Year: 1871




In the year 1861, young man, thcl
living few miles from this city, wen
into the Missouri State Guard as sol
dier. At Springfield and on tie re-or
ganization of this branch Of the army
he took service as o Confederat = At
terwards he joined comp y il
Colonel Up. Hays regimen anC
participated in the battle OF Lon,
Jack.


Before leaving home, howey.r, T., hi
mother gave him an old fashioned ring
which had heart upon it, and the let
| ters " r. S." engraved upon this heart
She placed it on her sons hand with
wish, or, rather, a prayer, that he nigh
go through the war safely, and get safe
ly back to his home again.


| 1t is not known that either the ring
or the prayer acted as a charm, but the
young man went unframed through
many bloody fights, being hit in but
one of them. the wound then proving
to be only mere scratch.


In 1864 the young man was very sick
of fever at Clarksville, Texas Dur
ing the delirium attendant upon it, and
| while he was tossing to and fro the
ring slipped from his finger and was
lost. The closest search failed to find
it, and it was given up for good. There
waited upon the young man, however, a
very pretty and amiable girl, who seem
ed to be sorry when he got well enough
to rejoin his command. When he left
he laughingly told her that if she would
find his ring, and he lived, he would
come back and marry her. If this
promise was made at first with any de-
gree of sincerity, it was soon forgotten
in the excitement and care of sol
dier's life, and only at rare intervals,
perhaps, did he recall the sick room
and ministering angel.


When the war was over, the young
man returned to his fathers farm in
Jackson county, and went to work in
good earnest. Two years ago his mother
died, and once more the loss of the
ring came back to him with redoubled
sorrow He determined to write to the
lady who had nursed him, and to in
quire of her whether she was married
or not, and whether size had ever seen
or heard anything of the present his
mother had made him.


The letter was written in August
1869, and, in March, 1870, what was his
surprise to receive an answer from the
identical girl he had left in 1864, and to
whom he made light promise of mar
riage. She was still single, she said,
and waiting for him. And what was
stranger still, only five days before she
wrote she had found the lost ring. The
manner of finding it was as follows {:
The father of the young lady deter
mined to make some repairs in his
house, which repairs necessitated the
taking up of the floor of the room in
which the soldier had been sick. After
doing this, and while digging after some
rubbish beneath, the workmen came
upon the ring. 1t had slipped through
crack in the floor, and had been lying
long years. The lady took possession of
it at once, and wrote Immediately to
the owner, as we have stated above.
Perhaps she looked upon its recovery
as an omen, and perhaps it was.
At any rate. it was n little ro-
mantle with all its attending circum.
stances.


The correspondence thus commenced,
or rather renewed. was continued with
an ever increasing ardor on the part of
the gentleman, until in the end he
made new and impetuous offer Of
marriage. Without tnat the story
would be incomplete. Last week, with
money in mis- pocket, good home i'll
jackson county, and great happiness
in his heart, this young soldier, now
somewhat older and more settled and
sedate, started for Oarksville, Texas,
the home of his betrothed. Who can
doubt of the result? He will remain
there probably month, and return
again to Missouri with his bride.
When he does we promise to give his
name.