The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-11-12
Tac Death o. SfGncTsa.t gacssSc"--.R
ftsgase ;StuS3 ~ 1852 at.;; iaG::.

by LC."Ial y. ", h'hclf.I
Arriving ut New Orleans in 1852, | was
soon OH Ely way up the Mississippi ana
Ohio. Among my fellow. passengers on tie
steamer was Lieutenant Thomas j. Jackson,
Of tic United states army, Who seemed ut
first remarkably quiet, reserved, although
very Intelligent, officer. and win whom |
>pon became acquainted, for there l. every
where a sort Of culncradcIlC among tc OIL
GERS Of the two services which attract thcm
TO each other in y crowd CT Strangers For
several days the inland voyage continued,
and our nights were partly spent upon the
hurricane deck Of the steamer engaged III
conversation. One Of these conversations
WAS so peculiar that it fixed itself i'll my
memory, aud Subsequent events proved Itself
worthy of record, although confess hest
tate to put in writing anything which seems
to border 50 nearly OIL the marvellous.
One clear, starlight night, rs We glidcd
along the calm river, our conversation turned
upon the armament and lis countless orbS
that looked down upon lis. Jackson asked
me If | had ever been induced to take il
flight from the study Of nautical astronomy,
pracliccd by all naval officers. into the realms
of aStroogy. | replied that | had always
been interested, more or less. in those lnathc-
NAUTICAL studies required in nautical calcutta
tons. and that from the exact rules demanded
for working the various problems OF the
cphemeric, | had sometimes, to amu>e the
idle hours of Il sc;t-lite. worked out the MT
tivitcs Of my shipmutcS. | bad even taken
ZadkicfS almanac and used his rules, but
without believing in The science of Judicial
aStruUgy. Jackson, however, was not so M
credul0us, although it was evident that he
had not then decided fully within himself ms
to the truth or talSehoOd OF this exploded
science.
Before we parted at Pittsburgh, a day or
two after this conversation, i had given Jack
son the necessary data for calculating horo-
scope. and in the course OF few months /
received from him letter, which preserved,
inclosing a scheme of my nativity. As any
one who may have calculated these schemes
by the rules must know, horoscope may lie
interpreted in various, even contradictory,
terms, by different persons, and this was DO
exception to the rule. The only reason
had for remembering it ut all was that oui
destinies seemed to run i'll parallel lines, anu
so far it was remarkable. 1t was this pecu,
liarity that caused Jackson to communicate
with NE and the reason why l laid 1t care
| fully aside for retXamination.
| The several planets were placed III theil
respective houses, above and below the nom,
zon, and Saturn being near the meridian, anu
approaching q square with the moon, great
| danger was to be apprehcnded by the native
at the period when the aspect beclme COM
plete. Mars also bore threatening aspect
while Jupiter was below the horizon, anC
semi-seXtile, which was not altogether una
vorable There was no trine, and the seXtil'
was weak. Altogether, from the evil aspect
Of the square OF Saturn, which threatened ar
opposition-that most dreaded OF all the cyl
aspects of the heayens-thc scheme was quite
dangerous and nalisn. The precise time unt
nature Of the threatened danger, requiring
second calculation. accompanied the scheme
prognostic,ti " the elimination oil the I'LL
/ Ign aspect within some ten years, or durini
| the first days OF May, 1868, ut which time TIN
| native ran great risk OF Life and fortune
but, in case he survived the peril, the ONT
| nous period would never again recur.
In his let CT Jackson says: Il have goa
over these calculations ScreIa! times, as tiei
result is al n ,st an exact reproduction of III.
own. 1t IS clear to me that "
shall both be exposed to Il common DANCE
ut The time indicated" Having but littl
faith in the al most forgotten and altogethe
repudiated scie Ice OF astroioSY, | took littl
heed of either his scheme of nativity or hi
letter, regardinI the former Is ingenious, bil
rs merely proof OF an ardent and solnewha
enthusiastic temperament; while | It'll
imagined ut that time that the rather unpo
. ished and rugged exterior of l.ieutenan
Jackson concei lied a character destined 10 h'
u come. famous among his countrymen.
i / served in The AMY III lSjt-G2-t3 unit
after the battle Of Charlottesville, rartic