taught upon these hills,
and when the years to come shall brighten our pathway, tired hearts will
still be waiting. The angel of deliverance will be present then, as now,
and the munificence of those who have gone from us, as well as of those
who are yet in the body, has made the strong foundation on which to
stand; and in the blest future your hands will be helpful, while your
hearts shall sing of those whose hearts and hands did great service for
the advancement of love and truth. My heart is glad; I have learned
much; I know that our Father holds so closely his beloved, that no one
of his children shall call to him unheard."

We had a real meeting, as Jane expressed it, and I said to Louis:

"What a great fire a small matter kindleth!"

He replied: "We have claimed the promise and brought to our hearts the
strength we need 'where two or three are gathered together.' You know I
often think of this, and also of the incomparable comfort the entire
world would have if the eyes that are blinded could see; if the hearts
that beat slow and in fear were quickened into life. Ah! Emily, the
years to come hold wondrous changes. The cruel hand of war would never
have touched us had the first lesson in life's book been well read and
understood."

"That is true," said my father, as we entered the gate at home, and
looking up I saw two stars, and said:

"Clara and Aunt Hildy both say 'Amen!'"

CHAPTER XXIII.

AUNT HILDY'S LEGACY.

It was the spring of 1862, when "Aunt Hildy's Plot" was the scene of
happy labor. Uncle Dayton made the survey of the land and a map of it.
All the children knew the boundaries of their individual territories;
and the youngest among them, five-year-old Sammy, strutted about with
his hands in his pockets, whistling and thinking, now and then giving
vent to his joy. When he saw Louis and me coming, for we all went over
to see the ground broken for the schoolhouse, he came toward us
hurriedly, saying with great earnestness:

"I shall raise much as three dollars' worth of onions on my land. Do you
s'pose I can sell em, Mr. Desmonde? I want to sell 'em and put the money
in the bank, for when I get money enough I'm going to build a house, and
get married, too, I guess."

Louis answered him kindly, as he did all the rest, and when we went home
he said he held more secrets than any one man ought to.

The dedication of our schoolhouse was a grand affair. It came off on the
seventeenth of June