d Walter Middleton, who was a medical
student, left them to attend the autumn and winter course of lectures in
Baltimore. Ishmael felt the loss of his society very much; but as usual
consoled himself by hard work through all the autumn months.

He heard from Judge Merlin and his daughter through their letters to the
Middletons. They were again in Annapolis, where Miss Merlin was passing
her last term at the finishing school, but they were to go to Washington
at the meeting of Congress in December.

As the month of November drew to a close Ishmael began to compute the
labors, progress, and profits of the year. He found that he had brought
his school into fine working order; he had brought his pupils on well;
he had made Reuben Gray a very good reader, penman, arithmetician, and
bookkeeper; and lastly, he had advanced himself very far in his chosen
professional studies. But he had made but little money, and saved less
than a hundred dollars. This was not enough to support him, even by the
severest economy, at any law school. Something else, he felt, must be
done for the next year, by which more money might be made. So after
reflecting upon the subject for some time, he wrote out two
advertisements--one for a teacher, competent to take charge of a small
country school, and the other for a situation as bookkeeper, clerk, or
amanuensis. In the course of a week the first advertisement was answered
by a Methodist preacher living in the same neighborhood, who proposed to
augment the small salary he received for preaching on Sundays, by
teaching a day school all the week. Ishmael had an interview with this
gentleman, and finding him all that could be desired in a clergyman and
country schoolmaster, willingly engaged to relinquish his own post in
favor of the new candidate on the first of the coming year.

His second advertisement was not yet answered; but Ishmael kept it on
and anxiously awaited the result.

At length his perseverance was crowned with a success greater than he
could have anticipated. It was about the middle of December, a few days
before the breaking up of his school for the Christmas holidays, that he
called at the Shelton post office to ask if there were any letters for
"X.Y.Z.," those being the initials he had signed to his second
advertisement. A letter was handed him; at last, then, it had come!
Without scrutinizing the handwriting or the superscription, Ishmael tore
it open and read:

"Washington, Dec