The letter of acceptance of each of the candidates gives to some extent the policy of the administration that is advocated by them. There are some wrongs to remedy and some new measures to adjust and policies to inaugurate. In the meantime the people are looking with eager eyes at the contest and are anxious to know the final result in November as to which party will be successful and the kind of government that will rule them after, the 4th of March, 1913.

An interesting history of by-gone days was that of the old James River and Kanawha Canal, which was in its day a very important means of transportation to all points situated in the valley of the James above Richmond to the westward. The State of Virginia, which built and owned it at the beginning of the war, sold it to the Richmond and Alleghany Railroad Company, which constructed a railroad on its bank known as the Richmond and and Alleghany Railroad. This road finally fell to the control of the Chesapeake and Ohio Company by purchase of its stock and bonds, and thus the use of that fine work as a means of transport became a thing of the past—too slow for the age of steam and electricity.

A striking feature of Richmond during the war were the levees or social receptions held at the Governor’s Mansion every Thursday night. They were largely attended by the citizens as well as by the soldiers that were passing through the city, affording a pleasant opportunity to the boys in grey to and from the front, to meet the fair ladies of the Confederacy, who lent their charming presence and society for the enjoyment of the officers and men, affording a very delightful recreation and change from the hardships and many privations of field duty.

Colonel William Smith, nick-named Extra Billy while in Congress, was one of the bravest and most popular officers in the Army of Northern Virginia. His regiment had won distinction on many fields of battle. An election was held in the army and every man in all the Virginia regiments voted for him to be the Governor of Virginia, and it proved a wise selection, for his intense devotion to the cause of the Confederacy, as well as his conspicuous gallantry, endeared him to every one who wore the gray. Very well do I recall the occasion when the guests at the Mansion passed in review and gave him the compliments of the evening. His genial manners to all will long be remembered.

Doctor Hunter McGuire, the medical director of Stonewall Jackson’s corps, by his sympathetic manner and great skill as a surgeon, saved many a poor Confederate’s life and also soothed his suffering body when tortured by wounds received in battle. He was the physician who attended his mortally wounded chief, after he was stricken down at Chancellorsville, by the accidental fire of his own men. All that could be done, he did to save his valuable life, but all was in vain, as pneumonia set in and the great soldier passed away, to the deepest sorrow and grief of the whole South. Doctor McGuire, after the war, settled in Richmond and established a very large and lucrative practice, gaining a national reputation as an eminent surgeon, his operations in the line of surgery being quoted all over the country for their skillful application of the principles of that great art.

Doctor McGuire’s great, tender heart was always open to the needs of the Confederate soldier, or to the aid of the “Lost Cause” in keeping alive in the memories the glories of those who fell in defense of their homes and families. His memory is still revered by the old and the young for his many noble traits of character and his deeds as a citizen and physician.

A man by the name of Robert Jennings was a sergeant in the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, and when his regiment was passing through the county of Matthews, during the war, he was so much pleased with the surroundings that he said if he came out of the conflict unharmed, he would buy a farm there, and as he was fortunate enough to survive, both sound and well, and being the possessor of a snug sum of ready money, he carried out his intentions by purchasing a nice home and launched out in the very laudable occupation of tilling the soil. “Colonel Bob,” as he was called, being of a genial nature, attended court at the county seat every court day, his object in so doing was to become well acquainted with the citizens, and being a man of means and of a liberal disposition, he treated, or “set up” drinks and cigars to the people very freely. He began by ordering the best to be had, such as fifteen-cent drinks in thin glasses and Henry Clay regalia cigars, and consequently became exceedingly popular, indeed was one of the most popular men in Matthews county, on account of his liberality and frequent attendance on court day. His farm and affairs were neglected, which compelled him to mortgage his property and was thus reduced to the necessity of ordering ten-cent drinks and cheaper cigars. So they, from calling him “Colonel,” changed his title to “Major Bob,” and as he still neglected his farm and its management, and was again forced by lack of money to put a second deed of trust on his farm, he was now reduced to the rank of “Captain Bob.” He then reduced the cost of his drinks down to “shorts,” or five-cent drams, and stogies for smokes. Well, finally things went from bad to worse, and Captain Bob had to place a third deed or mortgage on his place, and then it went into the hands of the trustee and was advertised for sale. A man from Minnesota came and said that he liked the place and also liked the people, as they were in general simple-minded, honest folks, he would send his son down in the winter and he would come in the summer.

“Bob,” for they now only called him plain “Bob,” overheard the man say “a simple-minded people,” remarked: “Well, that is what I thought a few years ago, when I first came down here, with about seventy-five thousand dollars, and now I haven’t got money enough left to pay my steamboat fare to the city of Norfolk”; and whatever afterwards became of Mr. Robert Jennings I do not know.