advice, and
assured him that | intended to keep alooi
from all suspicious individuals.
70 this he made no reply, but rose from
his seat and, with cane i'll hand, walked
lcisurclv away to his room, leaving me to
my own reflections which were that had
good companion and Il valuable friend iii
the preacher.
on the Journey made the acqainantancc
Of several gentlemen, but none that valued
80 much rs the clergyman. Nothing oc-.
CURED of note after this, and we arrived
late in the afternoon at New Orleans. Not
being very well acquainted in the city, my
friend offered to conduct ne to hotel
where nv expenses would not be very
heavy; and as ! wished to spend as little
money as possible, ! thankfully accepted
hi; company, and we walked up the street
several blocks. when he gave me the proper
direction to take. while he was obliged TO 90
another way.
After parting with him, | wendell my
WAY to the hotel. which was situated lii
lie OF from tho busy thoroughtarc. 1t wa
a large building, and had Il very old ane
dingy appearance, and, in fact, dld not loof
very inviting to the traveller; but as J cN
pccted to remain only short time, ! con
Guided to accept the accommodat'onI,, n
they were much cheaper than could bt
found elsewhere.
entered the bar-room, and after regis
tcring my uamo and eatinr Il little supper,
asked TO be shown to my room, and WI:
| conducted up Il flight of rickcty old stair
| TO a small. square room, where my guide
| Jeff me. Proceeding to examine the apart
mCut, | found that it contained one smal
window. which looked out on dark back
alley. The furniture consisted of Il bed,
couple of chairs. Stand, and a hcar,
oaken cupboard, some three feet high ani
| about six feet long. with strong side doors
! The appearance Of the room did not dis
pcrsc the gloomy feelings of dstrust that
experienced when | first saw the buildin"
However. determined to make the best o
| it. now | was there.
| noticed. before coming to the room, tina
| thick masses of clouds were gradually gath
cring over the city, and the distant rumblin!
of thunder. with sharp, quick flashes q
| lightning that qnivercd across the western
horizon. denoted an approaching storm.
Being very tired. | Immediately disrobct
and jumped into bed and was fast fallin
| into Il dreamlesS slumber, when a low
scratching sound attracted my attention. !
seemed to come from some place in the room
| but could not tell exactly where. My ncl
vouSness increased as the sound continued
till determined to ferret out the cause @
the disturbance. | jumped from the bed
and looked cautiously around the room TO
some time, but could discover nothing. TIL
sound had entirely subsidized, and NOTHING
could he heard save the wind which wills
tied mournfully by the windows.
At last | concluded it must be the win
loW-blnd or some such object driven b.
! the force of the wind against the house
Arriving at this conclusion, again jumped
into bed, and laid for long time, vainl
endeayoring to sleep but finding it impos
sible, busted myself watching the eXpi
ring flames OF the taper till a stray gust O
wind whistled through the broken windoy
and cXtinguished the object of my atten
ton.
The storm, which had long been threaten
ing, now burst forth in all its wild grandeur
The rolling thunder grew louder at eacl
successive report vivid flashes of light
ming dartcd across the heavens, illuminating
the room with the lurid flame so that eyer
object was plainly visible; the next mo
mcnt pitch darkness followed. so impenc
trahle that the most prominent objects wcr
perfectly hidden to the eye. While lynn
there, looking out from under the bed
clothes, trembling with fear, the scatchin
sound commenced with renewed vigor
making the room sound with the peculia
noise which had long before annoyed me.
Large drops of perspiration stood upol
my brow, and rising to a sitting posture,
tremblingy gazed out into the darkness
trying to discern the objects us the lishtnin
flashes penetrated the room.
At that moment livid sheet of radianc