hose minds I am to cast the light of
education."

He ceased writing, and, looking at his cane, he said to himself, "Ye
are scattered to the four winds of heaven, ye friends of my youth, and
your names alone are left me; but I lean upon the memory of your names
in crossing the threshold of my new existence. I commit my greetings to
the spring: may the birds of the air convey it to your ears and refresh
your hearts!"

He rose and walked briskly to the village.

It is not necessary to say that it was the new schoolmaster whose
acquaintance we have just made. He asked for the squire, and was
directed to Buchmaier's house.

Buchmaier and his numerous household were at dinner when the stranger
entered. With a hearty welcome, he was invited to take a seat at the
table, but politely declined.

"Oh, pshaw!" said Buchmaier, who had resumed his seat and his
masticatory operations without delay: "move up a little, you. Quick,
Agnes! get a plate. Sit down, Mr. Teacher. We don't do like the Horb
folks: they always say, 'If you'd only come sooner.' Whoever comes
into our houses at dinnertime must help us. You'll be too late for
dinner where you're going; and we're just sitting down. You must take
pot-luck, you see. It's a regular Black Forest dinner,--little fried
dumplings and dried apples, boiled."

Agnes had brought a plate; and the teacher, to avoid giving offence,
took his seat at the table.

"My Agnes here," said Buchmaier, after heaping his plate, "you'll have
in Sunday-school."

"Oh, you won't have much more to learn," said the teacher, by way of
saying something. The girl's eyes were fixed bashfully on her plate.

"Why, Agnes, why don't you talk? You generally carry your tongue about
you. Do you know every thing?"

"Wall, I kin sheow a fist at readin' good enough, but the writin' won't
gee no more, noheow, a body gits sich nation hard fingers workin' all
the week."

We have attempted to reproduce Agnes' speech in the broadest Yankee
brogue; but it is entirely insufficient to give the reader an adequate
idea of the effect produced upon our hero's mind by the guttural
consonants and parti-colored vowels of the original. All the beauty of
the lips disappeared from his view when he heard what issued from them.

After the closing grace, one of the hands, who had been sitting near
Buchmaier at the table, placed himself before him and said, pocketing
the knife with which he had eaten, "'Guess I'll go out alone with t