Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-04-04

lev. / had reached il by a long and
tiresome stage road which passed from
a little railway station. down by the
river, up through narrow riffs in the
hills. and across rocky and rugged
heights. II was q poor region, in
which limestone rocks often appeared
at the surface. The fields were small,
and almost covered with powders; the
infrequent houses were tumbling, I'M
painted; the fences were OF rotting
wooden rails, or of piled up stones;
II was a wretched, sterile, forbidding
scene. Some dwarfed sumachs, with
their scant verdure yellowed by frosts,
ratified theirthin branches in the au-
tumn wind. Stunted hemlocks, with
dead tops, stood like half clad skele-
tons among the crevices Of dark, bald
rocks. Nowhere was there anything
cheerful, inspiriting or suggestive of
promise. Had it not been for the
thought hat this inhospitable place
was the home of Miriam | shouldhave
turned about and returned to civiliza-
ton.
/ found the residence of one Of the
trustees, and was informed that | was
to ''board around" that is, TO remain
a week at each of the homes Of the pa
irons of the school. The prospects of
this method Of living, in view of the
nature of the country, n | had seen
it, were not in the least promising.
The trustee whom | met informed me
that / might commence my term by
spending the first week with him.
How are the Douglasesl' / asked.
'They are well, l believe. We do
not see much of them. You know, !
suppose, that it was through Mr..
Douglas that we heard of your
Il suspected as much. | had a
slight acquaintance with his daughter
when she was away TO the seminary.
How far does he live from heret"
Its about six miles. It's about the
last house you will visit in your board
ing round.
The school was opened the next day.
1t forms no part of the purpose of this
narration 10 relate any details of my
school experience. i sent a note to
Miriam announcing my arrival in the
neighborhood, and my intentions TO
call on her the next Saturday. The
note was carried by aboy who / found
lived in the neighborhood of the
Douglas farm. A couple of days later
/ received an answer from Miriam in
which she expressed pleasure at my
arrival and the hope that | would visit
them ON the day named.
The following Saturday was the odd
N on which there was no session OF
the school, and on the morning of
that day | secured information as to
the location of the Douglas farm, and
started for it on foot. II was a
wretched country over which / passed.
The roads were buried in snow, the
fences were eifaced, great drifts barred
my way, and a savage north wind
steadily beat against me. the sky was
leaden and sullen, the roar of the gale
through the l~eatless branches was
filed with suggestions ominous of evil.
Struggling through some woods, j
reached the further side, and saw be-
fore me a vast stretch of rolling land,
near the center of which was a farm
house with its barns and outbuild-
ings. 1t was a wooden house painted
white, of two stories, and was by far
the most pretentious residence of the
hill region. In the white level of the
snowy plain, with nothing to interrupt
the monotony, it was cold and ghost
like.
In response TO my knock the door
opened and Miriam herself appeared.
Her dark face flushed and then paled
as she saw me. She extended both her
hands, seized mine and shook them
with heartiness.
'1Oh, it is you'll Come inl Tn very
glad TO see your
As ] entered / placed my arm about
her shoulder and drew her near me
She resisted a little, and then swayed
toward me with a sweet, yielding
grace. / touched her forehead with a
light kiss, and then we went in.
The interior of the house afforded
evidences Of prosperity. There were a
piano, some pictures of the better class,
and various other evidences of cultiva-
ton and wealth. As | had learned
Farmer Douglas was the possessor of
great wealth, much Of which had
come TO him by inheritance. lie was
a mano of about half n century, slender.
slightly STOPPING, thin locks, with a
careworn face.
At the table there appeared Mr..
Douglas, Miriam and a young bro
ther.
us Mrs. Douglas illf" ! asked.
My mother is" responded Miriam,
with hesitation and marked confusion.
MY mother isA-
Pardon me; ] did not know. l am
very awkward. Don't say any more,
A dead silence followed, and a per
ceptible feeling Of restraint and en-
barrassment fell ON the family. After
the supper we all went into the par
lor, where, after a while, Miriam and
myself we're left alone.
recall that evening with profound
regret. We were both hesitating.
reticent and timid at the outset. Nj
ram had changed but little. She was
charming as when l had known her
at the seminary; il there were any diff.
ference 1t was that the habitual sad
ness Of her face and the somber melan-
choly of her splendid eyes had grown
more intense. IL could not be a lack of
I..1sI. e. - IL 4