was. He became my fast friend and helped me to make very many valuable acquaintances. Father Shepherd was the father-in-law of Delizon Smith, and a leader of the faction known as the "Young Democrats" of that county.

Early in the spring of 1853 I received a letter from my then intended wife, suggesting that my success in business she thought gave sufficient promise for the future, and that it was not necessary for us to wait longer. Accordingly I got together one hundred dollars in money, made a trip around the river to Louisville, Kentucky, and thence via rail to Lexington for the purpose of realizing something of the deferred hope. We were married on the 15th of April of that year, my father in the meantime having removed from Millersburg to Winchester, Kentucky. I made him a visit in company with my bride and had the pleasure of meeting there my sister Susan and her husband, William Vimont, your mother's father and mother. Before going to Kentucky and claiming my bride I purchased from the Reverend Daniel Lane a house and two lots in Keosauqua at the price of three hundred and fifty dollars, and borrowed fifty dollars from Thomas Devon to make the first payment. I had also attended several auction sales and bought some chairs and tables, a cook stove and a few dishes. My wife's mother had packed a feather bed, some pillows and bed clothes, and quilts of the old style in a store box, and we returned to Iowa the latter part of April, 1853. The expense of my trip and marriage left me only two dollars of the one hundred dollars I had when I started for my bride. We arrived in Keosauqua on Sunday in a slight April shower. On Monday we proceeded to the house I had purchased, which was in need of repair. We whitewashed the walls and my wife washed the windows. The next day we made a bill of about forty dollars at the store for additional house-keeping facilities. I bought a sack of flour and a ham of meat, and on Tuesday evening we took tea at home. It was the first home I had had (in the proper sense of the term) since we left Maryland, and when we sat down at our own table to drink our cup of tea and eat the new made biscuit baked by my own wife, I could not repress the tears that came to my eyes, and I thanked God for the mercy that he had bestowed upon us.

In the fall of 1853 I made a trip west through the southern tier of counties, attending the courts at Davis, Appanoose, Wayne, and Decatur counties. I made the trip on horseback with a pair of saddle-bags that contained my necessary baggage.

From Bloomfield I was accompanied by several attorneys of that bar, and at Centerville two or three additional lawyers joined our party. The counties west of Centerville were very sparsely settled and the road consisted merely of two paths worn by the horses and wagon wheels on the prairie grass. In Wayne county we applied at one settler's house for accommodations for the night, but the housewife informed us that her husband was away from home, had gone to mill, and that she had nothing in the house to eat save a little bacon. She said if we would remain she would entertain us with such accommodations as the place afforded. The corn was hardly yet ripe enough to feed our horses, but she told us if we would select the ripest and use some salt in feeding we were welcome to do so. We also, at her request, plucked some of the softer ears of the corn, and these she grated upon a large tin grater, and frying some of the bacon in her skillet she made cakes of the grated corn and fried them in the fat. She also gave us a cup of good coffee, and with the appetites we had acquired in our day's travel we made a very hearty and palatable meal.

When bedtime came she made some kind of a bed upon the floor. The next morning we had a breakfast of the same corn and bacon and coffee. The lady made a very reasonable charge for our entertainment, and she had no reason to doubt the sincerity of our compliments upon our fare, as the avidity with which we had eaten what she had supplied gave full evidence that we had appreciated our entertainment. The next morning we rode into Corydon, the county seat of Wayne county. The only hotel in the place was a small one and one-half story frame house, with a shed addition for kitchen and dining hall.

Our bed room was the upstairs, and our beds were in two rows, with our heads under the eaves and our feet touching each other in the center of the room. We had no separate apartment or separate beds, our wearing apparel furnishing the pillows.

The court was held in a frame school house on the public square. The boundaries of the public square were ascertained by a lot of wooden stakes or pegs. There was no general store in the place for the sale of goods. An enterprising peddler with two large peddling wagons came through with us from Centerville and erected a large tent in the center of the square for the display and sale of his goods, and whenever the court was not in actual session his store was opened for business.

Judge Townsend, of Monroe county, was the judge of the court.

From Wayne county we went to Decatur, the peddler also keeping us company with his itinerant dry goods establishment. During this trip I made the acquaintance of very many young men who afterwards became distinguished as lawyers, legislators, and judges. The only lawsuit in which I was consulted was a slander case tried in Wayne county. The suit was brought in behalf of a young woman for damages because of words spoken against her reputation by the defendant. Amos Harris, a lawyer from Centerville, was engaged as attorney for the defendant. When the case was about to be called for trial Harris expressed his wish to have my advice in regard to the course to be pursued, and at his request I retired with him to the shady side of the school house for consultation. He told me that his client was a man of some property and that the plaintiff had some witnesses who would testify clearly and positively to the slanderous words spoken by the defendant of and concerning the young lady. He said his client really had not injured the reputation of the young woman at all because nobody believed any thing that he said as he had a very bad reputation for veracity. He said they could make no defense whatever, as the girl's character was good, and he was afraid of a large verdict for damages against his client, and asked me if I could think of any way that he could help his client out of the difficulty. I asked him if he could prove that nobody believed what his client said on account of his bad character. He said yes, there were plenty of persons that would testify to that, but he could not see how that was any defense. I told him it was no defense against the slander, but it might be proved with advantage in mitigation of damages, provided his client would be willing that he should undertake to do so. He called his client out and explained to him the situation as I had advised, and asked him if he was willing to save his money at the expense of his reputation. The fellow winced, but finally consented that Harris might make the proof. I suggested that as the plaintiff's witnesses were all friendly to the young lady Harris might on cross-examination prove by them that they did not at the time or ever believe the slander that the defendant had uttered against the plaintiff, and that they had never repeated it to anyone except accompanied by their statement of their belief that it was all false, and Harris introduced several other witnesses to prove the bad reputation of his client for truth and veracity. The plaintiff's attorneys objected and the court first hesitated to allow the witnesses to so testify, but upon the suggestion that it was the best thing for the plaintiff's reputation, and that as nearly the whole population of the county was there upon attendance of the court, it was better to clear up her reputation by this testimony than to give her money to heal her wounded feelings, the court finally took this view of the case and permitted the evidence to go to the jury in mitigation of damages. The jury found a