MR. X-----.
It was past ten in the evening when I left Judge Conway. But I felt no
disposition to retire; and determined to pay a visit to a singular
character of my acquaintance.
The name of this gentleman was Mr. X-----.
Looking back now to the days spent in Richmond, in that curious summer
of '64, I recall, among the representative personages whom I
encountered, no individual more remarkable than the Honorable Mr.
X-----. You are acquainted with him, my dear reader, either personally
or by reputation, for he was a prominent official of the Confederate
Government, and, before the war, had been famous in the councils of
"the nation."
He resided at this time in a small house, on a street near the capitol.
You gained access to his apartment after night--if you knew the way--by
a winding path, through shrubbery, to the back door of the mansion.
When you entered, you found yourself in presence of a tall, powerful,
gray-haired and very courteous personage, who sat in a huge arm-chair,
near a table littered with papers, and smoked, meditatively, a cigar,
the flavor of which indicated its excellent quality.
I enjoyed the intimacy of Mr. X----- in spite of the difference of our
ages and positions. He had been the friend of my father, and, in my
turn, did me the honor to bestow his friendship upon me.
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