n. If our Lord God wishes to take me away He will
always know where to find me. Isn't it so?"

Ivo nodded; and Maria, taking from her pocket a paper which was very
carefully wrapped up, went on:--"See, here's the last letter: how kind
it would be of you to come in and read it to me once more! The
schoolmaster is tired of it, and the Jew schoolmaster has read it three
or four times too. There's a word in it that neither of 'em can make
out: you can, though, I'm sure; for you've got learning."

Ivo went into the house with her, the other women following, first with
hesitation and then with an air of great firmness and resolution. All
sat down, prepared to listen attentively. Many of the gawk's old
friends will be pleased to hear his letter also:--

"NORDSTETTEN ON THE OHIO, AMERICA,
October 18, 18**.

"DEAR MOTHER:--As you don't know how I'm getting along, I will write
you all about it. At first I never wrote to you what a hard time I had
of it; but now, with God's help, that's all passed and gone. I always
thought, 'What's the use of making poor mammy fret about it? she
couldn't do any good, anyhow;' so I swallowed it all down, and worked
hard and tried to whistle."

Ivo paused a moment. He seemed to be drawing a lesson for his own
guidance from what he was reading. He continued:--

"Now things are all put to rights; and it isn't a trifle, either, to
build yourself a house, and clear all your fields and turn them over
for the first time, and no help or counsel nowhere from a living soul:
but now it looks nicer here than at Buchmaier's. Our arms and legs get
stiff now and then; but we're all in good health, and that's the best
of it. Many of our countrymen are here, and worse off than at home, and
have to work at the canals and railroads. There's lots of swindlers
here, that tell you all sorts of stories when you first come into the
country, until you've spent the last cent in your pocket, and then
they're nowhere. There are great hypocrites here as well as there: the
voyage cleans, out their stomachs, but their souls are as dirty as
ever. But the steamboat-man in Mayence gave us a good introduction to a
society of fine men,--all Germans,--who tell you where it's best to go
and what's best to be done: so none of us were ruined. I want you to
tell all those that talk of coming over not to trust anybody but that
man and that introduction. At firs