46 
KANSAS. 
are grazing over all the hills, reminding one continually of the 
sweet pictures of pastoral life, where the cattle feed upon a thou¬ 
sand hills, and the dwellers of the land make their homes in tents, 
it seems strange that milk is so difficult to procure. E. finds 
more acquaintances at Mr. S.’s, and they too are “passing under 
the rod.” The wing of the dark angel is hovering near to bear 
away the little child, whose pallor now rivals the linen which the 
wan cheek presses. 
We go out to ride over these glorious old prairies, where till 
now the moecasined foot of the Indian has alone pressed the 
soil. We called for a friend, and rode several miles. How I 
have longed for my eastern friends to be with me in such pleas¬ 
ure-drives as these, that I might hear their bursts of enthusiasm 
at sight of this world where nature has been prodigal, or 
their exclamations of fear as we approach some deep ravine 
lying between us and the fairy land beyond ! Flowers of every 
shade of color, and every variety of form, would entice us be¬ 
yond the bounds, and my assurance of safe passage over would 
calm their fears. Tame to them as to me would seem the every¬ 
day dull routine of conventional life, its old beaten track of 
set forms and ceremonies, from which if one deviates, criticism, 
the stern censor of society, labels him as odd, eccentric, simple, 
or independent. Freedom is a blessed thing, and thrice blessed 
is freedom of will, freedom of intellect, freedom of action. 
The little wan child is dead. The measles have been fatal 
here beyond all experience. The bereaved sister will stay with 
us to-night. 
5 th. — I rose early this morning. As I reached the dining¬ 
room, with my foot on the last stair, a movement at the door, a 
rustling attracts my attention. The buffalo robe is pulled away, 
and a familiar face fills the small gap. After little ceremony I 
run to tell E. that her father has come — just from Massachusetts 
and home. How the questions crowd upon him, and how 
strangely it seems to us that, in the two months of our absence 
from Fitchburg, something of greater moment has not happened! 
While we have been passing through new scenes, continually 
meeting people from all parts of the Union, with their pecu- 
