The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1879-08-16
At KAwsMOUTH STATION.


r,,snrr King in the Atlantic Monthly for August
..From Indiana, did you say! -, NY !, oea'
air. you have my warmest sympat
He crasped my friends hana Nnu eU
dial crime, and there was l'essuasnSe,
wa, 80, ,ooI IN his face as he continued !:
.I nsnd TO live at HocsierdoD, ana l
tnow how 1t is myself, so to SPEAK. lou ~
ICING to Kansas, OF course. torrecI, st ~,
so onS Let me congratulate you. Ihacs
.Earsos inst across the river tnere:
We wore in the Kawslnouth railway SUI
49,, ,r.itin, for train to Topeka, ana thls
NANCE acdualnrauce was aKe WIZ v,
tsash dir 70 us, In the suitry strangsness OF
-" mace. He had an assuring countenanSe,
slightly abated by an equivocai niue t".wu-
inSat the corners OF the moutns DIS oeas,na
xyas easily familiar without being onenste
and his voice had ia 1t something OF tne
snarkle OF the April SUNSHINE tnas was aah.
ing gold of the cracked ana dlnsy aat ,'!
windows. Moreover. he was quite !aui. y.
cot in his way, and uniquely orlglnal Ut
=: sc. and IL he presumed upon Que ere
unity rs fear he did to some extent, IL
ras dome so adroitly and so gracious'y That
no chance was left for detection.
.tYou,ll like Kansas" he went on; "1ts
the very perfection OF prairie country
not fiat nor DOGGY. but gently sWeiilns'
with rich valleys, and sloptng everywhere.
Ednp stoned. YOU remember beautiful as
The gardens of the angels upon the slopes In
Fd>r.' And the climate is simply celestial,
IL NAV he allowed the word. Do you
know. the average temperature OF Kansas
at the present day is very nearly the same
that Greece enjoyed when she was at the
pinpucle OF her greatnessg Fact, gentle
men, sure's my names Markley."
So saving, he took from his pocket roll
OF papers, some printed and some written;
and leaving my friend to the study OF what
/ took to be unassailable proofs OF "the
glory that was Greece" In the weather OF
Kansas, turned my own attention to the
young man who had been furtiVely passing
back and forth in front OF us as We talked,
and who now stood gazing out through the
dusty east window, few steps away, with
his elbow against the wall and his hand to
his cheek-sient, listening and absorbed.
He was wholesome, honest. looking fell
low, this young man, with frank blue eyes
and the limbs OF gladiator. Evidently he
was unused to the glossy black clothes be
wore, for he wriggIed about in them now
and then as If with haunting sense OF their
illoricalness; and in various noticeable ways
he BETRAYED that confessing flutter Of the
heart which marks man ut once for a lover
thinking Of his mistress, or criminal ap.
prehepsive Of pursuing otficers-it is often
hard to tell which, the two are so much
alike. But he did not leave me long in
doubt on this point, for as [ walked near
him he faced about, and said, pleasantly. in
answer to u question concerning his desti-
nation: ....-..,...
"Pm not going anywherc-thatis is, on the
cars. Pm waiting for young woman.
She's to be here this morning, and Pm
nightly afraid she's got left at St. Louis.
She had to change cars there. coming from
Macoupin county, Ill. One trains in from
st. Louis, you know--the one you came
on-and she wasn't on that. There's an
other one due at 1880, though. / reckon
she'll be on that, but don't feel easy about
it ut ALL" ..A.. .,-.
He went to the door and looked eagerly
out along the railroad track eastward, and
then. returning, he added:
'"We're to be married tonight, that's the
truth OF it; and we've fifteen miles 10 ride
in the country after she comes. Itwould
be too bad il we didn't get there in time,
with the license bought, and the preacher
all ready, and the folks waiting and notion
ing about us. 1t would take us down so,
YOU know. Is it much trouble for woman
to change cars by herself at St. Louis ?"
"Not much, INSURED him. ''No doubt
her ticket was over the other road, and
she'll be here, all right, when the train gets
in"
eyes" he replied. in dubious tone,
I'if she didn't get left, or il there hasn't
been an accident on the way. It's foolish,
suppose, but do you know can't help being
sbaky about ltP And the nearer the time
comes for the train, the Shaker feel; i do
really. Things are so uncertain, you know,
Especially railroads.; and he tried to laugh,
but it was hollow mockery. ....s
CHANGING towards the man Markley,
saw that he had spread out before him va
rious documents, full Of queer parallel lines
and plentitully sprinkled with figures, from
which he was interpreting to my friend,
"Mr. Wabash" us he Ind named him, the
marvellous growth OF Kansas-"a growth
which nobody would credit" he remarked.
Hwere It not for the records, which have
here in black and white"
, The population Of Kansas" he went on
to say, "grew from 100000 in 1860 to over
100000 in 1S70--a gain Of nearly 240 per
cent. in ten years, against nn average in
crease Of less than % per cent. in the whole
country; and more than four ffths of it
came during the latter five OF these ten
years. 1t doesn't seem possible, does it ?
And now, in 1878, the population is certain.
~ 10000 at least More than doubled, you
see. since 1907
He paused minute, in an eXuitans way :.
and then, adjusting his documents, re-
sumcd: -
"There are now over 100000 acres OF
cultivated land in the State. More than
3,000,00 OF it was raw prairie eight wears
ago; and in 1860 less than 500, 900 acres had
been sbroken.' Aud then. you must re.
member, the war bad 10 be fought mean
time, and Kansas was in the red-bot of 1T
all the while. You may have forgotten that
at one time she had 10000 men in The army
out of voting population OF g, O00.; aud
she actually gave more lives to the Union,
in proportion to the number OF troops en-
gagged, than any other S;ate.o -. =
These were indeed striking figures, we
readily agreed; and sought, Witt the best
intentions IN the world, to win the young
man waiting for his sweetheart to an inter-
ested notice OF them. But efforts were pro-
yokIngy futile. He was not looking for
laud. Hebad q home-in Kansas, too. He
was telling the pale little lady In black al
paca, who sat near him, all about IT. now
he had preempted it tive years before, ara
paid for it with two years. crops, and bHiit
a snug house OF three rooms and ga beauty
OF butlery y; and bow the front yard wss
sotded and -eYergreens put out. and Wis
terias planted by the south porch. He was
ceiling her, also, OF the young woman whe
was to be queen OF all this, and who was
coming that morning to Claim her crown, il
she hadn't got left, or the cars didn't run
of the track, or something else didn't hap
pen TO her.
IS sc Navha Won SAW her NJ 81 Tc,,;s P,s