He then went out. The lady introduced herself as Mrs. Hall, of Washington, D. C. She had been South during the war; her husband was in Washington, and she had not been able to hear from him, and "would I be kind enough to deliver a letter to him?" "Certainly." I was willing to help her in any way possible. We conversed a short time on ordinary topics. "Do you know Colonel Dent?" "No, I have never heard of such a person." "Why, he is General Grant's brother-in-law, and is confined in this jail." "Well, that is news to me. No one ever knew of his being here." "It is a fact. He is confined on the top floor with the criminals, and I see him very often. He gave me a number of letters which he wishes taken to General Grant. Will you take them?" "Yes, provided you answer a few questions. How did you know my name?" "Through a lady who knew you while you were in the hospital." "Why do you select me to carry letters for a man about whom I know nothing?" "Because you were recommended to me." "Very well, I will take them, provided I am allowed to know their contents. It seems strange to me that Colonel Dent should be confined in this jail as a criminal and not one of us Yankee prisoners know anything about it." She assured me that he was Grant's brother-in-law, and had been arrested for some transaction about a plantation near New Orleans. There were several letters in the package, a petition to the Governor of Wisconsin, and a long letter written in short-hand. "He was a good Democrat, a loyal citizen.--See that my land in Wisconsin is not sold for non-payment of taxes," are some of the extracts. The others related to family affairs. The short-hand notes I could not read. What the petition was for I have forgotten. Mrs. Hall then presented me with a finely embroidered silk tobacco-pouch. Thanking me for my kindness, she bade me good-bye. When, afterward, I thought the affair over, I came to the conclusion that the letters were only a subterfuge to draw my suspicions from the short-hand notes. Not a word had been said in the letters about the cause of his arrest or about his being confined as a criminal. As I had promised to deliver the packet, I concluded to take the risk of getting myself in trouble with the Confederate authorities. They had a habit of searching the prisoners before crossing the line.[E]