The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1872-05-10
from the Posthumous Papers of John
Ransom, Printcrl
THE MOTTO DEE,

""ihtI vi lo4s. WaS .10tlr-
ing It IN the city Of New Orleans,
working ON the various newspapers
Whenever | could get chance. A
I scarcity OF work, and an unusually
i,. Healthy season, kept the typos" ut
tlleir cases. leaving very little to do
lof the wanderers of the craft. Thor
! oIn,shiy diSgusted with such state of
alliirs, | wrote to a friend and former
sc"oollnate, Who was at that time ed
ling a paper in Montgomery. Ala
baltla. to be on the lookout for a situ-
atlon OF some Kind for me. Much
earlier than expected, received the
following letter in reply
MONTGOMERY, Ala. July. 1913.
MY DEAR RANSOM: Your letter of
june 10th at hand. am sorry to
hear you have been in such miserable
lliok. vet glad, for. as if fate ordained
il, while | was reading your letter, |
received visit from Col. Dayids. of
Columbus, Mississippi, who told me
he was about surfing a paper in that
| place, to advocate the ticket headed bv
Zachary Taylor Tor the presidency.
| Having eonversed with him in regard
to his future plans, brlited the ques-
tloii OF Il proper man to take charge of
the mechanical affairs of his journal.
Upon his inquiries as to whether or
no knew of a suitable person, |
handed him your letter. After many
lliterrogatories as to your ability and
! character you may he sure painted
both in the very blaekest colorsl, nv
description pleased him so much that
You may consider yourself engaged; /;
and IN view Of this fact you wifi find
inelosed draft for 500, which the col
oilel left to be forwarded, to pay your
expenses.
I You will report at Columbus with
out delay.
think Senator W is at the bot
tom Of this affair, and silent partner
Of the Colonel's in the enterprise.
All well here. Wife sends her love.
Your old friend,
C. n.
| This letter and the money was real
" a surprise. Glad for the opportu-
nifty to escape from the Crescent City
and breathe the up-country air once
more, was rot dilatory in my prepa-
rations for leaving; 80 on the third
day after the receipt Of c. Ms
letter, was Oh board a steamer bound
| up the Mississippi for Vicksburg. from
which point | hoped 10 he able to
stage it to Columbus.
My coniectures proved to be correct
as to the stage routes, but little
dreamt Of the long and tedious jour
ney had before me, or of the rugged
roads over which we had to travel,
else il Is possible my bravery would
not have carried Inc so far; however,
| sat it out, managing to keep my
seat during the ride and troubled the
various drivers we had from each re-
lay as little as possible. The pleasure
Of the last news--tlat only twenty
miles separated ME from Columbus
! still distinctly remember, not only
as the lmrbinger OF rest, and the open
ing of a new field for operations, bu.
from an incident that tralispired.
We had changed our horses, and
were about to start upon the last see
ton Of our journey, when two ladies
were driven up to the inn where we
had stopped. by the movements of
thn Iripnr | siir,ntead .lnt ~. ,,..,,,, t, |
receive another passenger, which |
proved to be the case. Tie youngest |
OF the two Indies soon took her seat IN
side, after having bid her companion
Goodbye" As she did 50, ! heard
the words returned, Give my love to
Colonel Davis This exclamation
rather startled me. Was it possible
that the lady who Ind just entered
was a relation of the man with whom
was to be associated? This query
was nppernlost in my mind, until the
crack OF the drivers whipand the sud
den jolt of the vehicle recalled me to
my senses. turned to observe the
new passenger we had taken on board.
She was apparently about twenty-five
years of age--SlIe might have been
twenty-five. The face was one not
easily forgotten. Its loyeliness | can
tonothing ever saw. Only
the pencil ofa master could have done
it Justice. The hair was of a Yellow
isll golden hue, bound in the prevail
ing fashion by braids and pins, vet
could see where it rose, AZ ii IN rebel
ion against the restraints, in waves
over her head, and thought What a
nnny head it would be were it allow
d to fall into natural ringlets. Her
,yes We're ofa peculiar color, a sort of
Neutral tinting between blue and gray.
The dress OF the period, arranged with
| view to ease and comfort, under the
warm climate Of Mississippi, admir,-
,Iy set otfa charming figure. Take it
or all in all, it was Il bright vision.
me upon which never expect to look
gain.
Turning to fellow-passenser who
and entered the stage coach at Jack
on, and who had told me that he was
cquainted in Columbus, whittier he
vas also bound with myself, | noticed
hat his eyes We're as intently hent up
n the beautiful woman who sat 0ppo-
ite as mine had been. Whispering, /
sked him II he knew who she was?
Yes" he answered, "that lady is
he wife Of Colonel nlyids, noted
In Columbus. He thinks
he i the only woman in the world
'orth thought. But don't blame
i'm, for she y assuredlya tine-looking
Turning from the speaker. | observ- ,
q that our lady passenger was at
'mptmg to read book, which the
.lting Of the vehicle rendered ilnlos-
Ible. Yet she apparently remained
coupled with il, paying no attention
'hateyer 10 hdls' fellow-passel,gers.
Is sIle read, ! had a fair opportunity
''ObseFye her more closely, and as