ng that 'I had an awful small appetite;' but I considered it
awful under the circumstances, without being small. They had one other
boarder, they said, 'a single lady, who was very quiet, and didn't
disturb any one.' They evidently intended this as an eulogy for Miss
Friggs, but I should have preferred an inmate with more life about her.

At nine o'clock I concluded, from various signs, that it was time to
turn my steps bedward; and producing a fresh tallow candle, Mrs. Bull
placed it in another brass candlestick, and led the way up stairs. The
stairs were narrow, crooked, and winding, and the doors opened with
latches. My sanctum was of moderate size, with a comfortable-looking
bed, covered with a white counterpane (I had dreaded patchwork), a white
curtain to the window, and a white cover on the table,--a pleasant
harmony, I thought, with the snow that would soon cover the ground; and
feeling chilled through, in spite of the fire that burned in the funny
little stove, I wondered that so many people never think of providing
for but one kind of hunger.

Mrs. Bull helped me to arrange my things, and kissed me good-night in a
way that went to my heart at once. I did not treat her on this occasion
as I had treated Mr. Bull.

'I suspect,' said she, kindly, 'that you've been used to things very
different from what you'll find here; but we'll do all in our power to
make it pleasant for you, and I dare say that, before long, you'll feel
quite at home in Peppersville.'

People 'dare say' anything, and many things appeared more probable than
that I should ever feel at home in Peppersville.

One thing I thoroughly congratulated myself upon, and that was that Mr.
Summers boarded elsewhere. It is a dreadful thing to be housed under the
same roof, in a place where there is a total want of all excitement,
with any sort of a man--people have even become attached to spiders when
shut up alone with them--and when the man is young, good-looking, and
poor, the danger is increased. I did not come to Peppersville to fall in
love with the principal of the Academy; and I was glad that _one_ road,
at least, to that undesirable end was cut off.

I found the evening psalms and lessons, and then climbed into my
nest--where I sank down, down, down into the feathery depths, in a
manner peculiarly terrifying to one whose nights had all been spent on
hair mattresses. A few hours' ride had transplanted me into a new
region, among an entirely dif