Mr. S. was an old resident of Alexandria, and for several years before the war had been keeping an agricultural and hardware store in that city. He was regarded by his neighbors as a highly honorable merchant, and being a man of considerable means, had always met his payments promptly. He was a Virginian by birth, and when the contest began between the North and the South, promptly took sides with the South. Indeed, he had advocated secession so strongly and so loudly that he feared he would be arrested for disloyalty if he remained in Alexandria, so, when the Union troops were about coming in and the Confederate troops about going out, he retired with them. He did this, however, so unexpectedly, and in so much of a hurry, that he had no time to make a formal sale and transfer of his stock of goods to any one; but, on the morning that he left, he handed the key of his store to a neighbor and told him to look after his affairs until he returned, or until he could make some other arrangement. The neighbor did as requested, kept the store open, sold whatever he could for ready cash, and transmitted the money to Mr. S. whenever he had opportunity. Thus matters were going on when a Philadelphia merchant, to whom Mr. S. was indebted, went to Alexandria to look after his claim. He had written several letters, addressed to Mr. S., Alexandria, Va., but could get no reply, and began to suspect that he might have left the city, though he had no positive information to that effect until he reached there. He inquired of the man whom he found in the store of the whereabouts of Mr. S., and was told that he had left, on the coming in of the Union troops; but where he had gone, or exactly where he then was, the man in the store pretended not to know. The Philadelphian said he had a claim, past due, of several hundred dollars, against Mr. S., and would like to have it settled in some way. The agent replied that he had not been authorized by Mr. S. to pay any debts, and, besides that, the Confederate Congress had passed a law requiring all men who owed debts to Northern merchants to pay the amount into the Confederate treasury, and it was possible that Mr. S. might have already paid off the claim by paying it into the Southern treasury.