man
of the house to delicately retire to the barn while we women got to bed,
and to disappear again in the morning while we dressed. In some places
the meals were so badly cooked that I could not eat them, and often the
only food my poor little pupils brought to school for their noonday meal
was a piece of bread or a bit of raw pork.

I earned my two dollars a week that year, but I had to wait for my wages
until the dog tax was collected in the spring. When the money was thus
raised, and the twenty-six dollars for my thirteen weeks of teaching
were graciously put into my hands, I went "outside" to the nearest shop
and joyously spent almost the entire amount for my first "party dress."
The gown I bought was, I considered, a beautiful creation. In color it
was a rich magenta, and the skirt was elaborately braided with black
cable-cord. My admiration for it was justified, for it did all a young
girl's eager heart could ask of any gown--it led to my first proposal.

The youth who sought my hand was about twenty years old, and by an
unhappy chance he was also the least attractive young person in the
countryside--the laughing-stock of the neighbors, the butt of his
associates. The night he came to offer me his heart there were already
two young men at our home calling on my sisters, and we were all sitting
around the fire in the living-room when my suitor appeared. His costume,
like himself, left much to be desired. He wore a blue flannel shirt and
a pair of trousers made of flour-bags. Such trousers were not uncommon
in our region, and the boy's mother, who had made them for him, had
thoughtfully selected a nice clean pair of sacks. But on one leg was
the name of the firm that made the flour--A. and G. W. Green--and by a
charming coincidence A. and G. W. Green happened to be the two young men
who were calling on my sisters! On the back of the bags, directly in the
rear of the wearer, was the simple legend, "96 pounds"; and the striking
effect of the young man's costume was completed by a bright yellow sash
which held his trousers in place.

The vision fascinated my sisters and their two guests. They gave
it their entire attention, and when the new-comer signified with an
eloquent gesture that he was calling on me, and beckoned me into an
inner room, the quartet arose as one person and followed us to the door.
Then, as we inhospitably closed the door, they fastened their eyes to
the cracks in the living-room wall, that the