The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1876-09-28
THE JUDGES FLIRTATlON.

Gu0 O1NS Jill AoJ 0ssASA SAAS
Judge, 'swhen was in my senior year
in Columbia, Il decline to mention the
exact time, for some of you youngsters
will be trying your skill in ar;thme-
tic On me; but Twas q much older fell
low than I am now, / had been home
here for the Christmas holidays, and
was to start next morning for New York
to resume my work. In those days q
journey from the interior of the State
to New York City was, speaking after
the manner Of men, only less serious
matter than death. Indeed, among the
country people very much the same
preparation was made for each, as far
as putting all business affairs on pos
sible post mortem footing went, with q
view of making settlement easy Sin
case any thing happened as it was
quiet likely to do. A summer journey
was undertaken only under the most
urgent stress of business, as the time
occupied and expense incurred were
things to be thought over and talked
over before being realized. OF course
we had steamboats,, such as they were
but to the farmers in the retired dis
.tricts the idea of going to york in
steamboat was about as practicable as
it would be to talk of crossing the
ocean in a balloon in these latter times.
They much preferred the cheaper and
safer sloops and other sail vessels which
made regular trips between Albany and
New York for the accommodation of
travellers.
"If an average summer journey re-
quired all this forethought, for one un-
dertaken in the winter, when we were
obliged to cross the river and other
streams hardly less dangerous on the
ice, in a heavily laden coach drawn by
four horses, to break our way through
deep snow-drifts, or to go the wheels
depth in mud, the risk was very much
enhanced. The advertised time for the
winter trip was three or four days, and
the small way-side taverns where we
use to sput up at night are still stand
ing. The promise as to time was rare
ly kept, depending, as it did, on the
condition of the roads, and the last day
Of the journey we generally rode pretty
well into the night. l remember very
well being on the road eight days dur
ing my college years, when the passen-
gers were obliged to pry the coach out
of the mud several times. But as this
doesn't seem to be intimately connected
with my theme, I'll defer it.
"Charley R was my companion,
and had been home with me for the
holidays. A nice, clever chap enough,
and to this day my good friend, but as
boy he was too effeminate to be very
popular among his hardy classmates.
He had remarkably small hands and
feet, like girls, and, we used to say,
was quite as proud Of them. I could
never understand why Charley, with his
soft, womanish ways and manners,
should have taken to the church; but
he did brave and effective work on the
Western frontier, when it required as
much courage to be missionary as to
lead forlorn hope.
awe were obliged to go seven-and-
twenty miles by private conveyance to
reach Albany, from which place the
stage started. We arrived there about
10 O'Clock in the evening, and enjoyed
our night Of freedom at the then famous
Congress Han-enjoyed it almost too
well, we thought next morning, when
we came down to the dimly lighted
breakfast-room, shivering and dispirit-
ed.
!" It was the custom for the stage to
60 round from house to house to collect
passengers, the seats being secured in
advance, like boxes at the opera; SO
when it drove up to the hotel that dis
NAL morning it was filed, with the ex-
ception Of the two places which we had
bespoken, one on the middle seat, where
the only support to the back was a
swaying leather strap, and the other
on the front. We could see dimly BY
the drivers lantern that the two occu-
pants OF the front seat were an elderly