that Mr. Gundry looked down upon
Miss Sylvester with a large contempt. But while this raised my opinion
of his judgment, it almost deprived me of a great relief--the relief of
supposing that he wished his grandson to marry this Pennsylvania.
For although her father, with his pigs and cattle, and a low sort of
hostelry which he kept, could settle "a good pile of dollars" upon
her, and had kept her at the "learnedest ladies' college" even in
San Francisco till he himself trembled at her erudition, still it was
scarcely to be believed that a man of the Sawyer's strong common-sense
and disregard of finery would ever accept for his grandchild a girl made
of affectation, vulgarity, and conceit. And one day, quite in the early
spring, he was so much vexed with the fine lady's airs that he left no
doubt about his meaning.

Miss Sylvester was very proud of the figure she made on horseback; and
having been brought up, perhaps as a child, to ride after pigs and so
on, she must have had fine opportunities of acquiring a graceful style
of horsemanship. And now she dashed through thick and thin in a most
commanding manner, caring no more for a snow-drift than ladies do for a
scraping of the road. No one with the least observation could doubt that
this young woman was extremely anxious to attract Firm Gundry's notice;
and therefore, on the day above spoken of, once more she rode over, with
her poor father in waiting upon her as usual.

Now I know very well how many faults I have, and to deny them has never
been my practice; but this is the honest and earnest truth, that no
smallness of mind, or narrowness of feeling, or want of large or fine
sentiments made me bolt my door when that girl was in the house. I
simply refused, after seeing her once, to have any thing more to say to
her; by no means because of my birth and breeding (which are things that
can be most easily waived when the difference is acknowledged), nor yet
on account of my being brought up in the company of ladies, nor even by
reason of any dislike which her bold brown eyes put into me. My cause
was sufficient and just and wise. I felt myself here as a very
young girl, in safe and pure and honest hands, yet thrown on my own
discretion, without any feminine guidance whatever. And I had learned
enough from the wise French sisters to know at a glance that Miss
Sylvester was not a young woman who would do me good.

Even Uncle Sam, who was full of thought and delicate care