Nevada County picayune., 1889-06-26

get home?' l asked
 Yes; and you will answer, won't you?"
 'WelI, 1 must 90 God bless you" Her head dropped little forward, her lips came close to mine : kissed them and went away.
 We exchanged letters with rcgu- larity and at short intervals. Her letters were restrained in tone. and often at variance with the situation. She wrote of books her occupation. the gossip of her friends. She seemed to bc uervously apprehcnsve that she might touch the theme of the passions; she carefully avoided any alIusions to our parting.
 It was in the spring when she went home, and in September following received q letter from the school trustees of the town in which Miriam lived asking me to teach their winter school. They gave the number of pupils, the amount of the compensa- tion. and closed with the hope that would be able to accept the proposi- ton. As 1 had been school teaching for several winters, III order to secure ! funds for collegiate education, and the offer of the trustees was an eX- ccptionally good one. l at once wrote my acceptance.
 The last day of November found me in the town where the school was 1 located. The region was in the high uplands that border the Mohawk val ! ley. l had reached it by a long and tiresomc stage road which passed from a little railway station down by the river. up through narrow ritts in the hills, and across rocky and rug ged heights. It was a poor region, in which limestone rocks often ap- peared at the surface. The fields were small, and almost covered with howldcrS the infrequent houses were tnmbliu-, unpainted; the fences were of rotting wooden rails, or of piled up stones.
 It was wretched, sterile. forbid ding scene. Some dwarfed sumachs, with their scant verdure yellOwed by frOsts. rattled their thin branches in the autumn wind. Stunted hemlOcks, with dead tops, stood like half-clad skeletons among the crcvices of dark, bald rocks. Nowhere was there any thing cheerful, inspiriting or sugges- tive of promise. Had it not been for the thought that this inhospitablc place was the home of Miriam l should have turned back and re- turned to civilization.
 l found the residence of one of the trustees, and was informed that 1 was to board around. /" that is, to remain week at each of the homes of the patrons of the school, The prospects ot this method of living, In view of the nature of the country, as l had seen it, were not in the least promising. The trustee whom l met informed me that l might commence my term ny spending the first week with him.
 "How are the DougIases?" 1 asked,
 "They are we'll, believe, We do not see much of them You know, l suppose, that it was through Mir. Douglas that we heard of you?"
 II suspected as much. l had a slight acquaintance with his daughter when she was away to the seminary. How far does he live from here:'
 It's about six miles. It's about the last house you will visit in your boarding round. "
 The school was opened the next day, It forms no part of the purpose of this narration to relate any details of my school experience, l sent q note to Miriam announcing my arrival In the nelghborhood, and my ! intentions to call on her the next Saturday. The note was carried by a boy who found lived in the ncighborhood of the Douglas farm. A couple of days later l received an answer from Miriam m which she expressed pleasure at my arrival and the hope that l would visit them on the day named.
 The following saturday was the odd one on which there was no session of the school, and on the morning of that day l secured information as to the location of the Douglas farm and started for il on foot. was . vretchcd country over which l passed. The roads were buried m snow, the