mind, I first inquired how such a
union would affect my father, and learning that it would be in direct
opposition to his views, cast about in my mind what I should do to
overcome my passion. Travel suggested itself, and I took a trip to
Europe. But the sight of new faces only awakened in me comparisons
anything but detrimental to the beauty of her who was at that time my
standard of feminine loveliness. Nature and the sports connected with a
wild life were my next resort. I went overland to California, roamed the
orange groves of Florida, and probed the wildernesses of Canada and
our Northern states. It was during these last excursions that an event
occurred which has exercised the most material influence upon my fate,
though at the time it seemed to me no more than the matter of a day.

"I had just returned from Canada and was resting in tolerable enjoyment
of a very beautiful autumn at Lake George, when a letter reached me
from a friend then loitering in the vicinity, urging me to join him in
a certain small town in Vermont where trout streams abounded and what is
not so often the case under the circumstances, fishers were few.

"Being in a somewhat reckless mood I at once wrote a consent, and before
another day was over, started for the remote village whence his letter
was postmarked. I found it by no means easy of access. Situated in the
midst of hills some twenty miles or so distant from any railroad, I
discovered that in order to reach it, a long ride in a stage-coach was
necessary, followed by a somewhat shorter journey on horseback. Not
being acquainted with the route, I timed my connections wrong, so that
when evening came I found myself riding over a strange road in the
darkest night I had ever known. As if this was not enough, my horse
suddenly began to limp and presently became so lame I found it
impossible to urge her beyond a slow walk. It was therefore with no
ordinary satisfaction that I presently beheld a lighted building in the
distance, which as I approached resolved itself into an inn. Stopping
in front of the house, which was closed against the chill night air,
I called out lustily for someone to take my horse, whereupon the door
opened and a man appeared on the threshold with a lantern in his hand. I
at once made my wishes known, receiving in turn a somewhat gruff,

"'Well it is a nasty night and it will be nastier before it's over;' an
opinion instantly endorsed by a sudden swoop of wind that r