THE JOURNEY. I I 



his own hand-writing and with his own autograph at- 

 tached accepting me as his pupil and inclosing full 

 instructions. Thenceforward I could eat, drink, 

 think, and dream of nothing save Penikese. Oh, how 

 I longed for the time to come when I might journey 

 thither. 



At length the day for my departure arrived. How 

 eagerly and with what a glad heart I packed my 

 trunk and valise and started for the nearest railroad 

 station. My friends must certainly have thought me 

 hard-hearted as I left them, shouting my good-byes 

 from the top of the coach to which I had sprung, 

 with as much apparent joy as if a rich Uncle had just 

 died and bequeathed me a fortune, and I was forth- 

 with going into the possession of it. 



I was soon on board the train and travelling toward 

 my destination. How slowly we appeared to move. 

 It seemed as if I might easily have outdistanced this 

 or any other train, today, on foot, and yet we must 

 have been going at a fairly rapid speed. Having com- 

 posed myself as best I could I found amusement, for 

 a time, in watching from the window, as they passed 

 in quick succession, the fields, covered with eurling 

 stalks of young grain or downy with soft heads of 

 timothy and other grasses; the new-mown hay lying 

 in loosely scattered heaps or gracefully-curled swaths 

 upon its bristling stubble; or, here and there, a soli- 

 tary person still working at his daily toil. Close by, 

 in a nearer portion of one of the meadows, a tall, 

 lank individual was standing on an immense load of 

 hay, upon which he was stowing away fork-full after 

 fork-full as it was pitched to him by an equally tall, 

 lank individual, who was standing on the ground be- 

 low; while a fine pair of blacks stood, in lamb-like 

 attitude, just in front of the load. Another moment, 

 and, frightened by the noise of the train, the blacks 

 were scouring the fields, like a pair of wild prairie 

 mustangs, bearing with them the fast-decreasing pile, 

 while one of the tall, lank individuals was assisting 

 the other to rise from the ground. Then we dashed 



