the unmarried ladies present.

Mr. Meeker took all this in good part. The truth is, he regarded it as a
very innocent whim, which required to be indulged in his wife's delicate
situation; so he always joined in her hopeful anticipations, and
endeavored to sympathize with them. It was under these auspicious
circumstances that Hiram Meeker first saw the light. All his mother's
prayers seemed to have been answered. The boy, from the earliest
manifestation of intelligence, exhibited traits which could belong only
to her. As he advanced into childhood, these became more and more
apparent. He had none of the openness of disposition which was possessed
by the other children. He gave much less trouble about the house than
they ever did, and was more easily managed than they had been at his
age. It must not be inferred that because he was his mother's favorite,
he received any special indulgence, or was not subject to every proper
discipline. Indeed, the discipline was more severe, the moral teachings
more unremitting, the practical lessons more frequent than with any of
the rest. But there could not exist a more tractable child than Hiram.
He was apparently made for special training, he took to it so readily,
as if appreciating results and anxious to arrive at them. When he was
six years old, it was astonishing what a number of Bible-verses and
Sunday-school hymns he had committed to memory, and how much the child
_knew_. He was especially familiar with the uses of money. He knew the
value of a dollar, and what could be purchased with it. So of half a
dollar, a quarter, ten cents, and five cents. He had already established
for himself a little savings bank, in which were placed the small sums
which were occasionally presented to him. He could tell the cost of each
of his playthings respectively, and, indeed, of every article about the
house; he learned the price of tea, sugar, coffee, and molasses. This
information, to be sure, formed a part of his mother's course of
instruction; but it was strange how he took to it. Systematically and
unceasingly, she pursued it. Oh! how she rejoiced in her youngest child.
How she thanked God for answering her prayers. I had forgotten to state
that there was considerable difficulty in deciding what name to give the
boy. Mrs. Meeker had an uncle, a worthy minister, by the name of
Nathaniel. Mr. Meeker suggested that the new-comer be called after him.
His wife did not like to object; but she thou