UT

So occupied were our minds with the Fair and its incidents, that not one
of us had thought to go or send to the post office during that entire
week. We had even passed near it, without thinking to call.

But on Sunday morning the Old Squire suddenly bethought himself of his
religious newspaper, _The Independent_, which he commonly read for an
hour after breakfast. He called me aside and, after remarking that he
did not make a practice of going, or sending, to the post office on the
Sabbath, said that I might make a trip to the Corners and bring home the
mail. As the post office was at the residence of the postmaster, letters
and papers could be taken from the office on any day or hour of the
week.

I went to the Corners, accordingly, and at the door of the post office
met Catherine Edwards who had also come there on a similar errand.

She looked very bright and smart that morning and laughed when she saw
me.

"Your folks forgot the mail, too," said she. "Father told me to go down
across the meadow, so that the Old Squire's folks needn't see me, going
to the post office; for you know father stands in great awe of your
grandpa's opinions. I shall tell him when I get home that he needn't
have been so cautious."

Kate did not hasten away; and I summoned courage to say, "Please wait
for me," although it cost me a great effort.

"All right," she replied. "I'll go on slow."

The postmaster had again to look up his glasses and was, I thought, a
long while peering at the letters and papers. At length he handed out my
package and I hurried away. Kate had not proceeded very far, however,
and I soon overtook her. But she was obliged to take the lead in
conversation.

"Our school doesn't begin this winter till after Thanksgiving," she
remarked. "Have your folks heard who the schoolmaster is going to be?"

We had not.

"Well then, it is a young man, named Samuel Lurvy," said Kate. "He lives
at Lurvy's Mills; and they say that his father, who owns the mills, has
sent him for three terms to the Academy. Mr. Batchelder is our district
school agent, you know; and his wife is a relative of the Lurvys; that's
the reason, father says, that he came to hire Sam. Our folks are a
little surprised and so are the Wilburs; for this Sam isn't more than
nineteen or twenty years old; and mother says that she doesn't believe
that he can be a very good scholar, for his parents are very ignorant.

"I was in hopes that they would hav