friend! he still will be
A potent presence, though unseen,--
Steadfast, sagacious, and serene:
Seek not for him,--he is with thee."

* * * * *

MR. MARTIN'S DISAPPOINTMENTS.

The circumstances of a first meeting so color long years of
acquaintanceship, that, should these circumstances be comic in their
nature, the intercourse which follows partakes much of the grotesque.
Thus, perhaps, it is, that the misfortunes of Edward Martin, apart from
the whimsical demeanor of the man himself, provoke in my memory a smile
rather than a sigh.

Some years ago, journeying on foot through Northern Connecticut, it
became necessary for me to stop overnight at the quiet inn of Deacon
S----.

Sharon I had visited, fair as Berkshire, but less an old story; I had
lingered about the twin lakes of Salisbury; I had carried away many
sweet memories of Warramaug and its mountain; and I now found myself in
the neighborhood of Gramley Bridge, eager for fresh water, clean towels,
and the plenty of a country tea-table,--not averse to strawberry
short-cake, or the snowy delights of cottage-cheese.

It was rapidly growing dark, when, as I hurried on toward my cheerful
welcome, a bend in the road brought me in sight of a figure that filled
me with curiosity and amazement.

"Was it a man?
A devil infernal?
An angel supernal?"

Was it were-wolf spectral, or bear aboriginal? It lived and moved, and,
as I cautiously neared the spot, I seemed to recognize a human being in
the singular form,--stooping, squatting, and groping before me.

The man, for such it proved, was performing most wondrous gymnastics
upon the ground,--smelling here, smelling there, too agile to be tipsy,
too silent to be mad. I had no desire to be alone in a lonely road at
nightfall with a maniac, and I was not sorry when my nearer approach
resolved these strange phenomena into a well-dressed pedestrian on
all-fours in the middle of a dusty highway.

He rose as I approached, and I smiled to see that the spectacles astride
his handsome nose were minus one lens. He seemed half blind and wholly
bewildered. I looked at once for the lost glass, and there it lay
shining at me from the very spot where he had been so industriously
peering. He laughed grimly as I handed it to him, fitted his treasure
into its wonted rim, took out his watch, and with a low chuckle said,--

"Twenty-five minutes is a long time to search for a bit of